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selowitch · Jan 11, 2004, 12:25 AM

I find that figuring out the best and lowest-cost memory configuration and for a new PB to be a little mystifying.

I gather that the new AlBooks take PC2700 SO-DIMMs. How many slots are there? Also, if someplace like RamJet offers 512MB of additional memory for $129, why on Earth would I go for Apple's $200 additional dollars for only a total of 512MB of RAM -- that's only 256MB additional, and kind of a bad deal, no?

jasonsRX7 · Jan 11, 2004, 01:50 AM

I agree that it's a bad deal to get ram from Apple. That's why I got 2gb of PC2700 for my G5 and a 512mb PC2700 module for my Pbook from Crucial. It was around $130 shipped.

When I got my G5, I saw that the original Apple ram is made by Micron. So rather than paying Apple's huge markup for Micron ram, I just get it straigh from the source. Crucial is a division of Micron, so you're getting the same stuff.

I haven't looked at the provider for the 256mb that came with my Pbook, but I feel pretty confident that it's Micron, and even if it's not, Micron ram is good stuff. It's all I've used for the past 5 years or so.

belldandy · Jan 11, 2004, 02:42 PM

Powerbook 15" & 17" uses samsung chips.

blizzard · Jan 11, 2004, 06:49 PM

I'm actually a little confused on this point, myself. The owner's manual for my 12 inch RevB states that PC2700 must be used, but when I went to buy an extra 256 megs, the guy said that it only needed 2100...and he went to Apple's own PDF info sheets to prove it.

Can someone tell me what I actually need?

Tiny-E · Jan 12, 2004, 12:21 AM

Just wondering how hard it is to remove the ram from the bottom slot from a 15" ti book? My top slot is FUBAR now for some reason after having a 256 card in there for a few months (it keeps popping out and when it does stay in, the computer only registers 128 megs of the 256 card and then the compuater will eventually crash)?

banditcosmo · Jan 12, 2004, 12:58 AM

Originally posted by Tiny-E:
Just wondering how hard it is to remove the ram from the bottom slot from a 15" ti book? My top slot is FUBAR now for some reason after having a 256 card in there for a few months (it keeps popping out and when it does stay in, the computer only registers 128 megs of the 256 card and then the compuater will eventually crash)?

Well I'm still new to Mac's & I can't answer your first question but in my pc I had ram chip that was 256 but it only registered as 128 and it turned out the memory chip was defective.

selowitch · Jan 12, 2004, 09:15 PM

Is PowerBook memory interleaved?

The reason I ask is because as Apple structures its RAM prices (I won't buy them because third-party RAM is much cheaper, but Apple's prices may tell us something), it would appear that since they charge more for RAM on a single chip than they do for the same amount of memory divided into two chips of equal size.

That suggests to me that PowerBook memory is in fact not interleaved, and does not benefit from being set up in pairs of chips of equal memory size.

Is my reasoning correct here?

reneb · Jan 13, 2004, 12:27 AM

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you are correct, PowerBooks don't use interleaved mem.

rene

selowitch · Jan 13, 2004, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by reneb:
I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you are correct, PowerBooks don't use interleaved mem.

OK, then proceeding on that assumption, is there some advantage to having single SO-DIMM versus two that it justifies a $100-$200 jump in price? If you custom-configure a PowerBook at the Apple online store, you will find that the single-SO-DIMM option is always more expensive. Why?

dgbatchelor · Jan 15, 2004, 09:31 PM

Originally posted by selowitch:
OK, then proceeding on that assumption, is there some advantage to having single SO-DIMM versus two that it justifies a $100-$200 jump in price? If you custom-configure a PowerBook at the Apple online store, you will find that the single-SO-DIMM option is always more expensive. Why?

The advantage is that there are only two memory slots in a laptop. Hence, if you need more memory, you'll most likely need to pull out an existing DIMM and replace it with a larger one... Larger DIMMs are a premium and you'll pay more per MB for larger capacity DIMM sticks.

HTH

ibook_steve · Jan 15, 2004, 10:33 PM

For current Powerbooks:

12": DDR266 (PC2100), 256 MB onboard, 1 DIMM slot.

15" and 17": DDR333 (PC2700), no onboard memory, 2 DIMM slots.

There's no interleaving. A PC2700 DIMM can be used for PC2100, but the extra speed cannot be taken advantage of in the 12" because it only runs at 133 MHz for the memory bus. PC2700 is required in the 15" and 17".

Steve

wy4tt · Jan 17, 2004, 07:31 AM

anyone know where to get samsung memory?

selowitch · Jan 17, 2004, 10:29 AM

Originally posted by dgbatchelor:
The advantage is that there are only two memory slots in a laptop. Hence, if you need more memory, you'll most likely need to pull out an existing DIMM and replace it with a larger one... Larger DIMMs are a premium and you'll pay more per MB for larger capacity DIMM sticks.

