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Apple to Boost Standard Memory?

Hmm, an across the board RAM increase would be nice. I wonder if they are going to use up all the mem slots on the lower end lines (ibook, iMac, etc.) and just give a single 512 stick on the pro lines? I guess that would be good product differentiation.

Jim
 
Sounds like a move that will be very good for consumers, especially novices who don't really understand this stuff and just buy basic models expecting them to work fine. I imagine Tiger will be pretty bad on 256. Panther is awful on 128, although that's not a good comparison.

The problem with the rumor is that it seems unlikely that Apple would up the specs in its computers without updating the line. Would they upgrade the minis to 512 before they give them a general revamp?
 
It is certainly a move that is needed.

It is nearly impossible to run any iLife program (aside from iTunes) with 256 MB. I cannot imagine how many switchers have bought a new Mac with 256 MB, and it is unbearably slow with iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto. I'm sure it creates lots of negative feelings towards Macs with these people.
 
mac-er said:
It is nearly impossible to run any iLife program (aside from iTunes) with 256 MB. I cannot imagine how many switchers have bought a new Mac with 256 MB, and it is unbearably slow with iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto. I'm sure it creates lots of negative feelings towards Macs with these people.
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I think you're overestimating the speed/power that these switchers are coming from. Many switchers are coming from old PCs with PIII's @500mhz and Win98. A new Mac with 256MBs will seem like greased lightning to them.

Case in point. I persuaded my sister to go Mac (she did, with a 17" G5 iMac 1.8) and it only has 256MB. The other day, she commented that she loves the Mac because she can do her work and listen to music too.
 
ftaok said:
Case in point. I persuaded my sister to go Mac (she did, with a 17" G5 iMac 1.8) and it only has 256MB. The other day, she commented that she loves the Mac because she can do her work and listen to music too.
Click to expand...

Ha, i could not do that with my 3.0 Ghz 1GB 256 video RAM top of the line PC. i always had problems with lag and crashs.
 
jim. said:
I wonder if they are going to use up all the mem slots on the lower end lines (ibook, iMac, etc.) and just give a single 512 stick on the pro lines?
Click to expand...


The current crop of G5 PMs take their RAM in matched pairs so they'll either stay at 512 or go up to 1gb, I would have thought...

But if true, all I can say is... about bloody time.

It's not like RAM is that pricey any more, unless you're going for those big modules.
 
mac-er said:
It is certainly a move that is needed.

It is nearly impossible to run any iLife program (aside from iTunes) with 256 MB. I cannot imagine how many switchers have bought a new Mac with 256 MB, and it is unbearably slow with iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto. I'm sure it creates lots of negative feelings towards Macs with these people.
Click to expand...

LOL

sure they're unusable :p

i don't suppose you actually *use* a machine with 256 megs of ram, do you? I've been using my 1.0 emac with 256 megs of ram for almost a year now, and while it's no speed demon, its far from 'unbearably slow' or 'nearly impossible to run any iLife program'. With 256, I often have 5 or 6 programs open with no problem.

yes, in fact, I can actually run the iApps! with only 256 megs of ram!

and here's a little secret - I can run more than one of them at one time! :eek: who would have thought it was possible??

it's not as bad as you think. is 512 better? sure. but calling 256 unusable, unbearable, and barely able to run the iApps is a little foolish...
 
ftaok said:
I think you're overestimating the speed/power that these switchers are coming from. Many switchers are coming from old PCs with PIII's @500mhz and Win98. A new Mac with 256MBs will seem like greased lightning to them.

Case in point. I persuaded my sister to go Mac (she did, with a 17" G5 iMac 1.8) and it only has 256MB. The other day, she commented that she loves the Mac because she can do her work and listen to music too.
Click to expand...

Sure, they can multi-task, but iLife applications are unbearably slow at 256 MB
 
mkaake said:
LOL

sure they're unusable :p

i don't suppose you actually *use* a machine with 256 megs of ram, do you? I've been using my 1.0 emac with 256 megs of ram for almost a year now, and while it's no speed demon, its far from 'unbearably slow' or 'nearly impossible to run any iLife program'. With 256, I often have 5 or 6 programs open with no problem.

yes, in fact, I can actually run the iApps! with only 256 megs of ram!

and here's a little secret - I can run more than one of them at one time! :eek: who would have thought it was possible??

it's not as bad as you think. is 512 better? sure. but calling 256 unusable, unbearable, and barely able to run the iApps is a little foolish...
Click to expand...

