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In general, operating systems tend to work towards having "cache + memory used" equal the actual amount of physical memory. The more that is cached, the greater the likelihood that certain operations can be sped up.
In general having more RAM means that the operating system with the same work load is able to cache more things, which could ...
5
I would definitely recommend getting 16 GB for your Mac. It's a relatively cheap investment to increase the performance of your Mac by removing a possible bottleneck.
You don't say what OS you're on or what apps/tasks you do, but certainly my own experience is that 8 GB is somewhat limiting.
If you haven't already, you should also fit an SSD instead of the ...
3
Open the link in Safari so that it finds the Mac App Store to open the application.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190
If you have failures after getting the Mac App Store to receive the link or the installer is too small or doesn’t work, this post is amazing and can help with different issues specific to machines and OS versions.
How can I download ...
2
Catalina will only install to APFS, which probably means you will have to install High Sierra first - which will install on HFS+ & convert as it runs.
See How can I download an older version of OS X/macOS? for deeper info on this in general [which unfortunately has got rather long & confusing over the years.]
Jumping this far… definitely have a known-...
2
Will Apple give me a hard time if I need to take my Mac in for some unrelated issue and I should therefore keep it and swap it back in should that need arise?
If you bought the product in the US, they legally cannot give you a hard time about it due to the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. Specifically, using 3rd party parts cannot void your warranty. Outside ...
1
I'd suggest that the chances of the Mac needed repair are slim; the chances that Apple takes issue with the third-party RAM slimmer (it is a user-serviceable part); and the chances that Apple might inadvertently replace your RAM with the factory-installed amount as part of that repair are even slimmer.
I've kept all the original RAM from a succession of Macs,...
1
It still might be that the RAM isn't seated correctly, even if you pushed hard. Upgrading my older Mac, I got the exact RAM specified by Apple as being compatible.
Following the directions on the Apple support site, I felt each RAM chip click. But nothing afterwards.
Finally in a fit of frustration, I hammered all of them in with the back of the ...
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