You still remember the first thing on your mind when you were buying your new MacBook that this Machine will always keep up with your pace and will never slow down on you. That’s exactly what these awesome machines are built to do. But sooner than you think, it starts slowing down. The first thing you need to know is that the performance of your Mac depends a lot on the memory usage on the device. We will talk about some of the ways to learn how to reduce memory usage on Mac and get it to maximum performance again.
Check Your Available Memory Usage on Mac First!
All the applications developed for use on Apple Machines are built to optimally use the memory available. But memory management for MacBook becomes critical when you open too many applications that are running simultaneously. This results in major memory overload.
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Once you experience your Mac slowing down, you should start analyzing the memory usage. If you don’t know how to check memory usage on Mac, the best application to start with is the Activity Monitor. You can easily find this application in the Utilities or you can simply type the name of the application in the Spotlight window.
Activity Monitor: Helpful Tool in Analyzing Memory Usage on Your Mac
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Activity Monitor is a built-in application in MacOS which tells you everything that is running on your MacBook. It gives you a complete overview of your MacBook’s memory usage. Here you can find out what applications are currently running and how much memory is being utilized by each of the applications. It is an excellent tool in analyzing the memory usage as it gives you plenty of details on the resources being consumed by any application, including the memory being used, Number of threads utilized by each app, CPU usage, etc.
What's more, ths Activity Monitor shows how you can add different columns to check a particular resource being utilized by an application and play with the statistics to shut down what you don’t need and that eats too much of memory. To illustrate a few, let’s have a look at the memory page of Activity Monitor.
The memory page is very informative when you understand all that it is showing to you;
Memory Pressure: This graph gives you the usage of memory over a period of time. You can set the Update Frequency and set the intervals. The right-most bar is the current memory usage, going back in time as you move to the left of the graph. The color of the graph shows the usage level.
- Green – RAM Memory available.
- Yellow – RAM Memory still available, tasked by memory-management processes (like Compression)
- Red – RAM Memory completely used. This is the time where you should start shutting down some apps.
You can see the total installed RAM on your computer shown as,
Physical Memory: Total memory installed.
The part which you are really concerned about is the one marked as,
Memory Used: Total memory being used by the running apps and processes. Getting inside to have a deeper understanding of the memory distribution allows you to play with it and get the best performance.
- App Memory: Total memory used by all the apps/processes.
- Wired memory: As the name suggests, this memory is (virtually) hard-wired and you cannot make any changes to the processes using this memory. These are usually the primary processes of your Machine and they need the memory with the quickest access and cannot be swapped with the memory on disk.
- Compressed: The MacOS will compress a chunk of memory in the RAM to make more space for the utilization of other apps. You can see the column of compressed memory to see how much actual and compressed memory is used by each process or application.
Swap Used: The MacOS will utilize some space on the disk drive of your Mac. This is used to free up physical space on RAM for the applications requiring more intense use of memory.
Cached Files: The MacOS keeps the recently closed applications as cached files for quick loading once you restart the same application. However, this memory is available to be used by any new application if the same application is not started.
Running out of Space? Try The Quick Fix to Free Up Memory Space Here
When you are running out of space on your Mac and your memory pressure graph is constantly in the red. Your computer is slowing down and if you are thinking about how do I free up memory on my Mac, using a powerful Mac cleanup software is the quickest fix for you. Umate Mac Cleaner is beyond compare your first choice for Mac cleaning software you will find and let me tell you why.
Umate Mac Cleaner is an amazingly powerful tool to clean and offers a one-click solution for releasing more memory. No important files will be deleted through Umate Mac Cleaner so you don’t have to worry about accidentally harming your Mac. Its one of the main features - Clean Up Junk is designed to delete all the junk files which are slowing down the Mac system. You can use the Clean Up Junk feature to run a Quick Clean first.
Quick Clean will run an automatic scan to search, identify and delete the unnecessary files piled up on your system. Deleting those junk files have no effect on system performance, so you can safely remove them without consideration.
