Doubling Emac RAM to 2GB. Worth it?

Dezlboy · Nov 14, 2012, 06:32 PM

My Mom has an eMac (2005) Power PC G4, 1.42 GHz, 1GB DDR SDRAM memory. It is pretty slow, and occasionally gets the beach ball. Running OS 10.5.8 Leopard.

I've used several "clean you Mac" type programs to some success. Memory can be increased to 2 MB for about $50. She uses the PC for web surf, on-line ordering and banking, and email.

Do you think she will notice a difference with the upgrade?

BTW...I'm really proud of my Mom. She's 87 and using the eMac!

Thanks!

Intell · Nov 14, 2012, 06:34 PM

She should notice a difference. Just make sure you get low density ram.

0dev · Nov 14, 2012, 06:38 PM

What's the RAM now? If it's 512MB or less then yeah, there will be a noticeable difference. If it's 1GB you will notice some difference but probably not major unless you're multitasking.

Dezlboy · Nov 14, 2012, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intell

She should notice a difference. Just make sure you get low density ram.

Thanks Intell, and Oday. It's 1GB now, it can't hurt to max it. low density...got it! thanks again.

0dev · Nov 14, 2012, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dezlboy

Thanks Intell, and Oday. It's 1GB now, it can't hurt to max it. low density...got it! thanks again.

Yeah can't hurt, especially on such old hardware. It'll still help for sure but the difference won't be massive is all

jbarley · Nov 14, 2012, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0dev

What's the RAM now? If it's 512MB or less then yeah, there will be a noticeable difference. If it's 1GB you will notice some difference but probably not major unless you're multitasking.

re-read the OP's post again, concentrating on the part where they say " 1GB DDR SDRAM memory"

0dev · Nov 14, 2012, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbarley

re-read the OP's post again, concentrating on the part where they say " 1GB DDR SDRAM memory"

You are correct. That's what I get for skimming posts at 1:02am I guess

Dezlboy · Nov 14, 2012, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0dev

You are correct. That's what I get for skimming posts at 1:02am I guess

No matter! Your info helped and I appreciate you taking your time to answer.

California · Nov 16, 2012, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dezlboy

No matter! Your info helped and I appreciate you taking your time to answer.

A bigger faster hard drive would help stop the beachballs, too.

I have a relatively new 160gb 7200 RPM iDE PATA Hard drive that I think? works with the eMacs. Let me know if you need it. I don't know if you need matched pairs of ram in that, either.

Jethryn Freyman · Nov 16, 2012, 01:10 AM

Those tasks are going to be bound by your old CPU.

Dezlboy · 01:08 PM

Hi. I though about the CPU. But figured it was worth $50 to give it a try. Will let u know.

The hard drive is mostly empty. But thanks for the offer California.

pistooli · Nov 17, 2012, 03:24 AM

I did exactly what you are planning to do... and it was worth.

skateny · Nov 17, 2012, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dezlboy

My Mom has an eMac (2005) Power PC G4, 1.42 GHz, 1GB DDR SDRAM memory. It is pretty slow, and occasionally gets the beach ball. Running OS 10.5.8 Leopard.

I've used several "clean you Mac" type programs to some success. Memory can be increased to 2 MB for about $50. She uses the PC for web surf, on-line ordering and banking, and email.

Do you think she will notice a difference with the upgrade?

BTW...I'm really proud of my Mom. She's 87 and using the eMac!

Thanks!

With every Mac I've owned (and there have been many), the first thing I did was max out the RAM. I never had it shipped with additional RAM because doing this through Apple was always ridiculously expensive. I used Crucial for some time before finding a reliable seller on eBay at a discount.

I never regretted it.

----------

One more thing. . .

My first computer was an Amiga 1000. It was on sale at an electronics store in NYC for $699. The salesman recommended I upgrade the RAM from 256K to 512K for $75. At the time, I didn't know why this might be a good thing, but I just did it. So I've been RAM-happy from the very start. Loved that machine too.

Dezlboy · Nov 17, 2012, 01:07 PM

To everyone,

I really appreciate you taking your time to post replies. I have ordered 2GB ram to replace the current 1GB. Would have done this earlier, but after I "maxed" out the eMac at 1GB to Apple's specifications, I only recently read that the eMac can actually take up to 2 GB.

Thanks again,
Scott

zackkmac · Nov 18, 2012, 09:40 PM

I have an eMac of the same specs, the 2GB upgrade made a nice difference. However if she uses it as her main computer I would look into getting a PATA SSD drive for it. That plus the RAM upgrade will make a drastic improvement in boot time, application launching, and overall responsiveness.

