[Mr Ti]

I'll be brief

Just got a new PB G4 1.33 with stock 256mb, this is an upgrade from my old PB G4 550 which had 512mb.

It is clear I need to up the ram but want the cost performance sweet spot.

I'm in the uk so the 1gb thread and the killer $169 deal is not an option.

So far the options are

stock 256 + 512 = 768 (£57 upgrade)
512 + 512 = 1gb (£114 upgrade throw out the stock 256)
256 + 1gb = 1.25gb (£205 upgrade)

It seems a shame to throw out brand new ram but I really want more than the 512 I had before, I don't really push the machine too much, I only upgraded because the screen broke on my last one. But I want to get the best from the machine.

[Randman]

What will you it for? I'd say 768 is the minimum regardless. But if you can get more value from going more, go for it.

[Mr Ti]

I use it for ms office, email and web mainly. But I do need the dreaded VPC and on 256mb it is totally unusable, on my 550 with 512mb it ran well enough for my needs though.

I also use iphoto quite a bit, and that is painfully slow on 256 compared to my old 550.

I do know that both the above will see a huge benefit from a ram upgrade, I guess what I really want to know is if the difference between 768 > 1gb > 1.25gb is worth the extra cash, particularly the leap from 1gb > 1.25gb, as this works out at roughly £90 for the last 256mb.

If 768mb will be enough then I guess at the moment I'd sooner hold onto my cash, but if 1gb will make a big difference then I'd be happy to part with the extra.

[Randman]

If you can afford it, for the 1GB add-on. While you can only allocate 512 to VPC, which sucks, it'll make a world of difference on photo-related stuff.

[audvidsvs]

I just went from 768 to 1.25 on my 12"and the difference is more than I was expecting.
Applications seem to open much faster especially if some are already open.
The entire experience is very noticable.
I can now let VPC have the max it will run and it does eem faster although I would not call it fast ever.

I am very satisfied with thhe upgrade.
I thought there was a sweetpspot before but now I think the sweetspot os as much as you can install.

[Kevin Moon]

Get what you can afford that is about the best advice one can give. You are going to have to determine what you want and what you can afford. That 256 can be sold and give you a little more cash so don't just throw it out. The 1.25gb option isn't worth the extra money for the small amount more ram you get unless you plan on going to 2gb. No matter what you end up with your computer will run better then it does now.

[Mr Ti]

Well I've just ordered 512mb from crucial for £57. If that is not enough I'll go for another 512mb in the near future.

Seemed like the sensible thing to do, even though I would have liked to pack it out with more.

[Randman]

Sounds like you went bottomline, but that should be the minimum to get you through the night.

[mrgaskell]

Is this the 15"PB 1.33? 'Cause the 12" 1.33 ghz has only one slot. If you have the 15", then you're golden. 768mb is just fine unless you do FCP/FCExpress, Photoshop, or VPC. Other than that, 768mb served me just fine for over a year in my Rev.B 12" PB before I moved up to the Rev. C and game my wife my old Rev. B.