HTH

Aha! Yes, this makes sense. Thank you so much.

vancenase · Jan 17, 2004, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by wy4tt:
anyone know where to get samsung memory?

buy from memoryx ... bought a 1GB chip and no problems at all. the edu sales person i\we dealt with apparently had a few 'issues', but overall a great experience!

JCT · Jan 18, 2004, 10:42 AM

Another vote for memoryX, I had the same experience as vancenase .

1.25 in my 12" PB works great.

JT

wy4tt · Jan 21, 2004, 07:17 AM

thanks for the tip. however, after following the link to the 15" 1.25ghz, i only see pc2700 for the 17" listed. is this a misprint? thanks for the help.

vancenase · Jan 21, 2004, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by wy4tt:
thanks for the tip. however, after following the link to the 15" 1.25ghz, i only see pc2700 for the 17" listed. is this a misprint? thanks for the help.

http://www.memoryx.net/pog4151m.html

echosphere · Jan 21, 2004, 11:57 AM

wy4tt:

I just placed an order for 2 512MB sticks for my Al 15". Will let you know once they arrive how they work.

http://store.yahoo.com/memorysupplie...1pc33200p.html

Cheers, Echo

wy4tt · Jan 21, 2004, 01:18 PM

thanks for the links. echo, i would go ahead and order some myself, but i'm having trouble with both of the links. i'll figure it out. thanks again.

wy4tt · Jan 21, 2004, 01:47 PM

ok, the link is working now. maybe i'm missing something, but i can't find the "place in basket" button for 15" 1.25ghz powerbook...only the 15" 1ghz, and the 17". sorry if i'm missing it. it shows a pic of the 1.25 pb, but no link to buy. thanks for any insight!

echosphere · Jan 21, 2004, 04:35 PM

wy4tt, if you click on the link that I posted above, you can purchase it directly by adding it to the basket. This is the correct one for the PowerBook (well it better be, it's the one I ordered...)

If you want to double check just to make sure goto the homepage.

http://store.yahoo.com/memorysuppliers/index.html

And in the middle of the screen you should select laptop and then apple, then your model.

I just tested the website and it didn't load a couple of times, their server must be hiccuping. Try again, as maybe the graphics bar "Add to Basket" didn't load correctly when you went there last. Hmmmm, always feel a bit shaky when online vendors website is twitchy, but it is a yahoo store so I hope there was no problem when I placed my order. Then again, if I rated every website by this standard, I would never have gotten .Mac

Let me know if you get it to work!

wy4tt · Jan 21, 2004, 11:14 PM

yeah, the site was down today. i called them, and their apple specialist called me back (was busy when i called). she said their site had been up/down today, and that even she couldn't order the memory for me. was very helpful though, and i did manage to get it to load finally. they have a pretty good return policy according to her. if it doesn't work, they'll send replacement out with a return package so you don't have to wait. also, lifetime warranty on the ram. i'm ordering tomorrow when i know their site is workin right. did you get free shipping?

echosphere · Jan 22, 2004, 10:28 AM

Just got an email confirming that it shipped.

Shipping was $4 or $5 for USPS Priority, as they are in Chicago and I'm in Boston, I would imagine it will get here either today or tomorrow. I'll let you know when I install it, if there are any probs.

Checked some other sites, and they charge $139 for one Samsung 512MB stick. So $99 dollars to me is steal!

Let me know how your order goes.

Also, decided to get the Enhanced 7200RPM 60Gig HD from transintl.com, so this weekend should actually be fun reinstalling with a faster HD and 1Gig of RAM. Wow, did I actually say that reinstalling would be fun? Heheh

wy4tt · Jan 22, 2004, 10:23 PM

yes, please let me know how you like the new hd as well. are you going to sell your old one? i'm wondering how heat, noise, battery will be effected by it. guess i don't have to tell you to have a fun weekend?

echosphere · Jan 23, 2004, 02:15 PM

Wy4tt, the RAMs arrived this morning at work as promised, installing this evening or tomorrow morning, will let you know.

Regarding your questions about the 7,200 drive, this is why I went with the new "Enhanced" one. Cause if what Hitachi's site says is true it should help answer your questions, as I had the exact same worries about heat and power consumption.

http://www.hgst.com/hdd/travel/tre7k60.htm

Also this is what is posted on transintl.com website where I bought it from:

http://www.transintl.com/store/categ...estTimeOut=500

The HD also arrived last night as promised, I got the HD with the external Firwire case as it was cheaper together for $369. This way, I will crack open the case and take the Enhanced 60 Gig 7,200 HD and put it in my PB. Then, take my old Hitachi 80Gig 4,200 HD from my PB and put it in the case. Bam! I have a faster PB (though I do lose 20Gig, going 80G to 60G, sigh) and a kewl looking external Firewire HD that is quite portable (fits in my pocket) and is bus powered.

