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fisherKing · 04:21 PM

i had 768 megs of ram in my new revC 12" pb...
read the post here about the great 1gig ram deal, and went for it.

since upping my ram, i have noticed the following:

apps open a little faster,
my powerbook gets much hotter, and (not surprising), the fan comes on a lot
(it hardly ever came on before).

so...
am thinking about going back to the 512meg chip (ie 768meg total)

i could do everything i am doing now, but am thinking that less heat (& no fan noise) is a fair tradeoff for a slight speed boost in opening apps)

am i insane? (

btw, i already know the answer to that).

but, doesn't this make some sense??

MrForgetable · Oct 9, 2004, 04:27 PM

i think i'm going to go for 512, 768 should be enough for many years to come. Heck, I'm living on 256 fine

mgehman · Oct 9, 2004, 04:31 PM

Originally posted by fisherKing:
i had 768 megs of ram in my new revC 12" pb...
read the post here about the great 1gig ram deal, and went for it.

since upping my ram, i have noticed the following:

apps open a little faster,
my powerbook gets much hotter, and (not surprising), the fan comes on a lot
(it hardly ever came on before).

so...
am thinking about going back to the 512meg chip (ie 768meg total)

i could do everything i am doing now, but am thinking that less heat (& no fan noise) is a fair tradeoff for a slight speed boost in opening apps)

am i insane? ( btw, i already know the answer to that).

but, doesn't this make some sense??

Um, no less is definitely less. The place where you will see the advantage of more RAM are in using multiple applications, or applications that use large amounts of RAM i.e. photoshop. If you don't do this, and are unhappy about the fan running then there probably is no convincing reason to go with the higher amount of RAM. My advise, sell it for a good mark up on Ebay.

fisherKing · Oct 9, 2004, 04:37 PM

before & after the upgrade, ran:
logic & reason (rewired).
or
photoshop, safari, notebook, indesign.

etc

sorta have sets of apps that i can keep open simueltaneously.

just not happy about the heat/fan thing...

& not sure yet what i will do...

aehaas · Oct 9, 2004, 08:07 PM

RAM is not the same. I have a 15" PBook 1.5. It has 2 Gig of RAM from Apple. I use Quark, Photoshop and others running at the same time. My fan rarely comes on. That is because the Apple RAM I bought uses something like 40 mAmps of current whereas some other RAM chips I have seen run 2 to 10 times that amount of juice.

The processor is not the only thing generating heat. All electronic components cost more if they are lower power. Most people do not understand this concept. All the specs. may be be same but power requirements differ.

This is the short answer.

aehaas

MilkmanDan · Oct 10, 2004, 12:05 PM

I have 768 on my powerbook. Its nice.

murbot · Oct 10, 2004, 12:37 PM

Yep. I think that RAM was cheap for a reason.

Randman · Oct 10, 2004, 01:13 PM

Are you saying the fan came on because you're running more applications with the extra ram? Or it running hotter with the same applications that you were running before?
Obviously, if you're doing more on your book, which you can with more ram, you're going to run hotter and the fan kick on. However, I'd be surprised to hear if adding ram makes things run hotter in the exact same method as beforehand.

fisherKing · Oct 10, 2004, 01:29 PM

Originally posted by Randman:
Are you saying the fan came on because you're running more applications with the extra ram? Or it running hotter with the same applications that you were running before?
Obviously, if you're doing more on your book, which you can with more ram, you're going to run hotter and the fan kick on. However, I'd be surprised to hear if adding ram makes things run hotter in the exact same method as beforehand.

i AM doing the same things i was doing with 768mg ram...
and i AM seeing more heat, and a lot more fan...

hmmmmmm

drustar · Oct 10, 2004, 02:14 PM

I probably have the same PowerBook as you (1GHz, 12 in.) and I too, thought I'd buy the cheap ram. The PowerBook generated the same heat when I had 256 / 512 of ram.

Might want to check or swap the module you have.

Btw, how do you check revisions?

Fiete5401 · Oct 10, 2004, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by aehaas:
RAM is not the same. I have a 15" PBook 1.5. It has 2 Gig of RAM from Apple. I use Quark, Photoshop and others running at the same time. My fan rarely comes on. That is because the Apple RAM I bought uses something like 40 mAmps of current whereas some other RAM chips I have seen run 2 to 10 times that amount of juice.

Uh, that's interesting. The problem is that I have never seen an advertisement of RAM that includes such information. How can I find out how much mAmps a specific module consumes?

aehaas · 08:04 PM

I buy a powerbook update every year or so. I sell the old one and this decreases the cost of the new faster machines. Anyway, about 2 years ago, my local Apple computer store owner (who is a very good technical hype too) tried to sell me ANYTHING but Apple branded RAM at a lesser price (and probably more profit for him). I told him that I noticed that "other" RAM seemed to result in far less sleep time before the battery gave out. I told him that I seemed to get more time on Apple RAM'ed laptops (I , we, have several).

I told him I would buy whatever RAM used the least energy, Apple or other. He was able to talk to several manufacturers and came up with vast differences in power consumption. He ended up getting me Apple RAM.

