Database Users

Poll: How much RAM do you use?

How much RAM are you using right now? I'm using 1.14GB/1.62GB
Seems like Sammy made a good call with 2GB of RAM. I didn't know an android device could make use of this much... and yet I frequently see myself using 1-1.3GB. In comparison, the 1GB models have a max of around 700MB available, which means I exceed this with my usage already, and I don't consider myself a "heavy" user. Even after clearing my RAM, it sits at around 600MB, again almost as much as most other phones have available. In the next year I can definitely see RAM usage increase to take full advantage of the 2GB, it almost does already.
Opinions? Am I wrong in thinking this is much more important than most people said it was going to be?

Well keep in mind the kernel is going to use more RAM if it has more to use just for cache purposes. So on a device with smaller RAM would be managing it differently.
I am currently only using 616MB with about 8 apps open.

punzada said:
Well keep in mind the kernel is going to use more RAM if it has more to use just for cache purposes. So on a device with smaller RAM would be managing it differently.
I am currently only using 616MB with about 8 apps open.
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Well said!
And I'm currently using .95GB. The 2 GB of ram is awesome. I love how much better everything runs when your app's / programs are cached and not closed. Have 16 GB in my pc for the same reason.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Using full ram with root

I've read that 1 of the 2gb of RAM is used for the touchwiz so you effectively only have 1gb. If you install a custom rom, ie. cyanogenmod, do you get to use the full 2gb then?

Filiusincendia said:
I've read that 1 of the 2gb of RAM is used for the touchwiz so you effectively only have 1gb. If you install a custom rom, ie. cyanogenmod, do you get to use the full 2gb then?
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Pretty sure its ICS that takes up the space and its not a full GB. I don't have the phone but a friend has around 1.6 - 1.7 Gigs free at max.

I don't think that would work out, considering the international GS3 has 1GB of RAM and runs TouchWiz.

So much confusion, let's spell this out. First of all our phones have 2gb ram, period. The GPU requires about 0.38gb of the system's 2gb because it doesn't have its own onboard memory. So no matter what software you run, you'll be starting out around 1.62 available.
Different operating systems, frameworks, skins, and applications will have different memory footprints. Touchwiz is probably a bit heavier than AOSP (CM/AOKP), so after a clean boot you'll probably have more free ram running an AOSP variant.
Honestly its all kind of moot at this point however, because I doubt in either situation most people get anywhere near using the all remaining RAM with current ROM offerings. Key lime pie may be another story.

Yeah to his point about not using the RAM is just stupid, unused ram is wasted ram meaning you have it for nothing, for example on stock cm9 you got 1.2 gb free most of the time, 500-600mb free, touchwiz manage ram better but still leaves a lot behind, look up what ram does and you will understand why unused ram is useless
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

jgalan14 said:
Yeah to his point about not using the RAM is just stupid, unused ram is wasted ram meaning you have it for nothing, for example on stock cm9 you got 1.2 gb free most of the time, 500-600mb free, touchwiz manage ram better but still leaves a lot behind, look up what ram does and you will understand why unused ram is useless
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Isn't it ideal to have unused RAM so that when you open apps and multitask, you the memory to keep them alive? Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but if we never had unused Ram then we would never be able to multitask, right?

Spartoi said:
Isn't it ideal to have unused RAM so that when you open apps and multitask, you the memory to keep them alive? Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but if we never had unused Ram then we would never be able to multitask, right?
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To a certain extent, I for one think there's no reason to try and utilize all of it for nothing. And it's pointless to complain about having extra
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

This is quote from something I read in pc mag
" This has to do with extremes. Remember that every so many cycles (don't remember on current ram), your memory has to completely refresh its contents. If you have an extra 16GB that you never use, then you waste time refreshing all of that ram. Also on this note, higher densities, and larger quantities are harder on your controller. For maximum speed and stability, use ram appropriate for your usage pattern"
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

jgalan14 said:
This is quote from something I read in pc mag
" This has to do with extremes. Remember that every so many cycles (don't remember on current ram), your memory has to completely refresh its contents. If you have an extra 16GB that you never use, then you waste time refreshing all of that ram. Also on this note, higher densities, and larger quantities are harder on your controller. For maximum speed and stability, use ram appropriate for your usage pattern"
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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While that is true, ram come in discrete chunks and 2 gb is noticeably better than 1. At a certain threshold the memory manager kills off old apps to free up ram. More ram means more recently used apps remain loaded and available sooner plus i have no issues with many pages open in a browser. I typically run with around 600 mb free. Only my dell streak i would often be under 100 and unless i manually closed apps it really bogged down.
Sent from my NookColor using xda app-developers app

1gb of ram is not for TW and the rest for apps....its 2gb total...in reality like 15mb total

New Nexus10 shows total ram as 1.2gb via android assistant

New nexus 10 user here. came from an htc flyer. Anyways, android assistant shows total ram on my device as 1.2gb or so. Specs say thing has 2gb. Does any ones else's device report that or is that the way android assitant reports it? I am just wondering if i have a new device with ram issues. Also, with not much running, this things shows available ram like my Vivid (about 300gb or so ) and it is supposed to have 2x the amount of Ram.
Thanks for any insight.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