Please god, don't let me mess up this install!!!

wy4tt · Jan 25, 2004, 12:30 AM

echosphere,

yeah, after seeing your purchase, i went to transintl's website to check it out. looks like a good setup you've got! have you had a chance to test the ram yet? if possible, try installing the ram before the hd so you can partition out any effects the ram has vs the gains you'll see from the new hd. btw, your idea of keeping the 80gig for an external fw drive is a good one.

RayK · Jan 25, 2004, 01:19 AM

Sorry to ask, but anyone's powerbook come with Hynix RAM? That's what Mine came with. I have a 15" AL and its got 2 256 sticks of Hynix RAM.. did I get screwed? I know in the PC world at least Hynix is not the best stuff.

tooki · Jan 25, 2004, 03:14 PM

Originally posted by blizzard:
I'm actually a little confused on this point, myself. The owner's manual for my 12 inch RevB states that PC2700 must be used, but when I went to buy an extra 256 megs, the guy said that it only needed 2100...and he went to Apple's own PDF info sheets to prove it.

Can someone tell me what I actually need?

Who cares? Just get the PC2700 and be done with it. It's trivially more expensive, and will give you the possibility of selling it to a wider group of people if you need to.

No current Macs use interleaved memory (the G5's dual-channel is not the same as interleaving, AFAIK, since most G5's won't boot with un-paired RAM). You don't gain any speed by using paired memory in a PowerBook. The reason paired DIMMs are used is because they cost less: the higher-capacity modules require higher technology that is more expensive per MB (witness the horrific costs of 1GB modules).

tooki

echosphere · Jan 26, 2004, 03:36 AM

wy4tt,

Finally got done installing and back up and running. Whew.

First have to say that I'm not too impressed with the speed. It doesn't feel that much faster.

I didn't have time to install the RAM separately, but I have noticied an increase with installing and especially when I install new Apple apps and the Optimizing it does at the end when it finishes the installation. This is much damn faster. I'm thinking because there's more RAM for it to access and doesn't need to access the HD as much. My advice is to buy the RAM but not the HD. Personally just wasn't worth it. I'm now wishing that I just stayed with my stock Hitachi 80Gig 4200 drive. Which according to some sites, is fast/faster than some 5400 drives. Check in Apple System Profilier to see if you have the Hitachi 80GN drive. Some of the earlier 15" PBs came with some other brand stock HD and it isn't as fast. ****, I also scratched the slot drive when taking the PB apart, almost had to destroy the Firwire HD case when taking replacing drive. Stripped one of the screws that hold the PB HD down (barely got it on, but I know that I can never get it off again) and now my PB vibrates when you touch the keyboard area (the 7200's fault) and now I have this stupid intermitten "sizzling" sound from somewhere under the top part of my keyboard. Crap!!

I've taken apart and upgraded my iBook 366Ghz, and iBook 600Ghz, with no problems, so I know (or thought I did) what I was doing.

swiz · Jan 26, 2004, 11:24 AM

Originally posted by echosphere:
wy4tt,

Finally got done installing and back up and running. Whew.

First have to say that I'm not too impressed with the speed. It doesn't feel that much faster.

I didn't have time to install the RAM separately, but I have noticied an increase with installing and especially when I install new Apple apps and the Optimizing it does at the end when it finishes the installation. This is much damn faster. I'm thinking because there's more RAM for it to access and doesn't need to access the HD as much. My advice is to buy the RAM but not the HD. Personally just wasn't worth it. I'm now wishing that I just stayed with my stock Hitachi 80Gig 4200 drive. Which according to some sites, is fast/faster than some 5400 drives. Check in Apple System Profilier to see if you have the Hitachi 80GN drive. Some of the earlier 15" PBs came with some other brand stock HD and it isn't as fast. ****, I also scratched the slot drive when taking the PB apart, almost had to destroy the Firwire HD case when taking replacing drive. Stripped one of the screws that hold the PB HD down (barely got it on, but I know that I can never get it off again) and now my PB vibrates when you touch the keyboard area (the 7200's fault) and now I have this stupid intermitten "sizzling" sound from somewhere under the top part of my keyboard. Crap!!

I've taken apart and upgraded my iBook 366Ghz, and iBook 600Ghz, with no problems, so I know (or thought I did) what I was doing.

Hi echosphere,
I have a 15" Al Gigabook with the stock 256mb of ram in it, is that how much yours came with?
Im asking because I just ordered a pair of 512mb modules for mine and am hoping to see a significant speed increase as this 256mb makes my Gigabook hardly useable.

selowitch · Jan 26, 2004, 11:31 AM

Originally posted by swiz:
I just ordered a pair of 512mb modules for mine and am hoping to see a significant speed increase as this 256mb makes my Gigabook hardly useable.

