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JMRev2007

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2006
2
0
I just recently acquired a Black Duo Core 2 Ghz MacBook, which I am really loving but I the 512 Mb of Ram that I got with it is just not as fast as I would like the machine to run. I've done some searches around the web and have found that the brand Memory Bank has the cheapest prices for 2, 1 GB sticks (about 180 bucks total). I am unfamiliar with this brand so I wanted to ask all the experts out there if they are worthwhile or is there a better manufacturer that everyone would recommend. Thanks!
 

xfiftyfour

macrumors 68030
Apr 14, 2006
2,573
0
Clemson, SC
If you're looking cheap, be careful. I'd go with G.Skill if you want to save some bucks, since many around this forum have used it and have had success.

Besides that, I have OWC RAM in my MB and it works great. Others that are popular are Datamem and Crucial (expensive).
 

poppe

macrumors 68020
Apr 29, 2006
2,242
51
Woodland Hills
xfiftyfour said:
If you're looking cheap, be careful. I'd go with G.Skill if you want to save some bucks, since many around this forum have used it and have had success.

Besides that, I have OWC RAM in my MB and it works great. Others that are popular are Datamem and Crucial (expensive).

What is the RAM apple uses?
 

WildCowboy

Administrator/Editor
Staff member
Jan 20, 2005
18,390
2,829
poppe said:
What is the RAM apple uses?

Whatever they get a good deal on that meets their specs...usually Samsung or Micron (Crucial) these days.
 

poppe

macrumors 68020
Apr 29, 2006
2,242
51
Woodland Hills
WildCowboy said:
Whatever they get a good deal on that meets their specs...usually Samsung or Micron (Crucial) these days.

Oh ok then there is no point in me trying to match there is there really? I'll look for a good Fry's deal after I examine there return policy. Thanks
 

JMRev2007

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2006
2
0
Thanks for the info!

xfiftyfour said:
If you're looking cheap, be careful. I'd go with G.Skill if you want to save some bucks, since many around this forum have used it and have had success.

Besides that, I have OWC RAM in my MB and it works great. Others that are popular are Datamem and Crucial (expensive).

Thanks for the info. I will look into those different sites.
 

echeck

macrumors 68000
Apr 20, 2004
1,831
21
Boise, Idaho
I would go with Crucial myself. Both my PowerMac and iBook came with Crucial RAM and I added more to both machines and have never had any problems. Before that I've used Crucial in all the PC's I've built and never had problems there either.

You can go to Crucial's website and find the appropriate RAM for your machine. It looks like a 1gig stick through Crucial will run you about 150 bucks, a 512 will run around $65. Do you absolutely need 2 gigs? If it was me and cost was a factor I'd just go with a 512 stick and be happy with 1 gig total, then perhaps later on down the road you can sell your two 512's and get 2 gigs if you want.

I guess it just comes down to what you feel you really need in your machine. But I personally would never skimp on my RAM, it's too...crucial to your machine. ;)
 

xfiftyfour

macrumors 68030
Apr 14, 2006
2,573
0
Clemson, SC
evilgEEk said:
If it was me and cost was a factor I'd just go with a 512 stick and be happy with 1 gig total, then perhaps later on down the road you can sell your two 512's and get 2 gigs if you want.
the 512 that the MB comes with is 2x256, so getting an extra 512 chip wouldn't give you a gig total.

personally, and many here will agree, i think crucial is overpriced and unnecessary. OWC and datamem are excellent, with great customer service and many users here to vouch for 'em. i'd rather have 2 gigs of RAM in my machine than to have less than a gig simply because crucial overcharges...
 

MacChicken

macrumors newbie
Sep 17, 2003
19
0
I know this is a stupid and often asked question, but I really don't know what to do:

Is it worth upgrading to 2GB from 1GB?

If I won't see ANY difference, I could use this money on something else.
 

xfiftyfour

macrumors 68030
Apr 14, 2006
2,573
0
Clemson, SC
MacChicken said:
I know this is a stupid and often asked question, but I really don't know what to do:

Is it worth upgrading to 2GB from 1GB?

If I won't see ANY difference, I could use this money on something else.
You'll definitely see a difference between 1 and 2 gigs - But that doesn't necessarily mean it's worth it for you. It'd be easier to give advice if we knew what you primarily used the machine for. If it's just the typical browsing/music/chat/email, etc, then 1 gig will be plenty. But if you're using a lot of rosetta apps, or are going to be working in demanding apps a lot, then 2 gigs would be more advised.
 

MacChicken

macrumors newbie
Sep 17, 2003
19
0
xfiftyfour said:
You'll definitely see a difference between 1 and 2 gigs - But that doesn't necessarily mean it's worth it for you. It'd be easier to give advice if we knew what you primarily used the machine for. If it's just the typical browsing/music/chat/email, etc, then 1 gig will be plenty. But if you're using a lot of rosetta apps, or are going to be working in demanding apps a lot, then 2 gigs would be more advised.

Yeah I use it primarily for browsing/music/office, but I plan to install bootcamp to play some games in the near future. Since I don't use photoshop or other demanding apps a lot, I probably won't upgrade at the moment and see how the games run with 1 gig installed.

Thx for your advice!
 

xfiftyfour

macrumors 68030
Apr 14, 2006
2,573
0
Clemson, SC
MacChicken said:
Yeah I use it primarily for browsing/music/office, but I plan to install bootcamp to play some games in the near future. Since I don't use photoshop or other demanding apps a lot, I probably won't upgrade at the moment and see how the games run with 1 gig installed.
Sounds like a good idea. Better not to jump the gun on 2gigs until after you've discovered you need it!

Oh, and no problem.. I mean, what else is there to do at 5 am (wow, i should get some sleep...) :p
 

Greebazoid

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2006
116
0
Cape Town
I'm finding rosetta apps to be complete memory hogs. My mini has 512MB and it often struggles, a problem exacerbated by the slower drives in the mini's (and probably macbooks too) - so paging/swapping operations are slowed.

As soon as I can afford it, I'll be whacking 2GB into the little beast (and a 7200rpm drive)
 

mach1andy

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2004
107
0
Los Angeles
I just put in 1 Gig to my macbook today with no problem. I just read the forums and everyone said to just 'keep pushing' once you think its in. Then restart and whoila!
1.25 gigs of ram. It felt slow than the 256X2 for a minute but then I opened up a huge .psd and things were cookin with fire!

I hope this puts some of the g.skill memory worries to rest-- mine is good!
 
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