What your seeing is correct. The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM on the motherboard, but 800MB of it is reserved specifically for the GPU. I still think it's kind of cheap marketing, but meh.
Before 4.2.2, only close to 400MB was reserved for the GPU, but apparently you could go past that limit in some cases, and it would cause userspace RAM fragmentation.

espionage724 said:
What your seeing is correct. The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM on the motherboard, but 800MB of it is reserved specifically for the GPU. I still think it's kind of cheap marketing, but meh.
Before 4.2.2, only close to 400MB was reserved for the GPU, but apparently you could go past that limit in some cases, and it would cause userspace RAM fragmentation.
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You could copy that everytime a new user asks about this ram "issue", which isn't, since I saw you answered like 7 times? the same thing.

espionage724 said:
What your seeing is correct. The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM on the motherboard, but 800MB of it is reserved specifically for the GPU. I still think it's kind of cheap marketing, but meh.
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Not cheap marketing, laptop manufacturers have been doing this for ages with integrated video cards. It's a little deceptive but it's the norm for this. I the Galaxy Nexus also did it. I am not certain but I don't think any mobile device has dedicated video ram, I believe it just is not reported as missing.
The Galaxy Nexus shows as having 893mb of ram.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

lKBZl said:
You could copy that everytime a new user asks about this ram "issue", which isn't, since I saw you answered like 7 times? the same thing.
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Is there a problem with how I'm describing it? The Nexus 10 does have 2GB of RAM, with close to 800MB (I forget the exact amount but I know I reported it before) being reserved strictly for the GPU, and not userspace apps. I know it's not an "issue", but how I feel about it doesn't really mean too much at all though.
altimax98 said:
Not cheap marketing, laptop manufacturers have been doing this for ages with integrated video cards. It's a little deceptive but it's the norm for this. I the Galaxy Nexus also did it. I am not certain but I don't think any mobile device has dedicated video ram, I believe it just is not reported as missing.
The Galaxy Nexus shows as having 893mb of ram.
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I agree it's kind of normal, but it's how much is missing that still bothers me. The Galaxy Nexus is said to have 1GB of RAM, and if what you say is true, you're missing only a tiny bit over 100MB (which, is nothing imo). The Nexus 10 on the other hand is missing nearly half the advertised amount (not literally "missing" but not usable under normal conditions).
I'm pretty sure most laptop GPU's don't take "that" much RAM either when it's not dedicated (most I've seen was 512MB shared video memory, on laptops containing 4GB of RAM; very small amount really)

espionage724 said:
What your seeing is correct. The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM on the motherboard, but 800MB of it is reserved specifically for the GPU. I still think it's kind of cheap marketing, but meh.
Before 4.2.2, only close to 400MB was reserved for the GPU, but apparently you could go past that limit in some cases, and it would cause userspace RAM fragmentation.
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Click to collapse
the more i know and read about the n10 the more i feel being ripped off

Ripped of? For around $400-$500, you're getting a device with extremely high resolution (highest in its class EVER), a 1.7 GHz CPU with up to 2.1 possible, a software and hardware support guarantee from Google, an extremely competitive GPU, and future-proofing with the latest Android versions for years to come.
That sounds like a pretty damn good deal to me. I know I've loved my N10.
If you're having issues with your device its likely a manufacturing fault, just return it to Google and get a new one.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app

hpl912 said:
the more i know and read about the n10 the more i feel being ripped off
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Rip off?
Have you checked how much usable space you have after formatting a 1GB drive? The N10 delivers the specified HW but there is always overhead required to use it, no matter which OS you have. That is just a fact of computing. I would argue that you get to use ALL of the N10 hardware when you accurately account for the a running OS and apps.
Compared to Win8 RT, Android (Linux) is a skinny fashion model. Go look at the Win8 RT tablet specs then see how much usable HW is left after it boots up. Here is just one example.

espionage724 said:
Is there a problem with how I'm describing it? The Nexus 10 does have 2GB of RAM, with close to 800MB (I forget the exact amount but I know I reported it before) being reserved strictly for the GPU, and not userspace apps. I know it's not an "issue", but how I feel about it doesn't really mean too much at all though.
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Lol why do you take it like this? I just said you answered a lot of times the same, and you could copy it since i'm sure you'll have to answer that again' Where's the problem?

espionage724 said:
Is there a problem with how I'm describing it? The Nexus 10 does have 2GB of RAM, with close to 800MB (I forget the exact amount but I know I reported it before) being reserved strictly for the GPU, and not userspace apps. I know it's not an "issue", but how I feel about it doesn't really mean too much at all though.
I agree it's kind of normal, but it's how much is missing that still bothers me. The Galaxy Nexus is said to have 1GB of RAM, and if what you say is true, you're missing only a tiny bit over 100MB (which, is nothing imo). The Nexus 10 on the other hand is missing nearly half the advertised amount (not literally "missing" but not usable under normal conditions).
I'm pretty sure most laptop GPU's don't take "that" much RAM either when it's not dedicated (most I've seen was 512MB shared video memory, on laptops containing 4GB of RAM; very small amount really)
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I stand corrected about the Galaxy Nexus. It reports at 693 available ram.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

Roehsoft RAM Expander & Nexus 6P

Hi! So I just want to know whether how useful is an app like Roehsoft RAM Expander for the Nexus 6P? I mean, is it even needed? Also, irrespective of the fact whether it is or not, will this work on the Nexus 6P and possibly increase the performance?

