Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

tylor · Jun 23, 2005, 01:47 AM

i took your advice, and went on crucial's site, ect... they want like $60 for 512mb, and $185 for 1gb... i'm 99% sure i'm just gonna go with the 512mb... what do you think?

also, is there good directions on upgrading the memory? do i need to install/do anything? this is my first mac, so....

help me out!

d.fine · Jun 23, 2005, 07:01 AM

Directions to installing the RAM are in the manual. It isn't too hard. You have to screw off the little lid and then remove the RAM by opening the clips on the sides. Same to insert it.

I have 1GB in my PB. It's ok for what I do. Sometimes I'd like some more, but then for the heavy stuff I use the G5. I'd recommend 1GB in the PB as that will see to it everything including the OS runs nice and smooth.

tylor · Jun 23, 2005, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by d.fine

Directions to installing the RAM are in the manual. It isn't too hard. You have to screw off the little lid and then remove the RAM by opening the clips on the sides. Same to insert it.

I have 1GB in my PB. It's ok for what I do. Sometimes I'd like some more, but then for the heavy stuff I use the G5. I'd recommend 1GB in the PB as that will see to it everything including the OS runs nice and smooth.

hmm... what if i get two 512's, then take out what i have right now? that way i will have a gb, nad still be like 50 bucks less...

idk, i'm wondering if i could even tell the difference of 256mb...

Snarf13 · Jun 23, 2005, 05:38 PM

Although crucial is definitely a good company, it is possible to find ram cheaper that will work just as well. I ordered a 1GB stick just this morning from zipzoomfly.com for my 12" Powerbook. It's Kingston, and I see no reason why it shouldn't work, and it was only $110 with free 2-day shipping.

d.fine · Jun 24, 2005, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by tylor

hmm... what if i get two 512's, then take out what i have right now? that way i will have a gb, nad still be like 50 bucks less...

idk, i'm wondering if i could even tell the difference of 256mb...

You can do that. Or order like the previous poster.

You will notice the difference between a machine running on 256 (which is the absolute minimum for OS X) and one running on 1GB of RAM. OS X like using all available RAM and caches a lot of things. With more RAM apps will start faster and things like that, but it's still your decision, no one is saying you HAVE to buy the RAM, most people just recommend it because it is good for the overall performance of the PB and OS X.

tylor · Jun 24, 2005, 02:40 AM

Originally Posted by d.fine

You can do that. Or order like the previous poster.

You will notice the difference between a machine running on 256 (which is the absolute minimum for OS X) and one running on 1GB of RAM. OS X like using all available RAM and caches a lot of things. With more RAM apps will start faster and things like that, but it's still your decision, no one is saying you HAVE to buy the RAM, most people just recommend it because it is good for the overall performance of the PB and OS X.

i in no way disagree with the 256 vs 1gb... but, what about 768 vs 1gb vs 1gb+256?

idk about going to zipzoomfly cuz i fear i'd buy the wrong one, lol

d.fine · Jun 24, 2005, 02:42 AM

Originally Posted by tylor

i in no way disagree with the 256 vs 1gb... but, what about 768 vs 1gb vs 1gb+256?

idk about going to zipzoomfly cuz i fear i'd buy the wrong one, lol

You can make a lot of combination

Let's put it this way : they're all better than the standard 256 which is just too few...

I was David B. · Jun 24, 2005, 03:18 AM

Originally Posted by tylor

i took your advice, and went on crucial's site, ect... they want like $60 for 512mb, and $185 for 1gb... i'm 99% sure i'm just gonna go with the 512mb... what do you think?

also, is there good directions on upgrading the memory? do i need to install/do anything? this is my first mac, so....

help me out!

If you do a lot of things at once more memory is a good idea.
But how much is more?
My suggestion to find out what you need is a program called do I need more memory . It counts the paging and based on this measurements gives advice how much to get to avoid paging in the future (paging means writing memory to the disk in the case when you don't have enough RAM).

You simply work for some hours or days with what you have now while running dinmm in the background and it will tell you exactly how much more you need for YOUR PERSONAL WORKING STYLE.

The program is free.

tylor · Jun 24, 2005, 03:21 AM

Originally Posted by I was David B.

If you do a lot of things at once more memory is a good idea.
But how much is more?
My suggestion to find out what you need is a program called do I need more memory . It counts the paging and based on this measurements gives advice how much to get to avoid paging in the future (paging means writing memory to the disk in the case when you don't have enough RAM).

You simply work for some hours or days with what you have now while running dinmm in the background and it will tell you exactly how much more you need for YOUR PERSONAL WORKING STYLE.

The program is free.

that's awesome but wouldn't help me out... i'm starting with 256. i know for sure i'll need more than that...

and i wanna get 512 or 1gb... if i get one and it's too little, im not gonna sell it and upgrade... ill have to live with it.

ill def use it once i do the upgrade tho! thanks!

d.fine · Jun 24, 2005, 03:51 AM

Maybe you can give us an insight on what you'll be doing with the PB? Are you a designer? Writer? ...

I'm a designer and work with Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, bla bla bla, most of the time all open simultaneously, and continuous switching between them. This is where the RAM comes of use, specially with PS open. If you plan on surfing, text-editing, mail, so on and so forth, then adding a 512 stick to have a total of 768 RAM would be enough for you.

To be honest the 1GB I have in there sometimes feels like too few, so if you intend to do some intense design/programming/multitasking I'd recommend AT LEAST 1GB RAM, if not more.

I was David B. · Jun 24, 2005, 05:22 AM

Originally Posted by tylor

that's awesome but wouldn't help me out... i'm starting with 256. i know for sure i'll need more than that...

and i wanna get 512 or 1gb... if i get one and it's too little, im not gonna sell it and upgrade... ill have to live with it.

ill def use it once i do the upgrade tho! thanks!

But thats exactly where dinmm will help. It tells you if 768 is sufficient for you or if you need 1gig or even more. It gives this information before the purchase and you should try it with 256.

Using it AFTER the upgrade is pointless.

tylor · Jun 24, 2005, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by I was David B.

But thats exactly where dinmm will help. It tells you if 768 is sufficient for you or if you need 1gig or even more. It gives this information before the purchase and you should try it with 256.

Using it AFTER the upgrade is pointless.

yeah i was hoping to order it before it even got here. i think i'm just gonna go for the gig stick

tylor · Jun 24, 2005, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by d.fine

Maybe you can give us an insight on what you'll be doing with the PB? Are you a designer? Writer? ...

I'm a designer and work with Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, bla bla bla, most of the time all open simultaneously, and continuous switching between them. This is where the RAM comes of use, specially with PS open. If you plan on surfing, text-editing, mail, so on and so forth, then adding a 512 stick to have a total of 768 RAM would be enough for you.

To be honest the 1GB I have in there sometimes feels like too few, so if you intend to do some intense design/programming/multitasking I'd recommend AT LEAST 1GB RAM, if not more.

yeah i just started to get into design, ect... so i'll have pshop, flash, dream, ect all running at once. hmmm i guess i'll just get a gig stick