How Do I Free Up Ram On My Mac
- How Do I Free Up Ram On My Macbook Pro
- How Do I Free Up Memory Space On My Macbook Air
- How Do I Free Up Ram On My Macbook
System cleanup in one click
Here are my go-to methods to free up memory on Mac. Get CleanMyMac X here: Follow these steps as you watch this video:- Check your mem. When it comes to speeding up your Mac, a RAM upgrade is one of the best ways to do it. RAM stands for “random access memory” and is your computer’s brainpower for on-demand tasks. Your computer uses RAM to temporarily store information for anything it’s currently doing, like loading web pages, sending emails, running apps, and more. Extra trick: How to free up RAM on Mac with CleanMyMac X Go to the Maintenance tab on the left. Click Free Up RAM. When memory usage reaches a critical threshold, your Mac will become sluggish or even completely unresponsive. When faced with this kind of a nuisance, try a few best-practice methods to reduce RAM consumption and give the system a productivity boost. Restart your Mac. Explore the Memory tab in the Activity Monitor and quit RAM-intensive processes.
Few things are as frustrating as your Mac telling you it has run out of memory when you’re trying to be productive. But it’s even frustrating when you’ve ignored the problem for quite some time and your Mac’s limitations simply won’t let you put a solution on hold any longer.
- How to get rid of low memory notifications
Usually, a popup warning isn’t the first sign that something is amiss. You may have noticed that your Mac isn’t running as fast as it used to, with the fan louder than normal as if it’s struggling to carry a heavy load up a hill.
Although Macs are wonderful computers, like any other, they have limitations. Thankfully, there is plenty you can do to resolve this problem and get your Mac operating smoothly again.
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How to Fix Your System Application Memory
Mac memory usage is often occupied by apps, even browsers like Safari or Google Chrome. In the most dire circumstances, your Mac will toss a warning at you: “your system has run out of application memory.”
Don't despair – it's solvable. The first thing to note is this is a natural issue; your Mac has a limited amount of RAM. Though more expensive Macs have more RAM, even they can butt against limitations when too many applications are running.
It may also be an app that is hogging all of your resources. This is especially true of older applications which haven’t been optimized for modern computer architecture. Websites may also be a culprit. Let’s discuss all these possibilities step by step.
How to check RAM usage on Mac
To check your RAM use on any Mac, take the following steps:
- Open Activity Monitor from your list of applications. You can do this in Mac’s control center, via the Finder in your Dock, or by pressing ⌘ + Space and typing Activity Monitor in the Spotlight.
- Toggle to the Memory pane in the Activity Monitor window
As you see in the above screenshot, Activity Monitor shows you all of your processes, sub-processes, and how much memory each is taking up. The most pertinent portion of the window is the bottom, where it shows you the total memory usage, and how it’s affecting your Mac.
A better way to monitor your Mac’s memory use is with iStat Menus. After installing the app, it makes a home in your Mac’s menu bar, and monitors just about everything, including memory, CPU, GPU, disks, and network usage.
You can choose which systems you’d like to monitor in the app itself. Only the items you’re monitoring will have an icon in your menu bar. A simple click on the menu bar icon surfaces a drop-down menu of how your Mac is performing at the time, and hovering over each graphic brings up a larger menu to inspect.
How to check CPU usage on Mac
Checking CPU use on your Mac is similar to the steps above for checking memory use. For Activity Monitor, you'd make sure to highlight the CPU section of the window. This will show you all the processes using your Mac's CPU at the time.
Similarly, iStat Menus has a CPU & GPU toggle just above the memory section. Activating that will add a CPU and GPU monitor to your Mac menu bar, which has the same interactivity as the memory icon and menu shown above.
But what creates CPU-hogging problems overall and how do they lead to slow Mac performance?
Every Mac has a processor which handles the computing of any task, from opening an app to editing photos. Processors differ in power (expressed in GHz) and efficiency (generally, newer processors are more efficient).
