[bimmerphile]

Seriously, this is how I felt when I went from my 700MHz iBook G3 to my 1.2GHz iBook G4....

Just picked up that 1GB stick of kingston RAM from NewEgg...with overnight shipping it came out to abou $135. Plugged that sucker in, and whammy! This is just incredible. Dashboard boots right up, every time without delay, it never hangs on the water drop effect when adding widgets, the computer immediately responds to all the keyboard/hardware commands (volume, brightness, etc) when it used to hang for up to 20 seconds prior to doing anything...

Oh yeah, and then of course the consistant speed with iTunes/PS CS2/Azureus/Safari/Adium/iPhoto/Mail/Classic + Chem3D all open at the same time. I guess I just never learned how to quit my apps.

Even with synergy & shapeshifter now thinks aren't in the least slower like they were. I was worried that I may need to do another laptop purchase prior to an Intel PB...but not a chance now. I'll be well into the rev. B's

2 cheers for more RAM. Tiger + Your PB need it

Now if only they'd get the 2GB PC2700 SODIMMs available.....

[skelotar]

Right there with you! Congratulations.. I'll be soo estatic when they release 2GB SODIMM chips!! I'll be the first to buy two!

[klamyfeat]

Wow Kris, I didn't think that adding more RAM to my 12" was necessary but now you've changed my mind. I thought 512MB was enough RAM because when I check the Activity Monitor, there is always some that is not being 'used'. Has everyone else experienced similar improvements switiching to 1.25 from 512?

[ph0ust]

i am counting the days until my 1gb chip arrives. i ordered a samsung chip for $155 shipped.

[easyc]

When I made the jump from 768 to 1.25, there was a drastic increase in my 12" PB's speed. But mainly when multitasking.

[davidwells]

Originally Posted by klamyfeat

Wow Kris, I didn't think that adding more RAM to my 12" was necessary but now you've changed my mind. I thought 512MB was enough RAM because when I check the Activity Monitor, there is always some that is not being 'used'. Has everyone else experienced similar improvements switiching to 1.25 from 512?

I grabbed a 1Gb chip from the get go for my G4 iBook 800, so I don't have any comparisson experience. But the overall 'snappiness' of the 'book was great. It only slowed when running Photoshop (and leaving my usual 4-6 apps running, too) You can NEVER have too much RAM!

When a 2Gb is afforable, I'm buyin'
- David

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by bimmerphile

...Plugged that sucker in, and whammy! ...

duh...

[spiff72]

Originally Posted by skelotar

Right there with you! Congratulations.. I'll be soo estatic when they release 2GB SODIMM chips!! I'll be the first to buy two!

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't a 2GB SO-DIMM in a Powerbook be a waste of money? Isn't the maximum addressable RAM for a Powerbook 2GB? If so, I would think you would be better off with a pair of 1GB sticks.

Or, when they say "Support up to 2GB" on the Apple site, is that just the upper limit because of the current lack of larger SO-DIMMs than 1GB?

[evilernie]

You can never have enough ram.

[bimmerphile]

Originally Posted by spiff72

Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't a 2GB SO-DIMM in a Powerbook be a waste of money? Isn't the maximum addressable RAM for a Powerbook 2GB? If so, I would think you would be better off with a pair of 1GB sticks.

Or, when they say "Support up to 2GB" on the Apple site, is that just the upper limit because of the current lack of larger SO-DIMMs than 1GB?

The 12" only has one removable slot.

[spiff72]

Originally Posted by bimmerphile

The 12" only has one removable slot.

Right...but doesn't the 12" only support 1.25GB? Wouldn't that imply that you can't install a 2GB stick? Does the 12" also have 256MB built in, so it comes with a stick of 256MB in that single slot, for a total of 512MB, or does it come with a 512MB stick.

My question remains, though, on the 15 and 17...can they address more than 2GB of ram?

[ginoledesma]

Originally Posted by spiff72

Right...but doesn't the 12" only support 1.25GB? Wouldn't that imply that you can't install a 2GB stick? Does the 12" also have 256MB built in, so it comes with a stick of 256MB in that single slot, for a total of 512MB, or does it come with a 512MB stick.

My question remains, though, on the 15 and 17...can they address more than 2GB of ram?

The PB 12" comes with 256MB on-board and 256MB in the DIMM slot and so far Apple says that only 1.25GB is the maximum amount of RAM that is supported. I don't see any reason why a 2GB SO-DIMM won't work (assuming it meets Apple's specs). From the Apple Developer documentation on the PB G4 12":

An SO-DIMM for the 12-inch PowerBook G4 can contain either 128, 256, 512 MB, or 1 GB of memory. Maximum total RAM capacity using devices currently available is 1.256 GB and is limited by the space available for the SO-DIMM.

(emphasis mine)

As for the 15" and 17" models, this is what it says:

The address logic for the RAM slots supports up to 2 GB total DDR RAM. Using the highest-density devices currently available, an SO-DIMM can contain up to 1 GB of RAM, so the two RAM expansion slots can accommodate up to 2 GB total RAM.

[SassyPants]

adding a gb stick to my powerbook really makes all the difference

[pdsphil]

I read the various threads in the past that talked about upgrading, and was skeptical. But I recently upgraded my PB to a 5400 RPM drive and dropped in 2 GB of RAM. Doing so turned it into a new machine. I can run for weeks under heavy usage and not see any pageouts.

If you are thinking about upgrading, do it.

[Since EBCDIC]

Ditto. The time during which I was waiting for a one-gig stick for my 1.5 GHz Al PB was gravely dissapointing. Like molasses. Miserable.

I was using the Memory Stick app to see and hear how terrible it was, as though the frequent pauses wasn't enough of an insult.

Re-using one of the 256 MB sticks which came in the machine I'm at 1.25 GB, and it's a completely different world. As soon as one-gig sticks get even cheaper I'll pop for a second one. And then wait for someone to figure out how to give me two-gig sticks... :-)