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mike457

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 10, 2010
278
0
Ontario
Hi,

I picked up a used Powerbook 1.67 which I'm fixing up. :) It has 2X512 PC2-5300 chips in it. I know Powerbooks only use 2GB of RAM. Would it be possible to install one 2GB chip or will I have to use two 1GB chips?

Thanks,
Mike
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
Hi,

I picked up a used Powerbook 1.67 which I'm fixing up. :) It has 2X512 PC2-5300 chips in it. I know Powerbooks only use 2GB of RAM. Would it be possible to install one 2GB chip or will I have to use two 1GB chips?

Thanks,
Mike

Powerbooks use pc2-2700 afaik not pc2-5300 which is for macbooks up to mb 4,1
 

mike457

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 10, 2010
278
0
Ontario
Powerbooks use pc2-2700 afaik not pc2-5300 which is for macbooks up to mb 4,1

Actually, I made the same mistake as Nameci when I bought it. I ordered pc2-2700 ram, and found when I opened the memory compartment that mine had pc2-5300 chips. Further research revealed that the 1.67 came in two flavours: the first uses pc2-2700 ram (A1106) and the second uses pc2-5300 chips (A1138). As well, the A1138 has a higher resolution screen and a better superdrive.
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
12
The Philippines...
I have an 1138, i have checked everymac.com and it says pc2-4200 which is 533mhz. If your ram which is pc2-5300 667mhz can downclock then the pb can use it.
 
Last edited:

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,558
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
Hi,

I picked up a used Powerbook 1.67 which I'm fixing up. :) It has 2X512 PC2-5300 chips in it. I know Powerbooks only use 2GB of RAM. Would it be possible to install one 2GB chip or will I have to use two 1GB chips?

Thanks,
Mike

If I were you I would first check if both RAM slots are working, why I say this is that that the model you have is notorious for a failed lower RAM slot.
So, put the memory stick in the other slot and try if it boots up, if nothing happens you know you have a "bad" slot.
If it does you are still not 100% sure it will work, mine sometimes did work but that's quite a while ago.
(If only Apple released a firmware update to address this issue, but they never will.)
I have the same model, mine has a failed slot too.
There is a thread somewhere here which mentions that it is possible to put a 2 GB stick in it, but they are expensive.
It will make a difference though, I wish I had 2 GB, Safari with many tabs open is slow on 1GB, especially when you also have iTunes open, and trying to edit your music playlists and so on gets it to a crawl.
So, before ordering I suggest you the above.
Cheers
 
Last edited:

quasinormal

macrumors 6502a
Oct 26, 2007
736
4
Sydney, Australia.
I have a 17" and a 15" last revision PowerBook and I've tested both with 2GB + 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667mhz, without any problems. It won't boot with more than 2GB of RAM though.

This last revision was a great machine. The only thing i don't like is that I find the screen rather dim compared to newer LED based LCD screens.
 

mike457

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 10, 2010
278
0
Ontario
Thanks everyone for your information.

I have checked the RAM slots and the computer is reading the 2X512 that is presently in the slots, so both slots appear to be working properly.

justperry, you might want to try one of the auction sites. I was able to pick up 2X1GB chips for $12. NCIX has 2GB PC2-5300 chips for $26CDN, so it's not that expensive.
 

666sheep

macrumors 68040
Dec 7, 2009
3,686
291
Poland
If I were you I would first check if both RAM slots are working, why I say this is that that the model you have is notorious for a failed lower RAM slot.

DDR2 ones with notorious lower slot failures? You confused them with DDR ones. These were plagued by this issue.
 

boneskid1

macrumors member
Sep 19, 2012
95
0
so which does it use my powerbook g4 17 inch has 1.5 gb of ram its model is a1139 and one of the modules is pc2-4200s-444 and the other is pc2-3200s-288

it also says j20standard under my 512mb module and j23reversed under the 1gb module
 
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