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Chulo · Dec 20, 2003, 03:43 PM

I've looking to buy one 1 gig stick for the Powerbook 15" 1.25g and the prices seem ridiculous! A 1 gig stick for the Tbook is about half the price. What's the deal with that??

I don't want to remove the 2 256meg sticks to replace them with 2 512meg sticks. This is definitely the cheaper solution but what a waste of 2 sticks!!

Any suggestions out there?
Also, would I be better off buying name brand memory versus generic? I don't know if the Abooks are finiky like that.
Any help will be appreciated.

mrmister · Dec 20, 2003, 07:04 PM

I don't believe they make 1 gig RAM modules for any of the TiBooks.

CrackedButter · Dec 20, 2003, 07:35 PM

The 1GB DIMM is new technology so of course it is expensive.

You CAN get 1 GB SDRAM DIMMS for TiBooks.

Chemmy · Dec 21, 2003, 12:10 AM

The Aluminum PowerBooks use DDR, the Titaniums used SDRAM.

toans · Dec 21, 2003, 05:15 AM

Although DDR memory is usually cheaper these days because the production is a lot more widespread. Well that's the case with desktops..not too sure about notebooks as I'm stuck on the standard 256 MB that came with my PB

Chulo · Dec 22, 2003, 01:34 PM

OK, I've seen lots of different memory being sold out there. Some stores say that a particular memory module is compatible to both Apple & PC's. For instance, one company states that their particular memory DIMM DDR 333 2700 will work with both the Al PB 1.25 and some Toshiba/IBM laptops. It sounds kind of flaky to me and I don't want to buy a "lemon" due to bad advertisement.

Others seem totally legit but have prices that are just to high for me to justify.

Upgrade Nation appears to have decent prices on their memory chips and have separated the memory between PC and Apple compatible. Has anyone purchased from them before? It's not that I want to be cheap, I'm on a budget and the X-Mas holidays have strained me a bit.

I just want that PB to work as efficiently as possible

tooki · Dec 22, 2003, 06:09 PM

Apple uses industry-standard RAM. So do most PC makers. That's why the RAM is the same.

As for why the 1GB modules are disproportionately expensive: they require the use of cutting-edge chip technology, which isn't in mass production yet, as is the case with the chips used in the smaller modules. Once production of the new chips gets ramped up, they'll come down in price.

tooki

bkb · Dec 22, 2003, 06:34 PM

I agree. $500 for a 1GB Ram stick is outrageous. Going to wait until the prices drop.

I was wondering though. Ram on my 12" tops out at 1.25GB. But is it possible to put in two 1GB Ram chips (replace the original 256 with another 1GB), taking total up to 2GB?

Thanks.

justinf77 · Dec 22, 2003, 09:36 PM

Sorry bkb. The 256 module is permanent and cannot be replaced. This means only one slot is available to upgrade.

mrmister · Dec 22, 2003, 10:49 PM

I had no idea--could someone point me toward a site that sells 1 GB SDRAM chips for TiBooks?

ae86_16v · Dec 23, 2003, 01:40 AM

Supply and Demand.

mainemanx · Dec 23, 2003, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by ae86_16v:
Supply and Demand.

True ... but not very informative is it?

Bill, Econ-Prof-Waiting-For-1Gig-Prices-To-Fall

clf8 · Dec 23, 2003, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by justinf77:
Sorry bkb. The 256 module is permanent and cannot be replaced. This means only one slot is available to upgrade.

Not true in the 15" AlBook. I was smart when I ordered from the Apple Store and had them give me one 512MB stick instead of the (2) 256MB. Would like to get a gig, pricewatch has some for $180, but don't necessarily trust generic memory.

Taloston Man · Dec 23, 2003, 05:20 PM

The question-and-answer on soldered RAM was with regards to the 12" only.

mrmister · Dec 23, 2003, 09:14 PM

Still waiting for news on 1 gig RAM SODIMMS for TiBooks.

bkb · Dec 23, 2003, 09:27 PM

Originally posted by justinf77:
Sorry bkb. The 256 module is permanent and cannot be replaced. This means only one slot is available to upgrade.

Thanks. This is what I suspected. I'm on 256 right now. Works fine. Quite Snappy, actually. Not doing too much heavy work with it though, and I've heard that performance increases a great deal with more RAM. I'm really hoping the prices on the 1GB RAM come down before the next speed bump. That way I can get a speed bump of my own

.