This power consumption is more critical with increasing amounts of RAM. Note that the RAM is always fully on at sleep mode. The amount of time your computer can sleep before needing to be charged is dependent on this factor.

Many people say that generic drugs are just as good as brand name drugs. These more expensive versions often are mixed with buffers that aid in dispersion and absorption. A coating may aid in swallowing. Many pills get stuck half way down the esophagus. That is why they say to drink a full glass of water after taking pills. The brand name may also have a coating to taste better, not be caustic tasting. This may increase compliance.
Sure, the actual active ingredient may be the same but if the additives aid in absorption and compliance and distribution then maybe the generic is not exactly the same and not just as good.
In reality most generic drugs are just as good but not always.

All RAM these days is said to last a lifetime, the only difference is the price. Well, not all RAM is the same. One more thing- electronic parts that are hotter run slower. Heat increases resistance in electrical components. Is the difference that much? No, but not all RAM is the same is my point.

aehaas

SEkker · Oct 11, 2004, 12:35 AM

I have experienced good success with 2GB of the Legacy RAM from outpost in my PB17 revA machine.

Most chips that go into RAM is sold as commodity items. Unless there is a technical reason for this RAM to run hotter, it's not substantively different than any other RAM you purchase for your PB.

mhuie · Oct 11, 2004, 09:28 AM

Anyone know what memory Apple uses?

I'm looking into upgrading my 17" to 1gig of ram.. For my Windows box, i usually stick with Crucial or Corsair... but after hearing your story, I'd like to keep my Powerbook as quiet and cool as possible..

fisherKing · Oct 11, 2004, 09:54 AM

i'm gonna call outpost today, and see if i can exchange this (or, since they seem to be out of stock), return it...in which case i may just try another 1g module...from somewhere else.

want the ram, just not the heat&fan!

fisherKing · Oct 11, 2004, 01:10 PM

the plot thickens...

returned my ram to outpost (yeh, i know i could have ebay'd it),
and ordered a 1g from newegg (maybe $40 more).

will report back here (and not post until!)

fisherKing · Oct 13, 2004, 06:02 PM

End of The Story of The Ram (sounds biblical....

).

worked 2 days with the stock ram (256)...would not wish that on my worst enemy (would wish 32megs on my worst enemy).

installed 1G module from newegg this morning, cost about $30 total over the outpost offer (when it was $159).

so far...
all is well.

heat, but hard to tell if different from the other ram usage;

most of all:

seems my fan started running a lot when i first installed the outpost chip, ran a lot with 256megs, and is...still running a lot. so not sure what this means...
???

otherwise, not convinced there's much difference in ram quality.

the end.

TheDrew · Oct 13, 2004, 08:53 PM

I believe Apple uses the Samsung chips.

However... you should experience less heat being that the harddrive should not be paged as much with more RAM. I would be inclined to believe the harddrive would generate more heat than memory ever would.

Crucial is a great 3rd party manufacturer for use in the powerbooks. I've got 768 in my rev c. and I've not had a single qualm with it.

iomatic · Oct 14, 2004, 02:46 PM

Ugh. Quark.

I do fine with 768MB on the 1.33GHz 12".

Originally posted by aehaas:
RAM is not the same. I have a 15" PBook 1.5. It has 2 Gig of RAM from Apple. I use Quark, Photoshop and others running at the same time.
...

aehaas

fisherKing · Oct 14, 2004, 03:02 PM

i was fine with 768ram too...
but, day 2 with the new 1gig module, and am doing well.
seems...like less heat (a little) than with the outpost module, and a little less fan.

ultimately, worth it!

adambooth · Oct 14, 2004, 07:52 PM

Depending on where you use it the fan either comes on a lot or not at all. When using it on my lap or in bed on top of a blanket, the fan will eventually come on. When I'm using it on my desk or table, the fan NEVER comes on, except when I'm doing something graphically/processor intensive (UT2004, etc). I too did the same thing you did, but I canceled my Outpost order and got the Kingmax RAM from NewEgg. I don't notice any difference in the fan operation so far, and its been about a week. The computer is much more responsive with 1.25GB of RAM in it. It's very nice.

fisherKing · Oct 14, 2004, 08:47 PM

i'm actually working on my bed, and...no fan.
seems that would not have been the case last week, with the outpost ram.

either way, 1.25gigs of ram is nice, and i'm staying with it, heat, fan, whatever.

pgolf · Oct 14, 2004, 10:42 PM

Originally posted by fisherKing:
i'm actually working on my bed, and...no fan.
seems that would not have been the case last week

It also colder the last couple of days compared to last week here in the tri-state, i think a 5 degree delta

fisherKing · Oct 14, 2004, 11:50 PM

Originally posted by pgolf:
It also colder the last couple of days compared to last week here in the tri-state, i think a 5 degree delta

either way, after 2 days on 256megs of ram, 1.25gigs is making me very happy.

cold weather? bring it on, I've got my powerbook to keep me warm
(altho my girlfriend is pretty hot too...

)