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2 or 4gb...

M

macman784

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Ok, so i am planning on upgrading the RAM in my MacBook from 1gb to either 2 or 4gbs... but my question is, will i really see a big difference between the two sizes.. will more RAM boost the X3100 performance in Graphicly Intense programs..?😕

thanks
 
You will only see a difference if your running demanding tasks and i don't think it will make to much of a difference for the graphics.
 
Eidorian, isn it better to have the same amount of RAM, for example, 2x1gb, than 2gb and a 512mb for instence..
 
macman784 said:
Eidorian, isn it better to have the same amount of RAM, for example, 2x1gb, than 2gb and a 512mb for instence..
Click to expand...
there might be a difference when testing through xbench or similar when comparing 2x1GB and 1x2GB, but 2.5GB will perform better than 2GB either way.
 
macman784 said:
Eidorian, isn it better to have the same amount of RAM, for example, 2x1gb, than 2gb and a 512mb for instence..
Click to expand...

Yes, by using the exact same (paired) modules you can maxamize performance by allowing the mac to operate in optimal conditions using the dual-channel architecture. Under this combination, both portions of memory can access the memory controller, increasing memory bandwidth and overall performance. So it would be much better if you bit the bullet and got the 4gigs of memory. Not only would this provide better performance under multi-tasking conditions, but as opposed to, lets say, a 3 gig set up, you will be able to use the dual-channel architecture to boost performance ontop of this. Overall this is your best choice (not to mention prices for this memory upgrade from crucial or OWC are great these days!)

-Josh :apple:
 
Check an see if you are paging out a lot of data. I know on my MBP w/ 15 Firefox tabs open, CS3, iChat, and mail running I've easily still got 750megs of ram left over from my 2gigs.
I would say if you have an extra $75-100 sitting around then go for the 4gigs, otherwise just stick with what you have until you need more.
 
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As pointed out there us no reason not to max out the memory with RAM being so cheap. You will no doubt see a huge difference in 4gigs as opposed to having just 2gigs.
 
maestro55 said:
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As pointed out there us no reason not to max out the memory with RAM being so cheap. You will no doubt see a huge difference in 4gigs as opposed to having just 2gigs.
Click to expand...

Just give me a couple examples of these "huge" differences? 😎

If you are a normal user you WON'T understand the difference, you will effected physiologically by having 4gb of ram that's it.

I am sorry but this is the fact. 🙂
 
there is NO excuse to not get 4GB of RAM.

I got mine for $77 after $40 rebate from Newegg (and yes I did get my rebate).

More is always better, especially with RAM and HDD space.
 
sevimli said:
I am sorry but this is the fact.
Click to expand...

Wow. Awfully presumptuous of you to call this "fact", don't you think? Mine's topped out w/4G, and I'm actually paging!

It all depends entirely on what you're doing with the Mac. For some users that're just surfing/emailing, they may never notice the difference. For others that spend time with Photoshop running, Parallels or VMWare running, etc, they can't possibly have enough RAM in their machines.

I agree with the posters who say "max it out!" RAM's cheap. Find out what your machine can address, and max it out.

jas
 
I upgraded from 2 to 4gb few days ago. I noticed a slight increase in overall performance under Mac OS X (perhaps 5 to 10%). I tried a 3D application under vmware. There is no noticeable increase in performance.
 
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