The app isn't needed at all on the 6P. From what I picked up on by reading its description it creates a swap partition which is similar to ram but is also way slower than ram. Also the 6P as well as the 5X both use swap spaces already.

Nah, pointless on this device.

HesThatGuy said:
The app isn't needed at all on the 6P. From what I picked up on by reading its description it creates a swap partition which is similar to ram but is also way slower than ram. Also the 6P as well as the 5X both use swap spaces already.
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Heisenberg said:
Nah, pointless on this device.
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Yup, thought so. Thanks!
I actually had purchased the app a long way back, so it was already added to my Google account. So for the sake of it, I actually downloaded it and extended my swap partition for a couple of days. Instead of making things faster, the 6P started lagging at certain places! :silly:
I assume it was because of using swap (which is very slow as compared to RAM) in place of the actual of RAM.

Benefit from 8 GB RAM?

Hey guys,
I wanted to ask if there is a benefit in having 8gb of ram instead of 6? Is it even possible to use that much on a phone?
All I've read till now was that developers could fill it with something but I can't think of anything. So I'm just asking out of curiosity.
I don't want a comparison of the 6 and 8 gig RAM versions of the OP5. It's really just about the 8gigs of RAM.
Thanks in advance

User422 said:
Hey guys,
I wanted to ask if there is a benefit in having 8gb of ram instead of 6? Is it even possible to use that much on a phone?
All I've read till now was that developers could fill it with something but I can't think of anything. So I'm just asking out of curiosity.
I don't want a comparison of the 6 and 8 gig RAM versions of the OP5. It's really just about the 8gigs of RAM.
Thanks in advance
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OP5 is so far one of the fastest phone you can ever get. You can't make it lag. I hope I answer even a slight part of your question.

I don't think the phone being fast is related to the amount of RAM.
Apps will eventually start consuming more resources and 8GB RAM will become a necessity in the future.
You can survive with 2 too, but 4 seems to be the standard now; next year 6 and in about 2-3 years 8.

Just depends on how well the phone can manage its own memory. But by default some stuff like mobile games take a lot of ram. Upwards to 400-600mbs of ram for just one app. Maybe just cut down on those or just accept that your device cannot keep everything in memory. Its ok to reload apps that are insanely big.

Yousvel said:
OP5 is so far one of the fastest phone you can ever get. You can't make it lag. I hope I answer even a slight part of your question.
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Like I had already mentioned. It wasn't about the phone.
I do have an OP5 myself ^^
It was really just about the huge amount of RAM
But thanks for your answer anyway ^^

Pwnycorn said:
I don't think the phone being fast is related to the amount of RAM.
Apps will eventually start consuming more resources and 8GB RAM will become a necessity in the future.
You can survive with 2 too, but 4 seems to be the standard now; next year 6 and in about 2-3 years 8.
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I've heard that there are minimal difference between the two versions of the phone.

User422 said:
I've heard that there are minimal difference between the two versions of the phone.
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RAM is the only difference. Multitasking is better on the 8GB model though.

you phone will suffer from low cpu speed before ''needing'' 8gb of ram for 1 single operation.
Having multiple app running in the background makes the experience more fun, but the phone loads app fast enough anyway.
In fact, I'm using greenify, so no need of 8gb.
And a lot of cell phone user will change their phone before it will come slow, or really need 8gb. see pixel2 thread, a lot of people thinking about changing to pixel, what a waste...

User422 said:
Like I had already mentioned. It wasn't about the phone.
I do have an OP5 myself ^^
It was really just about the huge amount of RAM
But thanks for your answer anyway ^^
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more RAM = less loading.
this saves you time because the app stays loaded in RAM (no processing). this saves battery because the processor isn't having to work every time you open it. with 8GB, i almost never close apps.

It is easy to say that the more RAM you have, more the OS will use it, and this will make it more dynamic, therefore faster. But I think this is not perceptible for the user.
I have a 8 GB version and the device gets 5GB RAM to boot up... this would not happen in a 4GB RAM of course but this extra RAM usage do not reflect to more speed in a way you can see it...
The RAM management is more affected actually by the SO itself. I never use more than 7.5 GB RAM but my games never stay in memory for more than a day. I think OOS shuts them down after 24 hours not being used.....
This is a much more technical perception of how the device handle 8GB. I think its more a future proof quality then a advantage in todays processing.