For example, a 9th Generation 2.2 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 processor means that it has two i7 chips, each of which is able to process data at up to 2.2 GHz, and its the 9th iteration of that processor overall.
However, regardless of the power of your processor, if you throw too many tasks at it, it will start to slow because it’s trying to process too much information at once (try opening 100 Google Chrome tabs), creating a bottleneck. That’s why you can have applications not responding. So you need to do something about it.
App Tamer is perhaps the most powerful smart CPU manager out there. Not only does it show the exact CPU percentage and battery impact each process is taking from your Mac, it lets you create simple rules to prevent certain processes from hogging too much CPU.
To tame any app, just click on it in App Tamer (located in the menu bar), select “Slow down this app if it uses more than” and specify the exact CPU percentage.
How to free up memory on Mac
Knowing how to clear memory on Mac is important, especially if you have a Mac with limited resources. One option is using Activity Monitor:
- Open Activity Monitor on your Mac
- Select an app using a lot of memory
- Click the stop icon in the top bar
This is straightforward, but there's a better way. CleanMyMac X has an automated CPU and memory monitors built-in, which can give you a real-time view of memory usage in your Mac's menu bar. It also has a really quick and easy way to free up memory without digging through Activity Monitor and manually shutting down apps.
All you have to do is click the CleanMyMac X icon, select Free Up in the memory pane, and the app takes care of the rest! Oftentimes, it doesn't even shut apps down.
This is a quick fix, but CleanMyMac X takes it a step further in the app itself. Under the app's Maintenance section is an option to Free Up RAM, which helps you clear RAM on Mac. Once you've got this option selected, simply select Run at the bottom of the window, and CleanMyMac X will do a thorough scrubbing of your Mac's RAM, and clear unused files out of the way.
How to get rid of low memory notifications
Most apps are pretty good about how they use your Mac's resources. Having too many open or running in the background can severely limit what your Mac can handle, and is often why a Mac overheats or slows down.
Below we list a few tips to reduce high memory usage manually if you're experiencing unique warnings or issues.
Fix kernel_task, a high CPU usage bug
You may have noticed through Activity Monitor something called kernel_task absorbing a large amount of processing power. One of the functions of kernel_task is to help manage CPU temperature; you may find that your Mac fan is loud and always on, even if the device isn't hot to the touch.
That's because kernel_task usually performs this way when one or more applications are trying to use too much CPU. Unfortunately, one of the potential downsides is a Mac can overheat to such an extent that internal systems are damaged, sometimes irreparably.
Working through the following steps in this article is one way to avoid similar problems. If none of this work and kernel_task is still absorbing a high percentage of your CPU, then one or more of the following could be the cause:
- Cooling system inefficiency
- A failed or disconnected temperature sensor
- Another hardware issue, including a worn out batter
- Your System Management Controller needs a rest
If you're experiencing severe issues, Apple recommends a system management controller (SMC) reset. It's essentially a hard reset for your Mac, and should help your RAM and other hardware components start from scratch. Keep in mind you won't lose any data in this process.
Reduce memory usage in Finder
One common culprit for RAM issues is Finder, your Mac's file manager. If iStat Menus or Activity Monitor has highlighted Finder as using hundreds of MBs of RAM, there is an easy solution: change the default display for a new Finder window so it doesn't show All My Files:
- Click on the Finder icon in the Dock and click on the Finder menu, then select Preferences
- Click on General. Under 'New Finder windows show', click the dropdown menu and choose any option except All My Files
- Close Preferences, press Alt-Control, and click on the Finder icon in the Dock. Click Relaunch
Finder will now relaunch with new windows opening at the option you selected in step two.
Improve Chrome's Task Manager
Chrome is a popular browser, but it's a resource hog! Chrome uses a GPU Process as standard, which means it speeds up the loading of web pages, which can be great except at times when your computer is struggling with insufficient RAM.