Once the Quick Clean has done its job and you still feel the need to make some more space available, the Clean Up Junk lets you run a Deep Clean on the Mac. Deep Clean shows you the files available on the system which can be deleted to make more space available on the Mac. It runs a scan and finds the items that can be deleted, and you can now choose which of these files you want to permanently remove from the system, then hit the big Clean button to remove them with single click.
Another very useful feature of Umate Mac Cleaner to lower memory usage on Mac is Manage Application & Extensions. Naturally, there are a few applications lying around over the chunks of your memory and these applications are not even being used. These unused applications and unnecessary extensions are hogging on the memory bytes which are needed for the new and more frequent applications. This feature of Umate Mac Cleaner is how to save memory on Mac by uninstalling the rarely used applications and their associated files. Along with the unused applications, it also targets the unnecessary extensions which are installed in your Mac. This feature will list down the applications with their usage statistics and you can choose which ones to remove to lower memory usage on your Mac.
Getting Umate Mac Cleaner for Mac memory management is unbelievably easy. All you need to do is get the app from iMyFone, install and launch the app and let it do the rest automatically. The app comes with a very intuitive user interface and is compatible with Macbook/iMac running MacOS 10.15-10.9.
Other 7 Tips to Reduce Memory Usage on Mac Manually
Using a Mac cleaning tool to free up memory on Mac is much easiesr and faster. And this way is highly recommended for time-saving clean up. However, if you want to free up memory without using third-party software, here are other 7 extra tips for you to do the job manually. Let’s check them out together!
1. Clean up the Desktop
No matter what computer you are using, you know that your desktop is filled with unnecessary and unused icons scattered all around the screen. Don’t worry; this is what we do on all our computers. But if you want to lower the memory usage on your Mac, you might want to steer away from cluttering your desktop. This might come as a surprise, but MacOS allows your desktop icons to be treated as priority applications and it keeps all the desktop icons in the active memory. This takes up space in your RAM which you definitely want to save.
2. Manage Memory Usage in Finder
The Finder application on Mac can sometimes take up a lot of memory of your system. You are thinking that Finder should not be taking up this much space, right. It is probably because the Finder application is set to show all files available on the system. Try changing the default display of Finder to not show All My Files. This will work wonders for you.
3. Force Quit Memory-eating Processes
In the Activity Monitor, you can see which applications are consuming most of the memory. These memory-hogging processes are slowing down your system. You can select to Force Quit these processes to save memory on your Mac.
4. Delete Browser Extensions
The add-ons and extensions on the internet browser are nice tools for quick access to features you need while surfing the internet. But more often than not, they are consuming more memory than they are being helpful. You can save a lot of memory on your Mac by deleting the unwanted browser extensions. Just launch the browser on your Mac, like Safari, Chrome and Firefox, and then go to Preferences to remove those unwanted extensions on the Extensions tab.
You can use Umate Mac Cleaner to remove the undesired extensions. Just launch the app and go to Manage Applications and Extensions and the memory management tool will list down all the extensions for you to choose and delete. You will be surprised at how many of these extensions are not even needed in your Mac.
5. Close Unwanted Finder Windows
Opening a number of Finder windows takes up a lot of memory, and it is incredible how much memory you can save by this little tip. You don’t need anything fancy for this. A keyboard shortcut is all you need; press Command + Option + W to close all the open windows on your Mac.
6. Disable Login Items
The items that are set to launch on every login are going to use a lot of memory space. Most of these login items are not essentially required for your day to day computing needs and you can easily get rid of them. Here are the simple steps to do that: Click the Apple icon > select System Preferences > Click Users & Groups > Select the login item you want to remove, then click the Remove.
Using Umate Mac Cleaner to Disable Startup Items is your one-click solution to fix this issue. Select the items you want to disable on your next login and you will start your Mac with a bunch of memory saved.
7. Purge RAM in Terminal (for Advanced Users)
Open the terminal on your Mac and enter the command ‘sudo purge’. This feature requires admin rights so you would have to enter the password here then the system will clear the inactive memory. We strongly advise against using this method unless you know your way around your Machine.
