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pete · Feb 2, 2005, 06:33 PM

i have a powerbook G4 1ghz/60/512mb and love it.Best powerbook I've ha after my old pismo. I've been using a lot of photoshop recently and it feels pretty sluggish with larger files so I'm thinking of upgrading to something faster. I need a portable though, otherwise I'd go with a g5. Do you think I'd notice a difference
with the new 1.5ghz models or will it be neglible? Would it be better to put the money on a 7200rpm hard drive and more 1gb ram than get the new one?

I can get about $1500 for my old one so it would cost me about $500 to upgrade.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Thanks

ricacu · Feb 2, 2005, 06:40 PM

first try addin 1gb dimm, to see if photoshop still feels sluggish, i think that for ur use its ok what u have, but hop in more ram, now ... if u have the money, well do it, but i dont think the difference would be that noticable, thats what i think. Also u can stay with that pb, save some money up, and order an imac or a low-bud powerm.

pete · Feb 2, 2005, 10:12 PM

Thanks...I guess I'm wondering if I should put in $200 for more ram in my current machine plus maybe a faster hard drive for another 200 instead of getting the faster powerbook stock configuration and putting the same amount of money into that (after I sell my current machine). Can't really afford to put in more than $500 right now. Just need more speed...

thanks...

mawsdz · Feb 2, 2005, 11:08 PM

It is most advisable to just add ram first. There was a post further down about a great deal on 1gig of ram from outpost.com. For a 150 bucks you could add 1 gig (though I don't know how many sticks you have in now). That will make a significant difference in performance! Try that before you consider upgrading your Hard drive. I really don't think the machine that just released is going to be that much better for you after you add the ram. Especially if you just run the stock machine without boosting the ram after you bought it.

pete · Feb 2, 2005, 11:13 PM

thanks. I think I'll give that a try...I don't want to waste money on a new machine if it won't make much of a difference, especially given how similar these are...

pete · Feb 2, 2005, 11:33 PM

One last question. I have two 256mb chips installed now. I can either buy a 1gb chip and get 1.25 for $190 or get two 512mb for $150 and sell my old chips.

The question is: will I notice a difference between 1gb ram and 1.25gb ram?

Thanks again!

KeriVit · Feb 2, 2005, 11:41 PM

Originally posted by pete:
thanks. I think I'll give that a try...I don't want to waste money on a new machine if it won't make much of a difference, especially given how similar these are...

\\pete, pete pete...

sounds like you really want the new one since you keep bringing us back to it. Just get the new one and upgrade as you can.

Why not sellit, get a new one and work off that for a bit?

pete · Feb 2, 2005, 11:44 PM

ha ha ha....OF COURSE I want a new one! I ALWAYS do! But there's probably no REAL reason for it. It's also nice to have the money....

I was just working on controlling my impulses when I read your post. Damn!

So what about the ram question...?

iREZ · Feb 3, 2005, 12:21 AM

Well I have 1.25GB in my PB and I use my cuz' PB that has 1GB and hardly notice a difference. I don't think the jump is that much but I'd still get the 1gig stick over the two 512 chips for later down the line you might wanna upgrade again.

TailsToo · Feb 3, 2005, 01:15 AM

Originally posted by pete:
ha ha ha....OF COURSE I want a new one! I ALWAYS do! But there's probably no REAL reason for it. It's also nice to have the money....

I was just working on controlling my impulses when I read your post. Damn!

So what about the ram question...?

It is useless to resist.....

SpaceRockness · Feb 3, 2005, 03:45 AM

512mb is the bare minimal a person would want to run OS X and Photoshop. For any optimal PS use, 1GB will improve the user experience and PS will thank you.
The speed bump isn't going to be earth shattering and it'll will only benefit processor intensive use when on AC with a decent amount of memory for tasks being thrown at it.
Personally I believe its only worth considering a new machine if the performance will result in at least 2x more speed, better features(PowerBooks still need higher screen resolutions), GPU and battery life. Based on the current specs, only the motion sensor and BT 2.0 will help a mobile Mac user... trackpad won't benefit many as some of us used sidetrack and GPU 9600 vs 9700 isn't a large step unless you had screen lag on an external 20-23" monitor. Raw performance wise, get a G5 Tower for that urge of need for speed and you'd feel heaps better.

I'm saying this as a 15"(1.25Ghz) and 12" (1.33Ghz) PowerBook owner, speed doesn't mean anything when you don't have enough memory and or a faster harddrive. I work with Photoshop and Illustrator CS which are very memory demanding than anything else. Also I have more memory in my 12" which totally made PS+Illustrator worth using at the same time... yeah its sad mini-me PB is my main portable

pete · Feb 3, 2005, 09:02 AM

Well, I slept on it and don't feel as eager today. I'm going to keep this machine and put in more ram, probably just two 512mb sticks. I can't imagine 250mb more would make a big difference for me. And I doubt I'll want more ram again before I want a new powerbook!

Thanks guys. You got me through this and I still have some money in my pocket.

My name is Pete and I'm a powerbookholic.

cheers!

FeralCat · Feb 3, 2005, 09:18 AM

Originally posted by pete:
Well, I slept on it and don't feel as eager today. I'm going to keep this machine and put in more ram, probably just two 512mb sticks. I can't imagine 250mb more would make a big difference for me. And I doubt I'll want more ram again before I want a new powerbook!

Thanks guys. You got me through this and I still have some money in my pocket.

My name is Pete and I'm a powerbookholic.

cheers!

I agree with the folks who say get a 1 GB stick so that you can still swap out the 256 MB in the future w/ another 1 GB. You're saving yourself money in the long run, I think.

jamil5454 · Feb 3, 2005, 10:59 AM

Think of it this way:

Buy a 1gb PC2700 stick and pop that in to achieve 1.25gb. You could even buy a new 7200rpm disk and try that too. If you're still not satisfied with the performance, buy the new machine and put your 1gb stick of memory in it. You could also put your new disk in your new machine too.

Either way you look at it you're going to need to buy more RAM. I say buy it now and see how it fares.