All this talk of G5 PowerBooks (www.macrumors.com, etc...) is giving me indigestion. Need to get some Zantac.

Thanks,
BKB.

Chulo · Dec 25, 2003, 04:24 PM

Well, I haven't made up my mind yet as to whether to buy just one 512 module (which will give me a 256 meg increase) or buy 2 of them. I'm totally inclined in buying just one for now. There's no way I can afford the 1 gig module! I think

?? that the 256 meg increase may give me a good enough performance increase for now. This will (hopefully) give me time to save some money and give it time for the prices to drop to a point where I can possibly afford a 1 gig module (at that point I would then have 1.5 gig memory total

). I just hate wasting those 256 meg chips!

I think I will wait until after the holidays to buy the memory. I'll let you know how it goes and whether it's worth it.

Has anyone else raised their ram from 512 meg to 768 meg? Has this incremental increase been noticeable enough where it's worth losing the 256 chip?

ae86_16v · Dec 25, 2003, 08:57 PM

Originally posted by bkb:
Thanks. This is what I suspected. I'm on 256 right now. Works fine. Quite Snappy, actually. Not doing too much heavy work with it though, and I've heard that performance increases a great deal with more RAM. I'm really hoping the prices on the 1GB RAM come down before the next speed bump. That way I can get a speed bump of my own .

Thanks,
BKB.

BKB - - - There would only be a performance increase if you use the RAM (thus saving the computer time from accessing the HD.) If you are only doing daily activities (i.e. no Photoshop or intensive gaming) there would not be a significant speed difference between 1GB and 512MB.

Good to Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor for the amount of Ram you are using as well as numerous other statistics.

Bill - - - Yeah, actually it is probably more of a supply situation than anything else. But I don't know the RAM market that well, so I am just taking an educated guess here.

Kenneth, Student of Classical Economics.

RayLuczak · Dec 25, 2003, 09:56 PM

Hello:

Tonight I was looking at the Web site www.ramseeker.com and I noticed that it APPEARS that the low-end G5 (1.6 GHz) seems to use the same RAM (DDR-2700) as do the G4 PowerBook (15" and 17" models).

Now, I've noticed that it appears on ramseeker.com that if I use the DDR-2700 RAM from the low-end G5 (1 GB for approx. $150), it would be much cheaper than the PB G4 alternative of paying upwards of $500 for 1 GB of RAM for the PB.

Not only that, what the hell does a "kit" mean in terms of their Web site?!? Does a "kit" mean that the RAM must come in pairs only or ... ?

I'm just a bit confused here and would appreciate some clarification. Thanks!

all2ofme · Dec 27, 2003, 06:17 AM

The RAM comes in a different format - the G5 takes 184pin DIMMs while the Powerbook takes 200pin SODIMMs.

I take it that the term "kit" only appears on the G5 page? This'll mean that the DIMMs come in pairs, yes (the architecture requires this to my understanding).

Hope that helps.

Originally posted by RayLuczak:
Hello:

Tonight I was looking at the Web site www.ramseeker.com and I noticed that it APPEARS that the low-end G5 (1.6 GHz) seems to use the same RAM (DDR-2700) as do the G4 PowerBook (15" and 17" models).

Not only that, what the hell does a "kit" mean in terms of their Web site?!? Does a "kit" mean that the RAM must come in pairs only or ... ?

I'm just a bit confused here and would appreciate some clarification. Thanks!

Chulo · Jan 8, 2004, 04:12 PM

Well, we're into a whole new year and I haven't gotten my Pbook back. I'm getting a little anxious now but hopefully it will come back in perfect condition.

In that time I've noticed the price of the 1 gig sticks have actually dropped in some the different online stores. Some by a little and some by a more significant amount. Hopefully the prices will continue to go down. I think it might be worth my while to wait until summer if the trend continues. Maybe by then I can afford to buy one stick versus buying 2 at 512 and wasting the originals.

Does anyone think they'll drop significantly over the next 4 or 5 months or am I just living in La-La land?

belldandy · Jan 8, 2004, 05:47 PM

Sorry, but I think you are in la-la land. ^_X

But if you need the performance, just go ahead and get 2 512MB sticks now since they have the best performance/cost ratio. When 1GB stick is within reach a year from now (When DDR-II is annouced and high-density 1GB stick ramps up production), you can upgrade to 2 1GB sticks. But of course, by then, I probably would have sold my Al-book to buy the G5 powerbook. =D