Let us run 1 hour of video from our camcorders to iMovie and then burn a DVD with iDVD. I have a gig of RAM. Let's see who does it with the least problems.

If Apple increases the RAM to 512 MB, they are saying that 256 MB is no longer sufficient. Please read the Appleinsider article, which says "insiders say the boost in memory spec will assure consumers a smoother experience running both Tiger and Apple’s iLife ’05 digital lifestyle software suite. They added that the upgrade is 'much needed.'"

I ran iLife programs with 256 MB, and I found that iMovie was horribly slow in response, iPhoto was sluggish, and iDVD was not usuable. If you don't have that experience, awesome!
 
mac-er said:
Sure, they can multi-task, but iLife applications are unbearably slow at 256 MB
Click to expand...
You missed my point. A Mac with 256MB is probably 10x faster than the computer they're coming from. Even with iLife apps. Since their new computer is faster than their old computer, why would they feel negative towards Apple and Macs?
 
ftaok said:
You missed my point. A Mac with 256MB is probably 10x faster than the computer they're coming from. Even with iLife apps. Since their new computer is faster than their old computer, why would they feel negative towards Apple and Macs?
Click to expand...

Well, I see your point there....
I was looking at the aspect of a user getting a new Mac, and then the iMovie application running really sluggishly, and iDVD doing the same, and iPhoto doing the same....
I had that experience when I got my first Mac. And, I thought, "Why would this company put programs on its computers that run so slowly on its minimum RAM?"

Aren't there complaints with how slowly the Mac Mini's are running the iLife apps?
 
This can't be anything but a good move for Apple. With the number of new Mac users coming on board, Apple should ensure they get the best out-of-the-box experience possible.
 
Solafaa said:
Ha, i could not do that with my 3.0 Ghz 1GB 256 video RAM top of the line PC. i always had problems with lag and crashs.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what work you were doing, but something must have been wrong. Either the applications you were using were poorly written. There are A LOT of poorly written Windows apps - comes with the marketshare, there are many good Win apps too.

Otherwise, you have a bad piece of hardware in the loop. It is certainly not a problem with the platform. I know, were you trying to do this while underwater? :)
 
Appleinsider reports that Apple will soon boost the included RAM on current Mac models to 512MB.

Last January, the Mac maker begun offering 512MB of built-in memory across its PowerBook G4 line; some of the company’s higher-end Power Mac desktops also ship standard with this higher memory capacity. But for the most part, the standard configured Macintosh includes only 256MB of RAM.
Click to expand...

Including 256MB of RAM as a minimum on many Mac models has been a criticism from Mac users. As stated in the article, while 256MB is the minimum required for Mac OS X, 512MB and more offers a smoother experience for the end user.
 
Its about time. Geeze. But watch, they'll put in four 128's, and use up the RAM slots, so if you want more RAM you have to take some out. :rolleyes:
 
mac-er said:
Let us run 1 hour of video from our camcorders to iMovie and then burn a DVD with iDVD. I have a gig of RAM. Let's see who does it with the least problems.

If Apple increases the RAM to 512 MB, they are saying that 256 MB is no longer sufficient. Please read the Appleinsider article, which says "insiders say the boost in memory spec will assure consumers a smoother experience running both Tiger and Apple’s iLife ’05 digital lifestyle software suite. They added that the upgrade is 'much needed.'"

I ran iLife programs with 256 MB, and I found that iMovie was horribly slow in response, iPhoto was sluggish, and iDVD was not usuable. If you don't have that experience, awesome!
Click to expand...

hey, i'm not arguing that 512 is better. i'd rather have a mac wiht 2 gigs of ram or more, but i don't. i just thought that the above poster saying that the iApps were unusable with 256 megs of ram was ridiculous...

i'm actually really glad that apple might up the ante... it's past due. while I my computer is useable with 256 megs of ram, I came from a machine with over 400 (my trusty g3/266 desktop, may the beige live on), and miss the extra speed...
 
I was just thinking of this last night before I went to bed. Apple should definetly up the standard RAM from 256 (where applicable) to 512. It would nice if Apple made 1GB RAM standard on the higher end PowerMacs :rolleyes:

I also hope they don't raise the price in response to the upgrade.
 
Yep, as soon as I buy my Mac Mini and pay for the 512, there is talk of 512 being the standard. Hope it is in the next week so I can get my money back.
 
This would be a good move. Even better would be to max out the RAM in the demo machines at the Apple Stores. I know 3 PC users who won't buy Mac Minis now because the demo machines only had 256 MB in them - "painfully slow," was what one of them said.
 
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