If You Use Chrome Browser, Here's Bonus Tip to Lower Memory Usage
If you are using Google applications like Gmail, Google Drive, etc. This tip might be useful on how to lower memory usage on Mac. Google Chrome makes use of the system GPU for its processes to help load web pages super fast, however, this process takes a lot of memory on your system RAM. Fortunately, there is a way to control this. Use the Task Manager of Google Chrome to manage the memory available for use by Chrome, and you are good to go!
Anyway, You Should Keep Your Eye on Mac's Memory Usage
If your Mac is boosted up with 16 gigs of RAM memory, then you might have a lot of free space to use up for unnecessary applications. But with the basic 4 or 8GB RAM machine, you would require the monitoring more often. More applications running on the Mac means more memory usage. This makes it very important that you should keep a check on your applications. Learning to read and analyze the memory page of the Activity Monitor will be extremely useful in memory management for your Mac and keep your MacBook memory usage under check.
Conclusion
With these simple tips and tricks, you can bring your Mac back to its fast performance condition when the speed of your MacBook was unmatched to all the other computers. Using an application that can efficiently look after the system health will keep your Macbook hassle-free. Umate Mac Cleaner might just be the thing you were looking for, a application that comes with all-in-one package and all the features you need.
Is your Mac slowing down? Do you spend more and more time waiting for applications to do what you want? If so, there is a very good chance that you have high memory usage and need a Mac RAM upgrade.
What is RAM?
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. This memory is temporary and used by the CPU to hold information that processes are actively using on your system. Your Mac slows down when it experiences high memory usage, in other words, when the running applications demand more RAM than your Mac is able to provide. The more RAM available, the better your Mac is able to execute on the tasks that are being thrown at it.
The obvious solution would be to increase Mac RAM, but before we show you how to do that, let’s make sure that your lack of RAM is actually the cause of your Mac slowdown.
Note: Not all devices are able to upgrade RAM, like the MacBook Air and the 2014 edition of the Mac Mini.
How to manually check Mac RAM
Checking your RAM is dependent on the version of macOS that you have installed. You should check your Mac RAM after you have been using your Mac for a bit of time. When you are in the middle of normal daily tasks, follow these steps.
- Open Spotlight Search.
- Type in ”Activity Monitor”.
- Click on the “Memory” tab on the top of the window.
Memory Pressure is the graph you need to study.
If there is mostly green, your system RAM is currently fine. If there is a lot of yellow, the jury is still out. If there is a lot of red, your memory is under strain and your Mac has a high memory usage.
Older OS X versions like Leopard and Lion
Keep Me In Memory Mac Os Catalina
For older versions of Mac OS X the steps are the same but the System Memory tab looks a bit different. You’ll want to look for Free and Page Outs.
Free – This is how much free RAM your Mac currently has. If you’ve got a bunch of applications open and there is still a good number of free RAM, then your Mac may have enough memory.
Page Outs – This number tells you how often your Mac has run out of RAM and needed to use the slower hard disk instead. A high number here is very bad and a sure sign that your Mac doesn’t have enough RAM.
Use a Mac memory analysis tool
Another alternative, which will work easily on all versions of Mac OS X, is to use a 3rd party tool to check your RAM usage. I highly recommend CleanMyMac X, which will not only clean and speed up your Mac, it also has a RAM monitoring tool called Menu App.
When you install CleanMyMac X, click on the Maintenance tab in the sidebar.
Here you can free up RAM with just one button. When to use this tool? When your Mac or a particular app hangs up, this feature will temporarily flush memory, helping your Mac to unfreeze.
CleanMyMac X has a free version you can download. So try it out and get to the bottom of your high memory usage problem.
Note: With all above solutions we recommend checking the results on a regular basis until you are certain that your Mac needs a RAM upgrade.
How to upgrade your Mac RAM
If you have reached the conclusion that you need more memory, we are going to show you exactly how to increase your Mac RAM. Don’t worry if you’ve never done it before, as this guide will help you every step of the way.
The first steps are to gain knowledge about your system. This will help ensure that the RAM that you get will be compatible with your system.
