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PlacidTubs · Dec 22, 2004, 12:20 PM

I am getting an iBook next week, unfortunately, I can't afford to get any more RAM for it for another couple of months. I am planning on eventually adding 512 RAM, but will be stuck with 256 for the meantime.

Is 256 RAM as bad as people say? Am I going to get really frustrated with this machine very quickly. I'll be using it for office style use, as well as Photoshop occasionally. I'll eventually be using it for video editing, but thats only after I get the extra RAM anyway, so no problem there.

Other than this problem, I can't wait to get my iBook, it'll be my first ever Mac and I'm, really excited!

ghporter · Dec 22, 2004, 12:55 PM

Having to get by with 256MB of RAM is not "bad," it's just not as good as having a lot more. Get used to the machine with 256, and then add the 512MB as soon as you can. You won't be "frustrated" by the iBook with 256MB, and you'll be thrilled with it with 640 or more.

Enjoy.

Leonard · Dec 22, 2004, 03:50 PM

Photoshop may be a little frustrating, but otherwise I think you'll be okay for a little while.

artaxerxes · Dec 23, 2004, 08:18 PM

12" iBook 1.07Ghz 60GB 256 Mb WiFi

I am in a similar position. I didn't want to be gouged by Apple on the ram and so thought to upgrade later.

I use my laptop for MATLAB (and a dash of xcode) and whilst it is not as whizzo fast as the desktop it's entirely fine. It's not agonising by any stretch of the imagination. It's perfectly acceptable for the MS office suite as well. Of course I tend not to have 15 applications running. So whislt I am sure Mac Os X loves ram it can survive on a restricted diet.

Hi I'm Ben · Dec 23, 2004, 10:37 PM

I hated HATED my iBook with 256 in it. It felt extremely slow and aggravating. I was mostly only doing Web Browsing because Photoshop was basically a waste of time and wasn't very functional. The 512 makes a dramatic difference.

PlacidTubs · Dec 24, 2004, 07:55 AM

I am a little worried, but I suppose I should be happy to just be getting one of these things. I'll hopefully get more RAM in under 2 months, so thats not bad.

My friend who is currently in the US will be coming home with my brand new iBook in four days. I'm pretty damned excited!

jamil5454 · Dec 24, 2004, 11:11 AM

OS X is designed to let you multitask. But, as long as you don't have open more than a couple apps at once, you should be fine. Remember, though, that when you close the last window of an application it DOESN'T close the application. To close the application, select Quit from the app's menu (top of the screen) or Ctrl-click (or right-click) on the app's icon on the Dock and select Quit. I wouldn't suggest getting over 768Mb for the iBook because anything requiring that much RAM would bog down the G4 processor before you even take advantage of all that RAM. 768Mb is good. And, when you get your 512 stick, you can actually leave apps running (like Safari, Mail, iTunes, iPhoto, etc...) and OS X will feel snappier because when you go to use that application, it's already running and it just has to open a window for you, not the whole app.

PlacidTubs · Dec 29, 2004, 05:08 PM

My new iBook has just arrived and I ****ing love it! Its not as slow as I thought it would be, but am still going to be upgrading the RAM as soon as I can afford it. Thanks for the advice people.

ghporter · Dec 29, 2004, 10:00 PM

Of course you ****ing love it. It's an iBook; what's not to love?

Once you get used to how your new machine works with the RAM it's got now, you'll be amazed at how much faster it is with an additional 512MB. Count on it. And enjoy!

Partisan01 · Dec 29, 2004, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by PlacidTubs:
My new iBook has just arrived and I ****ing love it! Its not as slow as I thought it would be, but am still going to be upgrading the RAM as soon as I can afford it. Thanks for the advice people.

I just got a iBook also, 256 works great for me. I have a bit of a biased opinion because the computer I moved from was a B&W 350 w/ 10.2. I thought that computer worked plenty fast, so the iBook is amazing. Glad you like it.

brickcam · Dec 30, 2004, 07:06 PM

256 felt slow to me, but hey. It's all about your point of reference.

If you are ever bogged down, open Activity Monitor (Utilities) and check what's using the most RAM. I find that Safari, even with no open windows/tabs, sometimes swells to ~200MB RAM. Quitting it, um, helps.