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exiva · Jul 3, 2004, 03:15 PM

i have an 800 MHz 12inch iBook g4 with the stock 256 megs of ram, recently ive been considering upgrading the ram from 256 to 1gb or to 512mb. Has anyone done this and can they tell me if they saw a significant preformance boost between 512mb and 1gb??

ryju · Jul 3, 2004, 03:27 PM

Going from 256mb to any amount after this will be a huge improvement. Going to 1GB is obviously the best bet, there should be a bigger performance boost than going to 512mb.

Robbo · Jul 3, 2004, 05:34 PM

For the money, I'd say just go for 512 - a 1GB stick is too damn expensive!
Tripling your RAM should be more than adequate.....well, I assume anyway. Just checked the prices out at Crucial for the UK and I'd say �70 for 512 vs �276 for 1GB is a no-brainer really......

exiva · Jul 4, 2004, 04:55 PM

i found a place to get the chip for $307.99 which isnt too bad considering apple wants 600 for it, and its $425 at crucial.

basically im wondering if theres a big difference in performace between 512Mb and 1Gb?

Robbo · Jul 4, 2004, 05:28 PM

Originally posted by exiva:
i found a place to get the chip for $307.99 which isnt too bad considering apple wants 600 for it, and its $425 at crucial.

basically im wondering if theres a big difference in performace between 512Mb and 1Gb?

That's about �180 off the top of my head.......in that case I'd be a little less reticent about it! Wonder if they'll deliver to the UK.......

Robbo · Jul 4, 2004, 05:48 PM

There are places you Americans can get 1GB sticks for less than $250!!!!
Bastards....

ccsccs7 · Jul 4, 2004, 08:15 PM

I use Mozilla which typically likes to consume an entire GB of RAM (well, it does when you look at its "VSIZE" under top). If you use these high memory programs, having more memory lets you keep more stuff in RAM and not suffer so much from disk paging activity (which can be pretty heavy with Panther and bad news if you're already low on disk space).

mkral · Jul 6, 2004, 02:44 PM

I have the same ibook (800 MHZ, 12", G4) and the memory supplier that I checked with (18004Memory) said that the 1 Gig chip is not compatible with my ibook. He said that the problem is with Apple's firmware & that if/when they update the firmware, then I can use it. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge about this? If they have tried it in their ibook & it works (or doesn't?)

Thanks,
Mark

Randman · Jul 7, 2004, 03:11 AM

Originally posted by mkral:
I have the same ibook (800 MHZ, 12", G4) and the memory supplier that I checked with (18004Memory) said that the 1 Gig chip is not compatible with my ibook. He said that the problem is with Apple's firmware & that if/when they update the firmware, then I can use it. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge about this? If they have tried it in their ibook & it works (or doesn't?)

Thanks,
Mark

The G4 iBooks can all handle a 1GB stick. Apple, at first, gave specs as max 512 but it'll handle a 1GB stick just fine.
I have a 1Ghz 14 G4 iBook and got a 1GB stick for less than $200 (guy I knew was selling his PB because his work got him a PC) and I got his stick. I had been using 512 before and the extra ram has helped in labor-intensive processes (I use PhotoShop, InDesign and Quark).
What will you be using the iBook for? If just regular usage, you would likely be ok with the 512. But if not, or you can afford the 1GB, get it. You can never have too much ram.

mkral · Jul 7, 2004, 07:39 AM

Thanks for the reply. I read an article about "essential mac apps" & found one called "Do I need more memory" It's an app that tells you when you have a memory shortage (I'm not sure exactly how it works) It beeps you when you have a shortage & tells you how much more Ram you need. I installed it & was amazed to find out how many times I bumped up against my Ram limit. I run fairly standard apps, but tend to have a lot open at the same time.

Switched2Mac · Jul 9, 2004, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by mkral:
Thanks for the reply. I read an article about "essential mac apps" & found one called "Do I need more memory" It's an app that tells you when you have a memory shortage (I'm not sure exactly how it works) It beeps you when you have a shortage & tells you how much more Ram you need. I installed it & was amazed to find out how many times I bumped up against my Ram limit. I run fairly standard apps, but tend to have a lot open at the same time.

Why not just tell everyone where they can get this app?

Do I Need More Memory Website

mkral · Jul 9, 2004, 06:20 AM

Good idea. Sorry about the oversight!

mkral · Jul 12, 2004, 11:09 AM

FWIW, I went ahead & tried the upgrade. I got my memory from 18004memory.com. They matched the lowest price on Ramsseker & I got my memory within 5 days. I just installed the 1 Gig chip & it works flawlessly. I've already noticed a big improvement in performance. I do not use any huge memory-hogging applications, but I do tend to keep a lot of apps open at the same time. Using the "Do I need more memory" app that I mentioned earlier, I was getting a ton of Ram shortage messages, but since installing the new chip, I have not had one.

My only regret is that I didn't do this upgrade sooner. "Do I need more memory" really opened my eyes to how much productivity my lack of Ram was causing.

BTW, I got my 1 Gig chip for $238, shipping included.

mishap · Jul 12, 2004, 02:24 PM

i love my 1GB of memory, but my little powerbook recieves heavy use all day.

polendo · Jul 12, 2004, 11:56 PM

That is a great app! I just used it and to the software that I use, I'm fine with 384 MB.

I practically use MS Office apps only and Safari, Mail, calendar and preview.

wataru · Jul 13, 2004, 12:12 AM

Originally posted by ccsccs7:
I use Mozilla which typically likes to consume an entire GB of RAM (well, it does when you look at its "VSIZE" under top). If you use these high memory programs, having more memory lets you keep more stuff in RAM and not suffer so much from disk paging activity (which can be pretty heavy with Panther and bad news if you're already low on disk space).

VSIZE is virtual memory, not physical memory. It's very hard to get accurate memory usage numbers from top because many of the stats listed contain shared libraries and so get erroneously counted multiple times.

crayola · Jul 24, 2004, 02:44 PM

here's where i got my 1gb ram: http://www.transintl.com/store/categ...?Category=2462

the price was ok, wish it coulda been a bit cheaper but my ibook is definitely less sluggish when i'm using photoshop, quark, illustrator at the same time.

wuzup101 · Jul 27, 2004, 05:12 AM

1gb sodimms are cheap at crucial. They carry Kingmax, a very reputable company. Currently, their pc2700 1gb sodimms for $213 w/ free shipping, and I believe their pc2100 1gb sodimms were around $220 w/ free shipping. I'm going to jump on a stick of pc2700 for my powerbook when they get down to $200... at this rate it'll be next week!