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2gb vs 4gb in new aluminum macbook 2.4

I

iSpoody 1243

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 29, 2008
435
1
Australia
Is it really worth getting for what I'm gonna do
mainly web surfing and word
occasionally gaming and flash cs3

also im worried about the no refund policy of the bto macs
 
When I doubled my RAM in my MacBook (2.16 Aug. 07) (1GB to 2GB) it made a HUGE difference. I'd always recommend maxing out your memory. It will help with everything.

I'd also definitely suggest buying from Crucial.com
 
Going from 1 to 2, is not the same as 2 to 4.

Most likely you do not need more than 2GB. If you bring up your Activity Monitor after a long day of using your computer, take a look at the Memory tab and the Page In bytes. I really doubt you will get that much benefit, so if $ or a BTO option are issues for you, spare yourself the hassle.
 
iSpoody 1243 said:
Is it really worth getting for what I'm gonna do
mainly web surfing and word
occasionally gaming and flash cs3

also im worried about the no refund policy of the bto macs
Click to expand...

Well, I maxed to 4GB even though I don't actually need it. You never know if down the road you will need those 4GB.

Me, I always want to be prepared just in case an Memory consuming app ever comes along (that is besides the Vista Pig)
 
thanks you just saved me 200
plus i also think it is better to wait incase the macbook can take 8gb, so in the future when 8 gb is cheap, i would feel more inclined to upgrade from 2gb to 8gb than 4gb to 8gb
 
dunno

I took advantage of the apple ram buyback policy and went from 2 to 4 yesterday. I then downloaded opera for mac.

It just seems that machines flies through web pages now. Hmmm...guess I'd start with downloading opera, and then seeing about the ram.

You can upgrade the ram for 150.00 if it's done within two weeks after purchase.
 
mathcolo said:
When I doubled my RAM in my MacBook (2.16 Aug. 07) (1GB to 2GB) it made a HUGE difference. I'd always recommend maxing out your memory. It will help with everything.

I'd also definitely suggest buying from Crucial.com
Click to expand...

I just upgraded the exact same machine from 1GB to 2GB, and I haven't really noticed a difference, but at the same time, I primarily just use the basic programs (Safari, iLife, etc.). Do you think I'll notice a big change?
 
you will not notice unless you have a large amount of heavy-footprint apps opened at the same time. As said before, the jump from 1-2 is more noticeable than from 2-4. save your money.
 
the ram upgrade is not worth it; If you do heavy multitasking then consider it. Save money and upgrade the ram yourself, and buy your ram from newegg/similar site.
 
4Gb for statistical analyses

I'll be using my newly ordered Macbook (soon to arrive) for heavy-duty statistical analyses, using software like R-Project. These types of analyses tend to use large quantities of RAM, so I ordered 4Gb.

This will save my laptop quite some HD spinning, and me a lot of time.
 
If you plan on running Windows Vista under Parallels or Fusion, then I recommend upgrading. Windows XP can probably get by with the 2 GB, although 4 GB is optimal if you plan to use Mac programs at the same time as you're running the virtualization software.
 
southerndoc said:
If you plan on running Windows Vista under Parallels or Fusion, then I recommend upgrading. Windows XP can probably get by with the 2 GB, although 4 GB is optimal if you plan to use Mac programs at the same time as you're running the virtualization software.
Click to expand...

Agree. I haven't updated mine on 2.4GHz alu macbook, but found that even without using anything special, available memory was only 500MB out of 2GB ram. I suppose NVIDIA takes 256MB already and here and there takes memory.

I just ordered 4GB DDR3 from OWC to run fusion.
 
mathcolo said:
When I doubled my RAM in my MacBook (2.16 Aug. 07) (1GB to 2GB) it made a HUGE difference. I'd always recommend maxing out your memory. It will help with everything.

I'd also definitely suggest buying from Crucial.com
Click to expand...

crucial.com doesn't have the new aluminum macbook listed. which memory can i purchase?
 
dont get it BTO, you cant return it it isnt up to your quality standards
just go to the store and get the mb you want and then get the ram from third party
 
steveoh said:
crucial.com doesn't have the new aluminum macbook listed. which memory can i purchase?
Click to expand...
Yeh, it does.

I have just installed a 4Gb memory into my 2.4 aluminum MacBook and I can immediatly see everying working faster. Even Safari fires up instantly.

I would definitly recomend upgrading RAM.
 
Okay my closest apple store is 2 hours away,
all the local resellers wont give me a student discount
so i will be ordering my macbook from the apple store
what position does this put me in for the return policy
 
You need 4gb memory if you use it for more than web browsing.

2gb is a joke. When osx runs out of memory, the whole system slows down to almost a halt. It's ridiculous. And embarrassing.

Here's a post about my 4gb upgrade: http://soymint.com/node/5
 
With 2 gb, it never slowed down.

When I upgraded to 4gb, I didn't notice a difference.

As long as you don't leave a million applications open at the same time, 2gb will be fine. There is no performance boost with 4gb unless you have many windows open at the same time.
 
iSpoody 1243 said:
Is it really worth getting for what I'm gonna do
mainly web surfing and word
occasionally gaming and flash cs3

also im worried about the no refund policy of the bto macs
Click to expand...

I have mail, firefox, adium, ical, and a couple other apps running right now and im using about 1gb out of my 2 gb

The only difference I can see it making a difference is with the gaming and flash, though I use Gimp and it runs well with the 2gb I have.

If your going to be running windows through fusion or parallels i would definitely suggest the upgrade though
 
I ordered my MacBook with standard 2gb thinking I wouldn't need 4gb since I planned to use it primarily for browsing etc and my iMac for work. I've started to really notice the difference and regret not ordering 4gb. Planning to upgrade very soon.
 
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