Newbie Question About RAM

[jason2811]

I bought a MacBook a couple of months ago and later this month I'm going to buy a 2GB RAM kit from OWC (I heard they're good, is it true). I wanted to know how much of a difference in performance I'm going to see compared to the stock 256MB the MacBook comes with. I'm the average consumer user and use my MacBook for internet, microsoft office, watching dvds, and listening to music.
1) Will my computer start up faster with more RAM?
2) Will Microsoft Word (which isn't universal I don't think) start up quicker (it usually takes 10-15 bounces)? Will it drop down to maybe 5 bounces?
3) When I open up Dashboard it usually freezes for a little and lags while it loads. Will the 2GB upgrade make it open almost instantly?
4) Will I things just be faster and better all over lol?
5) Is it worth it to do 2GB rather than 1GB since I'm just the average user? Is there much of a differene between the two?

Thanks

 

[CNU182]

Adding RAM is always a good thing, even in a PI machine.
They say it is best however to add the ram in pairs.

I noticed a drastic difference going from the stock 512
to 1.25 gb. Every program loaded much faster and I don't
think you'll be dissapointed in offices' performance, even
if it isn't universal yet. but i will count the bounces when
i get home

I didn't notice a huge difference in the start up time, but it
was blazing fast before compared to my PCs before.

 

[funkychunkz]

Unless you can save money ($/unit) you could do with 1G, easily. I don't think you would be affected by not having 2G. It only speeds things up when you actually USE more than 1g, in daily use. (npot likely in your case)

 

[kyleaa]

The MacBook actually requires RAM in pairs because of the shared video card memory. I don't know how much this is just a suggestion from apple, or if it is an actual requirement, but if you go to http://www.newegg.com you can get 2 gigs of SODIMM ram for the macbook for like $170ish shipped. I upgraded from 512 to 2gb in my intel iMac and it made a HUGE world of difference, it was like owning two different machines. Also keep in mind, if you upgrade to 1gb and then want to upgrade again later, you wouldnt be able to utilize the chips you already bought, so it pays to go the whole way.

Adding RAM is always a good thing, even in a PI machine.
They say it is best however to add the ram in pairs.

I noticed a drastic difference going from the stock 512
to 1.25 gb. Every program loaded much faster and I don't
think you'll be dissapointed in offices' performance, even
if it isn't universal yet. but i will count the bounces when
i get home

I didn't notice a huge difference in the start up time, but it
was blazing fast before compared to my PCs before.

 

[JackSYi]

I bought a MacBook a couple of months ago and later this month I'm going to buy a 2GB RAM kit from OWC (I heard they're good, is it true). I wanted to know how much of a difference in performance I'm going to see compared to the stock 256MB the MacBook comes with. I'm the average consumer user and use my MacBook for internet, microsoft office, watching dvds, and listening to music.
1) Will my computer start up faster with more RAM?
2) Will Microsoft Word (which isn't universal I don't think) start up quicker (it usually takes 10-15 bounces)? Will it drop down to maybe 5 bounces?
3) When I open up Dashboard it usually freezes for a little and lags while it loads. Will the 2GB upgrade make it open almost instantly?
4) Will I things just be faster and better all over lol?
5) Is it worth it to do 2GB rather than 1GB since I'm just the average user? Is there much of a differene between the two?

Thanks

I upgraded from 1GB to 2GB, and my MacBook boots up in seconds. Everything is much faster. Definitely worth the money to unleash its potential.

 

[CNU182]

well i know for sure it's not mandatory to have them in pairs