I don't want to ruin your day, but I believe that there are only two SO-DIMM slots on your PowerBook; that means that you will have to remove the 256MB original SO-DIMM in order to make room for the two new SO-DIMMs. That will leave you with only 512MB installed and 256MB uninstalled, rather than a total of 768MB.

I'd love to be wrong here. Anybody care to correct me?

swiz · Jan 26, 2004, 04:14 PM

Originally posted by selowitch:
I don't want to ruin your day, but I believe that there are only two SO-DIMM slots on your PowerBook; that means that you will have to remove the 256MB original SO-DIMM in order to make room for the two new SO-DIMMs. That will leave you with only 512MB installed and 256MB uninstalled, rather than a total of 768MB.

I'd love to be wrong here. Anybody care to correct me?

Cant I just remove the single 256mb module and put the 512mb modules in the two slots for 1gb of ram total? I sure hope so

echosphere · Jan 26, 2004, 05:41 PM

Selowich, not sure which math system you're using, but I think you're wrong....

SWIZ, Mine is the Al 15" Superdrive stock model that came with two 256MB sticks, one in each slot. So, bought two new 512MB sticks. Took out the two stock 256MB ones (what do I do with these now? Why couldn't Apple just give us one 512MB stick to begin with?)

YES, the RAM does help quite a bit and I can "feel it". Was it worth paying $200 to go from 512MB to 1Gig of RAM, kinda yes, sure...

Will it be worth $200 to go from 256MB to 1Gig RAM, as in your case, HELL YES!

Go for it, Samsung RAM for such a good price!

ALSO, for RAYK, I believe it does say Hynix on the RAM, but it is Samsung RAM, so not sure if some part comes from such a company as Hynix. Don't know anything about them at all regarding quality.

Echo

wy4tt · Jan 26, 2004, 11:14 PM

echosphere,
sorry to hear about your troubles. are you still hearing the sizzling sound and vibration? that's kinda disappointing. as for the ram, that's what i'm going to stick with. i do have the hitachi, so that's good news. btw, do the modules have samsung's name on them?

as for the stock memory, i got one 512 stick so i could upgrade later. though i can't remember how much more it cost...may be cheaper to do what you did; especially if you can sell your ram on ebay. anyway, thanks for the report.

selowitch · Jan 26, 2004, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by swiz:
Cant I just remove the single 256mb module and put the 512mb modules in the two slots for 1gb of ram total? I sure hope so

Yes, as long as you don't mind that you'll have an "orphaned" 256MB module when you're done.

swiz · Jan 27, 2004, 12:03 AM

Originally posted by selowitch:
Yes, as long as you don't mind that you'll have an "orphaned" 256MB module when you're done.

nah, thats ok with me. i have a cousin who is buying a 12" Gigabook, I'l prolly just give it to her.

selowitch · Jan 27, 2004, 12:08 AM

Originally posted by swiz:
nah, thats ok with me. i have a cousin who is buying a 12" Gigabook, I'l prolly just give it to her.

Nice of you to do that.

I'm a wreck because my birthday is tomorrow and I really want a PowerBook but I'm stuck in a "wait cycle" for the next hardware update. Sound familiar?

echosphere · Jan 27, 2004, 12:18 AM

wy4tt, now that you mention it, it doesn't exactly say Samsung, is this a prob? God hope not.

Still have the sizzling problem. It's actually got worse. Once, when I was in band camp, JK, acutally when I was in HS my girlfriend wanted a dildo, bought one for her, it vibrates a little like that now.

wy4tt · Jan 27, 2004, 01:21 AM

haaaa! well, i guess "laptop" has new meaning for you!

1 gig of ram...$200
7200 rpm hd...$275

a 15" powerbook that can satisfy your woman when you're too tired to...priceless.

echosphere · Jan 27, 2004, 05:54 PM

Could be a cool Apple commercial, okay, maybe not.

Thing that frustrates me the most, is that I ended up scratching the the Aluminum area right around the felt where the optical drive bay when I was taking it apart. I now know that I should have taped one side of the flat head screw driver that I was using. I didn't. Now I have these cut marks staring back at me from my optical drive. Crying, look at what you did to me...

I really don't suggest upgrading your HD, unless you have x-ray vision and can see where the 3 latches are inside your optical slot. Or, maybe I'm just an idiot who can't open a metal box...

mpic · Jan 28, 2004, 06:04 PM

I have a G3 Powerbook Lombard(333)with 192Mb of ram. I bought a 256Mb pc100 ram chip from a newer powerbook, put it in the lower slot and had a 128 in the upper. Now it only reads 256Mb of ram instead of 384Mb? Any thoughts on this. Its supposed to have 66 Mhz but i thought pc100 Mhz would be back wards compatable?