Here's how to make it better:
- Open Chrome on your Mac
- On the right side of the Chrome window, select the three-dot menu
- Select More tools
- Select Task Manager
- Select a Chrome process you'd like to kill
- Select End Process at the bottom right of the window
Here's another way to reduce Chrome's use of your Mac's memory:
- Open Chrome on your Mac
- On the right side of the Chrome window, select the three-dot menu
- Select Settings
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Advanced
- Scroll down to System, and toggle 'Use hardware acceleration when available' off
This will affect how Chrome runs on your Mac, and your experience won't be as smooth. You can also remove unused or unwanted Chrome extensions to help it use less resources on your Mac.
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Install CleanMyMac X and streamline the entire process of memory management on Mac. Clever memory usage control done for you.
Clean up other browsers
In every browser you use regularly, there are always going to be extensions and popups that take up space and use RAM. You can manage each one manually or use a tool such as CleanMyMac X to identify and delete them.
In the CleanMyMac X app is a section titled Extensions, which lists each extension you have for your browser or browsers. All you have to do is view the list of extensions, select the ones you no longer want, and remove them. It's really that simple!
Disable login items
Login items, browser extensions, and preference panes, such as Flash, are another common source of memory usage. Most of us have several installed that we rarely use, but which hog memory and reduce performance.
One way to do this is through System Preferences:
- From your Mac menu bar, select System Preferences
- Select Users & Groups
- Select Login Items
- Deselect items you no longer want active at login
Another way, one that is even quicker, is to employ CleanMyMac to identify and cleanup login items:
- Open CleanMyMac X
- Under Speed, select Optimization
- Select Login Items
You can remove all login items, or select the ones you'd like to remove individually on the right side of the window.
Disable desktop widgets
Older Macs running a version of macOS older than Catalina can disable widgets. Desktop widgets can provide a useful shortcut to apps you need to access fairly often. But they can take up processing memory that is slowing your whole Mac down. One way to close them completely is in System Preferences.
Go to Mission Control ➙ switch off the Dashboard
Declutter your desktop
Apple's built-in decluttering tool is handy for many. All you have to do on your cluttered desktop is right-click, then select Use Stacks. This places all of your desktop files into folders unique to their filetype, like Screenshots and Images.
A better way is to use Spotless, an app that gives you far more control over how your Mac is organized. It has several triggers for automated cleanup of files on your desktop, placing them wherever you see fit. It's particularly useful for power users who produce several files daily, but don't want to take the time to place each in a respective folder.
You can also select many files on your Mac desktop, and tell Spotless to tidy them up. You always have full control!
Schedule regular cleanups
Constant use of your Mac, or leaving it on all the time, will slow it down over time. Shutting it down and restarting is a traditional way of 'cleaning up' a computer.
We also like CleanMyMac X's scheduled cleanup feature. Telling the app when you'd like to perform a thorough cleaning up of your Mac's system is a method many prefer to shutting down and restarting often. It has the upshot of removing files and folders you no longer use, and cleaning up tasks that are slowing your Mac down behind the scenes. A simple shutdown may not do this.
Keeping your Mac in tip-top shape is critical. While we'd all like to think computers are brilliant little devices that can handle anything, they need some care, too.
All of the apps mentioned in this article help with taking care of your Mac, and protecting your investment. Best of all they're each free as part of a seven day trial of Setapp. Give it a try today!
/Mac Cleaner /How Much RAM Do I Need On My Mac? [Tips to Free up RAM]
How much RAM do I need Mac? Well, I have one MacBook Pro. I use it to do a lot of things--watch movies, create documents, edit videos and images, and even surf the web. I multitask all the time and have more than one screen on me when using my MacBook Pro. But the thing is it seems like my Mac is slowing down. The reasons can be that the disk space is full due to the duplicate files and photos or the RAM issue. They told me to upgrade my RAM. So, how much RAM do I need on Mac?
