upgrading memory for powerbook g4 12".. help

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

so i'm thinking about upgrading the memory for my girlfriend's powerbook g4 12" - she doesn't seem to like to the MB's (the style, colour or design) and she perfer's her aluminum powerbook (we got it brand new for free, so why upgrade, heh)

anyway,
what is a good site to find memory for this machine? what type of memory do I need and what is the capacity for this baby? how many slots does it have?

she doesn't do much on it (just surf, minor photoshop and imovie, and documents....she's got 512mb in there now - should I get just another 512mb or a gb?

thanks so much!

EDIT: Also, how difficult is it to upgrade the RAM on the Powerbook's? Similar to the MBP's?

WildCowboy · Oct 29, 2006

PowerBooks can be picky about RAM, so it's important to go with vendors who know Macs and guarantee their products to work in them. OWC and DMS are two companies that fit the bill and have good prices. Both places have online wizards that will direct you to the proper RAM for your machine.

Most people here will say that you can never have too much RAM, so I'd advise a 1 GB stick.

Upgrading the RAM is very easy...here are Apple's instructions in PDF format.

Edit: Which 12" model is it? Anything 1.0 GHz or faster should have a max RAM of 1.25 GB with one user accessible RAM slot. All machines shipped with 256 MB in a non-accessible slot, while some also included a 256 MB stick in the user-accessible slot that you'd have to get rid of for the upgrade.

California · Oct 29, 2006

Samsung or Kingston.

Kinda easy upgrade is the 100gb hard drive at 7200rpm's too. I did it meself.

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

WildCowboy said:
PowerBooks can be picky about RAM, so it's important to go with vendors who know Macs and guarantee their products to work in them. OWC and DMS are two companies that fit the bill and have good prices. Both places have online wizards that will direct you to the proper RAM for your machine.

Most people here will say that you can never have too much RAM, so I'd advise a 1 GB stick.

Upgrading the RAM is very easy...here are Apple's instructions in PDF format.

Edit: Which 12" model is it? Anything 1.0 GHz or faster should have a max RAM of 1.25 GB with one user accessible RAM slot. All machines shipped with 256 MB in a non-accessible slot, while some also included a 256 MB stick in the user-accessible slot that you'd have to get rid of for the upgrade.

It's the 1.5ghz version - when I click the "about this mac" it says it has 512mb in it all ready -- does that mean it just shipped with 512mb vs the 256mb? so I could just get another 512mb and it should run well?

I think this is what she needs...

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=212&type=Memory&TI=0034&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

but not sure which 512mb i should get?

WildCowboy · Oct 29, 2006

charlestrippy said:
It's the 1.5ghz version - when I click the "about this mac" it says it has 512mb in it all ready -- does that mean it just shipped with 512mb vs the 256mb? so I could just get another 512mb and it should run well?

That means it shipped with 2 x 256 MB sticks. You'll have to remove one of them and replace it with the larger stick you'll be purchasing. If you add a 512 MB stick, you'll have 768 MB total (512 MB + the onboard 256 MB), while adding a 1 GB stick will bring you to 1.25 GB.

Edit: I'd probably go with one of these...if you're on a budget, the 512 MB stick should give her a nice speed boost. I'd spring for the extra $3 for the lifetime warranty...it's chump change for the peace of mind you get with it.

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

WildCowboy said:
That means it shipped with 2 x 256 MB sticks. You'll have to remove one of them and replace it with the larger stick you'll be purchasing. If you add a 512 MB stick, you'll have 768 MB total (512 MB + the onboard 256 MB), while adding a 1 GB stick will bring you to 1.25 GB.

ahhh, gotcha - so out of these three 1gb's, which is better to get?
these seem still pretty expensive, would it be good to use these sites to get the right model number for the memory and look on sites like froogle.com or something to find it cheaper?

thanks again for the help!

WildCowboy · Oct 29, 2006

charlestrippy said:
ahhh, gotcha - so out of these three 1gb's, which is better to get?

Sorry, I was editing my post while you were replying. I'd probably go with the $122 1 GB stick from the DMS link I gave above.

lord patton · Oct 29, 2006

As WildCowboy said, you have two 256 chips in the PB. Whatever you do, you'll lose one of them.

Get a 512 chip, and you'll end up with 768.
Get a Gig, and you'll have ~1.25.

I have the same machine as your gf, and am using 768 successfully. However, if you're going to go to the trouble of ordering and replacing, might as well get all you can get (especially if the computer was free).

I watch my RAM via Activity Monitor, and take care not to let the free ram get too low. This is only an issue when running several substantial apps at a time. For example, I wouldn't have iPhoto, Rapidweaver, iTunes with cover art, Graphic Converter and GarageBand etc. all running at once, 'cause the beachball would start spinning.

But under most circumstances, I run Mail, Camino, Safari, iCal, iTunes, Address Book and Butler simultaneously without issue. With 10.3.9 (so no widgets) this is good. With Leopard and Core Animation and Dashboard etc., I'd likely have to go to 1.25 GB ram.

EDIT: I type slow.

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

WildCowboy said:
Sorry, I was editing my post while you were replying. I'd probably go with the $122 1 GB stick from the DMS link I gave above.

no worries! i'll get this one:

"1GB 200 Pin DDR PC2700 333Mhz 128x64 CL 2.5 SODIMM (Lifetime Warranty) DM50 155-1 $122.00"

thanks again for the quick help!!

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

lord patton said:
As WildCowboy said, you have two 256 chips in the PB. Whatever you do, you'll lose one of them.

Get a 512 chip, and you'll end up with 768.
Get a Gig, and you'll have ~1.25.

I have the same machine as your gf, and am using 768 successfully. However, if you're going to go to the trouble of ordering and replacing, might as well get all you can get (especially if the computer was free).

I watch my RAM via Activity Monitor, and take care not to let the free ram get too low. This is only an issue when running several substantial apps at a time. For example, I wouldn't have iPhoto, Rapidweaver, iTunes with cover art, Graphic Converter and GarageBand etc. all running at once, 'cause the beachball would start spinning.

But under most circumstances, I run Mail, Camino, Safari, iCal, iTunes, Address Book and Butler simultaneously without issue. With 10.3.9 (so no widgets) this is good. With Leopard and Core Animation and Dashboard etc., I'd likely have to go to 1.25 GB ram.

thanks! yeah - i think i'll be throwing a 1gb stick in there - since i dont think the MB's will be upgraded soon and since she's not a fan of the black and white MB's (i'm not either, they look too "cheap" compared to the nice aluminium!) thanks

CanadaRAM · Oct 29, 2006

Looks like you're set -- for posterity, I'll mention that the initial memory in all Powerbook G4 12" models and all iBook G3 and G4 models is soldered on... there is only the one socket. So 2 x 256 means 256 Mb soldered on , and one socket with a single 256 Mb SODIMM.

charlestrippy · Oct 29, 2006

CanadaRAM said:
Looks like you're set -- for posterity, I'll mention that the initial memory in all Powerbook G4 12" models and all iBook G3 and G4 models is soldered on... there is only the one socket. So 2 x 256 means 256 Mb soldered on , and one socket with a single 256 Mb SODIMM.

yeah, i guess since she's in love with this i'll just put in 1gb rather than 512mb - so she gets the lovely "beachball" less

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