Step 1 – What kind of Mac do you have?
Mac Os Memory Pressure
Whether you have an iMac, a MacBook Pro, or any other kind of Mac, there is a lot more information to be found out in order to identify your exact system. To get these details, follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Apple icon.
- Select “About this Mac.”
- View your system information.
Step 2 – Do I have space for more RAM in my Mac?
This may not be what you want to hear but it’s possible that you can’t add more RAM to your Mac, even if you wanted to. Let’s look under the hood and see what your RAM situation is like.
- Following on from Step 1, click on “More Info” on the “About this Mac” window.
- The complicated looking System Profiler will launch. Click on “Memory” in the left column.
On the right you will see exact details of your RAM modules or sticks. The “banks” are the slots that the RAM is inserted into. If you have an empty bank or two, you’re in luck, upgrading your Mac RAM just got that much easier.
Step 3 – Check how much RAM your Mac can take
Now let’s really make sure you can upgrade your RAM. Head over to Technical Specifications on Apple Support, find your exact Mac model. Once you find your Mac, click it to reveal a ton of information. What you’re looking for is the information, which will tell you how much RAM your system can work with. Compare it to your Mac’s current RAM (from Step 2) and now you know if you can upgrade your RAM or if you are stuck with what you have.
If you can’t upgrade your Mac RAM, download CleanMyMac X and use all of the cleaning tools to boost your Mac performance. You should also take a look at the performance improving solutions found in How To Fix Mac Running Slow.
Step 4 – Purchasing RAM for your Mac
In Step 3 you navigated to your Mac model and discovered what memory your system could potentially add. Now it's only a matter of choosing your new RAM and we recommend to start with this source. If you're located outside of the US, Google will probably tell you which stores sell RAM nearby.
Step 5 – Installing RAM into your Mac
Adding your new RAM into your Mac is not as hard as it sounds. This is definitely an upgrade that you can perform yourself, as long as you have a screwdriver on hand. The only tricky thing is to know exactly where the RAM is, and that it varies between types of Macs.
Below are handy tutorials to install new memory on your specific type of Mac.
How to upgrade RAM on an iMac
- Shut down your iMac and unplug everything.
- Place iMac face down, ensuring the screen is protected from anything that could scratch it.
- Unscrew, counterclockwise, the RAM panel in the centre until it pops out.
- Expose ribbon tab over RAM and pull on it to release RAM module.
- Use your fingers to remove the RAM entirely.
- Line up the new RAM with the now empty slot and push it in until it clicks into place.
- Screw the RAM panel cover back on.
- Re-connect everything, turn your iMac back on and go to About This Mac to confirm new RAM installed.
How to upgrade RAM on a MacBook Pro
- Turn your MacBook off.
- Turn your MacBook upside down and pop the latch on the back to remove the plate.
- Use tiny Phillips head screwdriver to unscrew the larger back plate.
- Note - one screw will be a lot smaller than the others. Remember where it goes.
- Touch metal to ground yourself before touching the RAM.
- The RAM is to the left or right of centre. Pull apart the latches on each side of it and the RAM will pop up.
- Slide the RAM out.
- Slide the new RAM into the slot and push it down till it clicks into place.
- Put the large backplate back on and screw it into place.
- Screw the smaller backplate back into place.
- Turn your Macbook on and and go to About This Mac to confirm new RAM installed.
How to upgrade RAM on a Mac Mini
Due to the form factor of the Mac Mini, it is one of the more challenging devices to upgrade. We recommend getting help from professionals or someone that has experience upgrading Mac Mini RAM.
The final word on Mac RAM upgrades
Mac Os Memory Management
In this guide we showed you how to identify high memory usage on your Mac using macOS and the ever-useful CleanMyMac X. We then outlined the steps to determine what RAM your Mac has installed, whether it can be upgraded, how to purchase new memory for your Mac and finally how to install your new RAM into your Mac.
Once your new RAM is installed, depending on how much you were able to add, you should see a considerable boost to your Mac performance.
Now you know how to upgrade my Mac memory. Hope this article was helpful.