Dezlboy · Nov 22, 2012, 11:13 PM

Upgrade fro 1 GB to 2 GB on the eMac went well. Noticeable quicker launch time for Safari, email, Word for Mac, etc. And "snappier" when in the application.

BTW...hard drive has plenty of empty space. Mom uses eMac for web browsing, email, and that's about it. So, she should be set for a while.

Thanks again for your advice.

Nov 14, 2012, 06:32 PM	#1
Dezlboy macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Silver Spring, MD	Doubling Emac RAM to 2GB. Worth it? My Mom has an eMac (2005) Power PC G4, 1.42 GHz, 1GB DDR SDRAM memory. It is pretty slow, and occasionally gets the beach ball. Running OS 10.5.8 Leopard. I've used several "clean you Mac" type programs to some success. Memory can be increased to 2 MB for about $50. She uses the PC for web surf, on-line ordering and banking, and email. Do you think she will notice a difference with the upgrade? BTW...I'm really proud of my Mom. She's 87 and using the eMac! Thanks! __________________ iBookG4, Mac Mini, iPhone 4
	0

Nov 14, 2012, 06:34 PM	#2
Intell macrumors G4 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Inside	She should notice a difference. Just make sure you get low density ram. __________________ Last edited by Intell; Yesterday at 11:50 AM.
	0

Nov 14, 2012, 06:38 PM	#3
0dev macrumors 68040 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: 127.0.0.1	What's the RAM now? If it's 512MB or less then yeah, there will be a noticeable difference. If it's 1GB you will notice some difference but probably not major unless you're multitasking. __________________ "What kind of arrogant ass would quote themselves in their signature?" -0dev
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 01:10 AM	#10
Jethryn Freyman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Australia	Those tasks are going to be bound by your old CPU. __________________ Power Mac G5 - 2x 1.8GHz - 4GB - ATI Fire GL X3 256MB - 10.5.8 Macbook Pro 3,1 - 6GB - 240GB OWC SSD - 10.6.8 www.michaelanthonyralph.com/blog/
	0

Nov 16, 2012, 07:23 AM	#11
Dezlboy Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Silver Spring, MD	Hi. I though about the CPU. But figured it was worth $50 to give it a try. Will let u know. The hard drive is mostly empty. But thanks for the offer California. Last edited by Dezlboy; Nov 17, 2012 at 01:08 PM. Reason: to type in "california" for a better reply
	0

Nov 17, 2012, 03:24 AM	#12
pistooli macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hungary	I did exactly what you are planning to do... and it was worth. __________________ MacBook Air, 13", Mid 2012, Mountain Lion Mac Mini, Late 2006, upgraded to 2GHz, 2GB, Lion 10.7.5 iBook G4, 1.42 MHz, 1.5 GB, 160 GB, Leopard PowerBook 5300cs, 3400c, G3 Pismo, Mac Mini G4 1,33
	0

Nov 17, 2012, 01:07 PM	#14
Dezlboy Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Silver Spring, MD	To everyone, I really appreciate you taking your time to post replies. I have ordered 2GB ram to replace the current 1GB. Would have done this earlier, but after I "maxed" out the eMac at 1GB to Apple's specifications, I only recently read that the eMac can actually take up to 2 GB. Thanks again, Scott __________________ iBookG4, Mac Mini, iPhone 4
	0

Nov 18, 2012, 09:40 PM	#15
zackkmac macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chicago	I have an eMac of the same specs, the 2GB upgrade made a nice difference. However if she uses it as her main computer I would look into getting a PATA SSD drive for it. That plus the RAM upgrade will make a drastic improvement in boot time, application launching, and overall responsiveness. __________________ 27" iMac 3.4GHz i7, 680MX 2GB, 32GB RAM, 3TB Fusion Drive 15" MacBook Pro Retina LSN, 2.7GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 768GB Flash 13" MacBook Pro 2.5GHz i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD iPhone 5 VZW 64GB Black
	0

Nov 22, 2012, 11:13 PM	#16
Dezlboy Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Silver Spring, MD	Upgrade fro 1 GB to 2 GB on the eMac went well. Noticeable quicker launch time for Safari, email, Word for Mac, etc. And "snappier" when in the application. BTW...hard drive has plenty of empty space. Mom uses eMac for web browsing, email, and that's about it. So, she should be set for a while. Thanks again for your advice. __________________ iBookG4, Mac Mini, iPhone 4
	1

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode