Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

soccerfan

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 14, 2002
53
0
I'm on a tight budget and trying to decide where to spend my $$.

OK, I KNOW that it's always a good idea, blah, blah..... but....

How essential is updgrading from 256MB to say 512MB of RAM on the PB 12"??

Does it affect the actual OS performance?

I'll be doing mostly web design, basic image manipulation, Office, Flash, and perhaps GarageBand...
 

tvbi

macrumors member
Jul 14, 2004
87
23
I felt the difference when I upgrade to 768MB.. don't know about 512MB.. but the Powerbook seem a little slow with just 256MB. A 512MB module just cost $80 from newegg :p
 

stevehaslip

macrumors 6502a
Apr 30, 2004
657
0
The Ocean Floor
basically, you will just wait less to get things done. you will also be able to have more apps or files open at once, without any lag or loss in performance. in short it will save you time and enable you to be more productive. 512 isnt that expensive anymore. ;)
 

gwuMACaddict

macrumors 68040
Apr 21, 2003
3,124
0
washington dc
edesignuk said:
256MB will not cut it, get another 256MB if that's all you can afford, but if you can stretch to it, grab another 512MB (http://www.crucial.com ;)).

exactly... i upgraded all of my computers that were running OSX and it made a HUGE difference. don't you need a minimum of 128 just to run OSX by itself...? (or something like that)
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
There is a program called "Do I Need More Memory?". You run the program while doing your normal tasks. It will take and tell you how much memory your need and what performance increase you'll see by adding that amount of RAM.

I foound out about after getting my 1gb simm from OWC, but the program did give me peace of mind that for my needs having 1.2gb was the right way of going.
 

condor

macrumors member
Feb 17, 2004
82
3
Which RAM module is it at Newegg that works in the PB 12" that is $80? They don't seem to have it searchable by computer type and I am not sure what kind of memory it takes. Is their memory known to be dependable?
 

tvbi

macrumors member
Jul 14, 2004
87
23
use Advanced Search and pick Kingmax as the manufacturer and PC2700 for the speed. Some people think non famous brand memory are crap.. but I'm using a 1GB module of Kingmax RAM from newegg for like 2 weeks now (12 days uptime and still going) without a broblem.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.