{"id":82360,"date":"2022-04-28T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=82360"},"modified":"2022-04-29T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T16:04:10","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-mac-memory-and-storage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/82360-what-is-the-difference-between-mac-memory-and-storage\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Difference Between Mac Memory and Mac Storage?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Purchasing a new Mac can leave you with questions like \u201chow much memory and storage should I get?\u201d What happens when there is not enough RAM or drive space? What is the difference between Mac memory and Mac storage? Fear not, read on to discover the difference between the two and how to make the best decisions when purchasing a new Mac regardless if you are a casual user or a creative professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a Mac that you\u2019re thinking of upgrading, be sure to check out our upgrade guide here<\/a>! Enter your make and model and OWC filters down just the components guaranteed to work with your Mac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"OWC
OWC Upgrades<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Memory versus storage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When purchasing a new computer both memory and storage are important considerations. Often memory and storage are mentioned interchangeably but they are distinct components and perform different functions. This can be confusing as both memory and storage are places to manage data and are measured in bytes, typically gigabytes or GB<\/strong> for short. Which is more important?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memory (RAM)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The memory of a computer is referred to as RAM, an acronym for Random Access Memory. Memory or RAM is the space devoted to running your operating system and applications. To run multiple applications at once a Mac requires more memory. The more demanding those applications are, the more RAM you will be using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memory is continually holding information for functions all across the computer. However, all of this information is temporary, RAM is not needed when a computer is powered off. If you are noticing frequent slowdowns when opening more than a couple of web pages, or Apple Music slows down retrieving emails\u2014the amount of free memory is a common culprit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be helpful to visualize memory or RAM as the size of a desk. With a larger desk, you can fit more tools on your desktop and perform multiple tasks more effectively. With a smaller desk, only one or two tasks can be completed at a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Desk
Image from Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you have a hunch your computer needs more RAM, you can easily check your Mac\u2019s memory usage<\/a> by opening the activity monitor in the memory tab. It shows all the live processes on your Mac and how much RAM each process is using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Macs can easily upgrade RAM after the time of purchase, such as the 27\u201d iMac. However, many Macs cannot be upgraded afterward. Check and see if your make and model are available on our Memory upgrade list<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much memory do I need?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Casual user<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

8GB of memory is the starting point to consider when purchasing a new computer or upgrading an existing one. This amount of RAM works great for users of Safari, Mail, FaceTime, Facebook, and Netflix. All the things you\u2019d expect anyone (including your parents) to do on a computer. Simpler video games will play as well such as my personal favorites: Sneaky Sasquatch<\/a>, Alto\u2019s Odyssey<\/a>, and Mini Metro<\/a> will all run smoothly\u2014 just try not to do all these things at once!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intermediate user<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you use your Mac for any graphic design, image editing, music production, or video editing\u2014 plan on investing in 16GB of memory. Creative production applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and even Garageband are memory-intensive applications as they have many components working simultaneously. In addition, large spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel, a dozen tabs in Google Chrome, or developing in Xcode will benefit from having 16GB of memory on your system. If you\u2019re the type of user that has a dozen applications open at a time, 16GB is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-user<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If your full-time job involves creative work produced daily, then 32GB is the number to look at. Motion graphics artists using Adobe After Effects, and visual effects compositors using The Foundry Nuke can attest to the need for available memory as these programs create temporary files (called a cache), that are saved into RAM. If you are a musician, Avid Pro Tools now officially recommends 32GB of RAM, as does Fusion from Blackmagic Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is storage?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Storage is the amount of space on a computer\u2019s hard drive (HD) or solid-state drive (SSD) available to store files. The more storage you have, the more files you can save including applications, documents (PDFs, Word, or Excel files), photos, videos, and music. Another analogy: storage space is similar to a filing cabinet. The larger the cabinet, the more documents and file folders you can organize and store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Filing
Image from Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In terms of measurement, drives are described in bytes\u2014more specifically megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes. Here are a few benchmarks for storage sizes using common documents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n