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Please note: this article does not apply to the Mac Pro, as it can take ridiculous amounts of RAM.

RAM is the memory of your computer. It can be thought of as the amount of desk space you have to work on. The more space you have, the more efficient you can be. Similarly, the RAM aids the processor by giving it more space to “work” with.

How much do I buy?

A good rule of thumb is to buy as much as you can. Currently, the most any Mac can take is 4 GB (gigabytes) of RAM. All Macs come with at least 1 GB installed. It is most cost efficient to bite the bullet and buy all 4 GB now, rather than buy a little bit at a time, as you will end up replacing the existing RAM over an over again. (Most Macs have only 2 RAM slots, so it’s fair to say that you’ll be replacing something every time you upgrade RAM.)

As for how much you need, anyone who uses only the programs that come with their Mac (like Mail, Safari, iMovie, etc.) can probably stick with 1 GB of RAM. Anyone who uses any photo or consumer video application heavily should at least go to 2. With any intense pro application use, try to max out your RAM. With RAM prices nowadays, two 2 GB sticks of RAM costs little more than a 1 GB and a 2 GB stick, so you might as well just go for it.

Does RAM need to be paired?

Not at all. ALWAYS go for more RAM over matching. The benefits you will see from the extra RAM far, far, far outweigh any benefit you see from having the same amount of RAM in both slots. In fact, even if you were to pair the RAM, you would barely see a difference from the same amount of RAM, but unpaired.