~MacBook Pro User
Article GuidePart 1. Can I Add RAM to My Mac?Part 2. How Do I Know if I Need More RAM Mac?Part 3. How Much RAM Do I Need on Mac?Part 4. How to Free up RAM to Enhance Mac Performance?Part 5. Conclusion
Part 1. Can I Add RAM to My Mac?
How much RAM do you really need on your Mac device? Well, the best possible thing would be to have the largest amount of RAM as you can accommodate. Too much memory is not a bad thing and it won’t hurt your device. However, too little memory (RAM) can affect your Mac device’ performance causing it to slow down. It might also cause apps to crash or become frozen.
Unfortunately, adding RAM to your device is not as simple as it may seem. Adding memory to your device whether you do it upon purchase or at a later time will cost you a bunch of cash. So, when we answer the question to 'how much RAM do I need on Mac', we are depending on factors such as budget and the benefits you will get from shelling out a specific amount of money.
Why Do You Need To Upgrade The RAM On Your Mac Device?
Before knowing the answer of 'how much RAM do I need on Mac', we should learn why do we need to upgrade the RAM first. During the past, putting an additional amount of RAM on your device will enhance its performance with almost each and every task you do. But computers have now evolved. The load placed on your Mac device’ main RAM is less compared to before.
This is because of better management of memory, super-fast GPUs (graphics processing units) that contains its own dedicated memory (RAM), and quicker storage especially for caching data that is cannot possibly be put in storage in your RAM.
For example, when it comes to games, the work of actually generating frames is executed by the GPU and its actual RAM. But, if you work with seriously large images, bigger than that of 100MB, for example, you might need an actually larger amount of RAM. The same is true if you need to work with huge databases and humongous spreadsheets.
Part 2. How Do I Know if I Need More RAM Mac?
So, you want an answer to the question of 'how much RAM do I need on Mac'? Well, the simplest way to check whether you really need more RAM is to check the device’ RAM usage. You can do it with some tools that allow you to check the system status of your device.
But, you can also do it manually. Here’s how to check RAM usage on Mac step by step:
- Visit the Applications folder.
- Launch the Utilities folder.
- Launch Activity Monitor.
- Press the tab labeled Memory. This is located at the tap.
- Check out the Memory Pressure graph. This is located at the bottom part of the screen.
- Look at the right side of the graph. Within it, you’ll be able to see a table. The Physical Memory part states the amount of RAM your Mac has installed.
Make sure you keep the said window open while you are currently working. Check it every now and then. Knowing the different colors mean will help you more with the question 'how much RAM do I need on Mac'. If the graph you are looking at is always green, then there is not much pressure on your RAM. This means, more memory is not necessary for your device.
If the graph is color yellow and green, some pressure is being placed on your device’ RAM. However, this is still okay. But what if the color is always red? This means, your RAM is being put on serious pressure. It also means that the startup drive of your Mac is being utilized for storage of data that should be placed in the RAM. This results in the slowing down of your Mac device.
But what if the graph is red? Well, that doesn’t mean you have to upgrade your RAM instantly. You can try to turn off browser tabs you’re not actually using. Plus, you can have more memory freed by quitting applications you’re not actually using. You can also try to log out of accounts that you don’t use. This is true especially if you are logged into more than a single account.
In the Activity Monitor, you can simply press the down arrow located at the top part of the Memory Column to check out which processes, apps, and browser tabs are currently taking up the use of most of the memory. This will sort them in the order of the processes (or apps and browsers) that use up the most RAM up to the least one. If you find out that you are using some apps or pages or processes that use up a lot of RAM and you don’t necessarily need them, then simply close these apps (or pages and processes).
You can also use third-party tools that give you a report of memory usage. Some of these tools can help you clean your RAM to free up space when you simply close applications. Thus, the memory is made free for utilization by other apps and tools.
Can RAM Be Upgraded?
