I wouldn't say 32-64GB is too much for some of those tasks, CAD and the like could easily spike 128GB with modern systems. The RAM is just an option because the Intel processor is designed for servers/workstations and simply allows you to. It's also useful if you have a rig of GPU's, which this iMac is capable of powering a number of eGPU systems so for very remote circumstances I can see it being useful.
In comparison, a Dell workstation can run you a lot higher, the CPU and RAM being the primary cost drivers, one of those Xeons by itself can cost upwards of $10k on the street.
I'm being dead serious when I say that the amount of web browsing activity has pushed that computers CPU and RAM harder than gaming.
You're spot on. Even past the porno jokes, Chrome is an absolute hog, and I'm terrible about closing browser windows and/or rebooting my computer. It's pretty ridiculous that a 16GB with an i5 is overtaxed from browsing the Internet.
Best is to limit the number of open tabs/windows by closing them. If you didn't use it in the last say 1 hour or say 4 hours, just close it. The content is anyway available in the remote server (likely in its memory). The browser code hits lot of algorithmic complexity issues when too many tabs are open; things like shared locks waiting etc - grinding CPU to halt, hitting too much disk rotations; Also remote webserver's adware/malware can be hitting the cpu/disk/ram - so just close the tab. And these unnec
I find this interesting. I run Cent Browser at home (A fork of Chrome) and with 25 tabs open (just counted them) Cent, and all its sub processes, eats up 1.5 Gigs of RAM. Now, I have 32GB (ECC DDR3) of memory in my system, so I don't notice, but you are not the only one complaining of high RAM usage from a browser.
Now, I am totaling the memory usage from Resource manager...are you calculating it is a different way perhaps?
Even those 6-9 tabs, allow only reputed websites to stay (may be wikipedia/google); so not some poor/maliciously written webpage can do background hogging of cpu/disk/ram.
You call it browser bloat, but really it's javascript librairies bloat and images bloat. Nothing else on the web can waste CPU and RAM as fast as those two things.
It's browser bloat. It's not as if the web pages you're downloading are gigabytes in size, otherwise you'd use all your cellphone's data allowance in five pages.
Browsers like to cache enormous amounts of data, and that's where it starts getting really ugly. There's a good chance the entire page you're reading right now is stored in part as a giant bitmap so that your browser can scroll it without having to redraw it in real time. And if you think that's odd, it gets worse, because even if it isn't, the c
You can browse just fine using 8 or even 4gb of ram.
Granted it will begin to slow down at some point, much sooner than with more, but it will work just fine.
What you are seeing is the system doing what it's supposed to do, using what is available. What's the point of having all that ram if it's just sitting there idle? It will release it if needed, but it will take what it can because that's what makes it most efficient. This is especially important on a laptop where you can trade ram for cpu and drive
If your professional workload needs a lot of RAM, Apple will sell you a system for it. They're not going to question why or say "Gee, that's a lot." They'll just put in the higher-end components and send it with a bill. What it's used for is up to the customer.
You want to edit 4K video with a huge RAM-backed cache? This will do it.
You want to run 50 VMs to test your shiny new software? This will do it.
You want to take advantage of your newly-minted CTO's "upgrade everything!" dri
I don't see RAM being as big of a factor as CPU and/or GPU capacity. A full-on CG render (still-frame or animation sequence) is among the most taxing (depending on settings and resolution, natch), and can swallow your CPU (or GPU) whole for hours on end if you let it. Maxing cores and going 4-way(or higher) SLI/Crossfire on the CPU and GPU fronts (respectively) will give you more love for your buck in the CG world, so long as your software and OS (and modules/drivers) can keep up with the extra horsepower.
32GB useful for dev (Score:4, Insightful)
I wouldn't say 32-64GB is too much for some of those tasks, CAD and the like could easily spike 128GB with modern systems. The RAM is just an option because the Intel processor is designed for servers/workstations and simply allows you to. It's also useful if you have a rig of GPU's, which this iMac is capable of powering a number of eGPU systems so for very remote circumstances I can see it being useful.
In comparison, a Dell workstation can run you a lot higher, the CPU and RAM being the primary cost drivers, one of those Xeons by itself can cost upwards of $10k on the street.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm being dead serious when I say that the amount of web browsing activity has pushed that computers CPU and RAM harder than gaming.
You're spot on. Even past the porno jokes, Chrome is an absolute hog, and I'm terrible about closing browser windows and/or rebooting my computer. It's pretty ridiculous that a 16GB with an i5 is overtaxed from browsing the Internet.
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I find this interesting. I run Cent Browser at home (A fork of Chrome) and with 25 tabs open (just counted them) Cent, and all its sub processes, eats up 1.5 Gigs of RAM.
Now, I have 32GB (ECC DDR3) of memory in my system, so I don't notice, but you are not the only one complaining of high RAM usage from a browser.
Now, I am totaling the memory usage from Resource manager...are you calculating it is a different way perhaps?
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With BIM we easily max out 64GB when working with point clouds.
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You call it browser bloat, but really it's javascript librairies bloat and images bloat. Nothing else on the web can waste CPU and RAM as fast as those two things.
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It's browser bloat. It's not as if the web pages you're downloading are gigabytes in size, otherwise you'd use all your cellphone's data allowance in five pages.
Browsers like to cache enormous amounts of data, and that's where it starts getting really ugly. There's a good chance the entire page you're reading right now is stored in part as a giant bitmap so that your browser can scroll it without having to redraw it in real time. And if you think that's odd, it gets worse, because even if it isn't, the c
Incorrect and old thinking (Score:2)
Granted it will begin to slow down at some point, much sooner than with more, but it will work just fine.
What you are seeing is the system doing what it's supposed to do, using what is available. What's the point of having all that ram if it's just sitting there idle? It will release it if needed, but it will take what it can because that's what makes it most efficient. This is especially important on a laptop where you can trade ram for cpu and drive
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This is precisely the point.
If your professional workload needs a lot of RAM, Apple will sell you a system for it. They're not going to question why or say "Gee, that's a lot." They'll just put in the higher-end components and send it with a bill. What it's used for is up to the customer.
You want to edit 4K video with a huge RAM-backed cache? This will do it.
You want to run 50 VMs to test your shiny new software? This will do it.
You want to take advantage of your newly-minted CTO's "upgrade everything!" dri
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and you don't see any more upgrade funding until the Lions win the Super Bowl
Wait, all my Lions fan buddies are CONVINCED that is going to happen any year now. Any. Year. Now.
Go Pack!
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I don't see RAM being as big of a factor as CPU and/or GPU capacity. A full-on CG render (still-frame or animation sequence) is among the most taxing (depending on settings and resolution, natch), and can swallow your CPU (or GPU) whole for hours on end if you let it. Maxing cores and going 4-way(or higher) SLI/Crossfire on the CPU and GPU fronts (respectively) will give you more love for your buck in the CG world, so long as your software and OS (and modules/drivers) can keep up with the extra horsepower.
N