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Another "How much ram . . . " thread

C-Mezak

C-Mezak

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 14, 2004
119
0
Edinburgh, Scotland
Ive asked once before, but i wanted some other opinions. I just got a 12" powebook 1.33. I'll be using it mainly for communication, schoolwork, and entertainment, but I also plan on doing some work with large imagees in photoshop and some multitrack music production.

Anybody out there think that 512mb of ram will cut it? Buying the machine itself set me waaay back, and I dont have much money to spend. Normally I would just wait and save up but Im leaving my job when I leave the country for school in september. I have to make my purchase now.

Im not sure what Im looking for here. Am I insane to think of relying on 512mb to handle editing 100mb images in photoshop and multiple tracks of sound in garageband?

Thanks for the help!!
Charlie
 
Yeah, you kinda are. :D
I wouldn't even do my regular stuff on 512MB RAM but that is just me.
I'd definitely get another 512MB to make it 768MB RAM since you're short on money and sell the other 256MB stick.
Just be sure you buy from crucial.com
 
512 has been plenty for me to 'shop and edit video -at the same time, no less.
Unless you want more than 5-6 complex tracks in GB, or you're going to do some heavy multimedia work, you shouldn't need more than 512mb.

Personally, I'm waiting for new Powerbooks to come out before I upgrade mine, that way I don't feel like I'm totally in the dust...
 
There is a program called Do I Need More Memory? You run it as you work your applications. It will then show you how much RAM you need, and how much performance increase you can expect.

Found this program after I upgraded my PB 12" rev. B to 1.2gb. It confirmed that for my needs it was the right choice. BTW I got my 1gb module from OWC for $359 for the Samsung module.
 
tristan said:
OS X RAM Guide:
256 sux
512 is aiight
768 is money
1024 is the shiznit
Click to expand...

:D

I just put in 2 new 512s so im up from 512 to 1gig of ram on my powerbook. I haven't noticed much difference but im gonna see what its like with photoshop later on.

Should i expect much?
 
Until recently, I had 256mb of RAM in my iBook and it was extremely slow. If I had more than two applications open, the system would start to bog up. Now that I have 640mb, my computer is much faster. I think 768mb will do you just fine.
 
Thanks everybody!

Well its definitely a choice between 512 and 756 for me. I guess Ill let my bank account make the choice. : )

Im a switcher and just wasnt sure if my sense of ram translates entirely to mac from pc. From these responses, I conclude that I'll be fine either way, but more is better. The formr is what I needed to know.

Thnks!
Charlie
 
I had 512 in my powerbook - and performance was great. I got a super deal ($50) on an extra 512 chip so I got it. A bit zippier.

Play around with it and see how it goes. If you don't like the speed, get more RAM. :p
 
Go to crucial.com, select your country on the left hand side, select the manufacture of the computer and select the model then the formats that'll work with your powerbook will show up.

It's a nice set up. Far cheaper than buying from apple.



:)
 
I have 768m in my powerbook. It's helped me get that promotion at work, satisfy both my wife and my mistress, and regrow my thinning hair.

Well, actually, it's just a little smoother when I have five or six apps open.
 
get as much as you can afford. simple! :D
yes you can open 100mb files in photoshop with just 512 ram it just might be a little bit slower :cool: just take it easy and dont try to do loads of things with big files open!
 
I have 1.5 GB of ram (due to an oversight by my Internet retailer :) ) in this 15/1.33. It's a wonderful experience. Everything is so dadgum smooth. Photoshop is sooooo much faster on this than on my iMac/1 GHz.
 
Cordless_Drill said:
I have 1.5 GB of ram (due to an oversight by my Internet retailer :) ) in this 15/1.33. It's a wonderful experience. Everything is so dadgum smooth. Photoshop is sooooo much faster on this than on my iMac/1 GHz.
Click to expand...

Well a gig stick is certainly out of the question for me, especially if I am going to right and buy from crucial or kingston. the approx. $100 for another 512 is about as far as I can stretch it for ram. Im broke right now, so I'll just have to wait until my various sources of income - um - come in. : )

Honestly, though. I'll be spending most of my computing time surfine the net, communicating, and writing, so maybe a ttotal of 512 is an aceptable option. After all, when I actually am doing the harder stuff like photoshopping large images and recording music, I dont expect to be doing much else simultaneously.

Additional ram has a ceiling of performance-boosting-ability, given a finite amount of stuff happening at once, right? I'd certainly rather have extra ram sitting unused than not enough, but given the cost I may have to sacrifice a bit of speed for a better chance that I leave for school without creditors chasing me down. : )

Thanks!!

Charlie
 
I think 512 is enough for what you're going to be doing. I thought about the 1.25 for a while. It comes stock with 512 and I was going to make do with that.

768 is what Photoshoppers want. I'm not into Garageband.

My 1.5 GB situation was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I ordered a 512 to a stock 256 ... and ended up with this. No idea how...
 
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