How much RAM does your Mac have?

RAM is memory for your Mac. As a rule of thumb: the more the better.

How much RAM does your Mac have?
Mac Tip#29/14-Nov-2001

Last week we looked at identifying which Operating System runs your Macintosh. The previous week we looked at finding out which Mac you have.

The third important piece of information to know about your computer is how much RAM it has. Officially RAM is Random Access Memory, but I like to describe it to my clients as being like how big their desk is. While a desk might be measured in square feet or square meters, RAM is currently measured in Megabytes (Mb). [Update, November 2009: RAM is now measured in Gigabytes (Gb).]

There are various ways to find out how much RAM you have, but one important place to look is About this Computer. See last week’s Tip if you need more information about that.

Call up About this Computer from the Apple menu and look in the window which shows up.

You should see a section which refers to Built-In Memory. This is the number which tells you how much RAM you have.

If you have an iMac this number will probably be 32Mb or maybe 64Mb. If you have upgraded your machine with extra RAM then it could easily be 128Mb or more.

Make a mental note of this number in case you need it in future.

The amount of RAM your machine has is really important. Adding more RAM can sometimes solve all kinds of problems you might be having. Your machine might be crashing a lot or giving you messages about not having enough memory. These can often be solved by adding RAM.

You’ll also find that if you go to buy more software or download free software from the Web that it will often specify the minimum amount of RAM you need.

Watch out though: those estimates are usually the absolute minimum you need rather than a realistic suggestion of what’s needed. It’s a bit like saying you could drive four people and their luggage from Invercargill to Auckland in a Mini. Well, you *could*, but you sure wouldn’t *want* to!

[Special note for those not in New Zealand — that's about 1700 Km or 20 hours driving; and a Mini is a very small car.]

Read more Tips tagged with: memory • RAM

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