1gig or 1.5gig RAM for Powerbook...

[proverbs]

i was planning on upping the ram in my 1.67 15" PB, and can't decide whether to go an additional 512mb or 1gig (i currently have 512mb). i don't think i need 1.5gig, but it might be good to get for the future. i don't run my PB too hard, just occasional photoshop, garageband, and a few games other than the basic use it for school and work. i'm planning to develop/design web pages and maybe learn video editing. not sure about the vid editing though.

you guys think 1gig and 1.5gig will have a significant difference? if i were to get 512mb of Crucial ram, its only $63, but 1gig jumps to $200+, so if iwere to get 1 gig i'd probably go with eBay.

 

[CanadaRAM]

1) Don't go eBay, go with one of the respected online sellers like Data Memory Systems ($155 for the genuine Samsung module)

2) It all depends what software you use, and how much application and data load you put on the machine. However, the effects of not enough RAM are relatively worse on a laptop than on a desktop both because a laptop hard drive is slower, and increased hard drive use pulls down battery runtime.

3) If you get 512 today then decide to upgrade, you have to pull out a 512 Mb module and sell it off.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

 

[proverbs]

1) Don't go eBay, go with one of the respected online sellers like Data Memory Systems ($155 for the genuine Samsung module)

2) It all depends what software you use, and how much application and data load you put on the machine. However, the effects of not enough RAM are relatively worse on a laptop than on a desktop both because a laptop hard drive is slower, and increased hard drive use pulls down battery runtime.

3) If you get 512 today then decide to upgrade, you have to pull out a 512 Mb module and sell it off.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

i see. i guess i should try and squeeze out some extra $ for the 1gig.

some eBay sellers guarantee samsung modules and they have over 1000+ positive feedback at close to 100%, so i thought i could trust the seller. its about $20 cheaper on eBay.

 

[eva01]

i would never ever trust eBay for RAM

 

[caveman_uk]

I got a 1GB stick from crucial so I have 1.5GB in total. I probably would have got just a 512MB but I heard about the potential problems with the memory slots so I thought that if one of my slots died I'd still have a usable 1GB stick in the one remaining slot. If I bought a 512 stick I'd only have 512MB left - which would be a bit low.

The only ram I'd perhaps buy on ebay would be the boxed Apple labelled ram that you sometimes see. Crucial guarantees their stuff will work with the machine you said you bought it for. Apple notebooks in particular seem to be picky with RAM - especially the bigger sticks.

 

[CanadaRAM]

i see. i guess i should try and squeeze out some extra $ for the 1gig.

some eBay sellers guarantee samsung modules and they have over 1000+ positive feedback at close to 100%, so i thought i could trust the seller. its about $20 cheaper on eBay.

DMS has been in business for 17 years, most eBay sellers haven't been in business for 17 months. Samsung will NOT honour your warranty directly to you the customer, your reseller has to do it. Hard to collect on when the eBay seller has closed their eBay store.

 

[livingfortoday]

I would second what people here have said, and say go for a respected online store. If only because sometimes RAM problems won't crop up for a few months, and most eBay sellers don't have that kind of warranty.

That having been said, I did buy my 512MB RAM upgrade for my Powerbook on eBay, and I couldn't be happier with it. Really cheap, and it was a pull from another Powerbook, so I knew it'd be compatible. But it's always a risk, so you have to decided whether or not the price is worth the risk for you.

 

[ReanimationLP]

Go for a 1 GB. Its worth it.

 

[robcts]

I'd go for as much as you can afford. Can never have too much

 

[pubwvj]

As a general rule I buy the maximum RAM I can put in the machine or my wallet will allow. RAM is a cheap way to make a computer faster because it means less swapping to the hard drive. I like to have many applications open at the same time, amoung them Illustrator and Photoshop which are memory hogs.

On the down side, more RAM means more heat and less battery life.

You make'a your choices...

 

[Mac_Freak]

I would go with additional 1 gig stick. In the long run this is going to pay off.
Right now you may be doing some light PhotoShopping but later you may used for larger and more files, and sitting and watching a beach-ball spinning while your hard drive is working hard to retrieve some data to RAM will make you pissed.

Oh BTW, in many apps Beach-Ball is a sign of low memory
Stop Watch - app is waiting for a computer to process something, slow CPU

 

[bodeh6]

I have 1gig in my iBook but if you use Photoshop and garageband then having more RAM in never a bad thing. My Opinion: Just opt for the 1GB stick. You will probably thank yourself in the future.