So you roughly understand 'how much RAM do I need on Mac', then you may be confused with upgrade RAM. There are Mac devices that can be upgraded. There are devices that can’t be upgraded. If you have a MacBook Air, MacBook, or MacBook Pro and you bought it within the last 5 years, you will not have the option to upgrade its RAM.
However, if you currently have an iMac, you might have the ability to do a RAM upgrade. This depends on when the actual iMac has been created and if it currently has free RAM slots. To check out which iMac devices can be upgraded, you check out the list here. The iMac Pro can be upgraded however it has to be done by an authorized service provider or by Apple themselves. The Mac mini and the Mac Pro can be upgraded as well.
Part 3. How Much RAM Do I Need on Mac?
After all that we’ve put in here, how much RAM do you really need in your Mac device? Well, for a lot of users, 8GB of RAM would be okay. You’ll have the ability to work on docs, videos, and photos comfortably. Plus, you’ll be able to surf the web as well.
If you have to work on huge-sized databases, images, spreadsheets and if you need to open a lot of applications simultaneously, you might want to have it upgraded to 16GB. However, you still need to weigh the costs of actually getting the RAM with that of the benefits you’ll get.
Now you know 'how much RAM do I need on Mac', when your Mac is slowing down, you may need to consider free up your RAM to make it run faster.
Part 4. How to Free up RAM to Enhance Mac Performance?
Will adding memory increase iMac speed? The answer is Yes. The reason why you would upgrade your RAM is to enhance the performance of your Mac device making it faster in the long run. However, there are also other methods you can do to enhance the performance of your Mac device. For example, your hard disk drive can be converted into a solid-state drive (SSD). This leads to enhanced startup times. It also results in improved performance because Mac’s operating system utilizes the startup drive in order to cache files.
Another thing you can do is to check and free up more disk space on the startup drive. You need to remove the unnecessary files that clog your system up. Mac cleaning tools may help you achieve this. It is recommended that you use iMyMac PowerMyMac for this. It supports all kinds of Mac devices such as MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac.. Below are the steps to use this tool.
Here’s how to use the said PowerMyMac to free up RAM step by step:
- Download the software from the official website.
- Launch the said software within your Mac device. The main interface will show you updates of your Network condition and system status.
- Visit the left-hand side of the screen. Click the option named Master Scan.
- Press the Scan button to start screening your entire Mac device for junk files. Wait until the entire process is complete.
- Once the process is complete, it will show junk files in various categories such as Application Cache, Photo Cache, Email Cache, System Logs, System Cache, and System Trash, etc. Select a category you want.
- Select the data you want to delete per category. If you want, you can preview the files first.
- Click the button named Clean. Wait until the cleanup process is complete.
- Go back to the left-hand side of the screen and repeat steps 01 to 08. However, step 03 would be different. In this case, you have to select Large & Old Files or Duplicate Finder to remove other unnecessary files in your system.
Advantages:
- It helps you scan your entire Mac device for junk files, unnecessary files, clutter, and old files.
- You are free to use the application for the first 500 megabytes of data. This means you get a free trial. At least, you get to try out the software first before actually paying out of your pocket.
- After it scans your entire Mac device, you are free to preview each file before actually deleting it. In this way, you know that you are actually deleting the right thing. Say bye-bye to mistakenly delete files.
- The processes of scanning and cleaning up your Mac device can be implemented with only a few clicks of the button.
- The files you preview can be sorted into various categories depending on what you want. These categories include size, date, type, etc.
- You get free email support and one on one support from the iMyMac. This is to help you learn more about the software and it helps you troubleshoot problems in case you encounter some.
Disadvantages:
- We can’t find any.
Part 5. Conclusion
Checking your RAM is very easy and important as this lets you know 'how much RAM do I need on Mac' and if you need more of it to improve the performance of your Mac device. Although, there are times when you don’t need more RAM and you simply need to clean up your Mac for improved performance.
For this, you need a tool called iMyMac PowerMyMac. It can help you delete unnecessary files and free up more space on your Mac device to boost its speed and performance.
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