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buying new power book. Upgrade the RAM myself or have apple do it?

D

dfinn

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 15, 2005
52
0
My girlfriend is buying a refurb'd 1Ghz ibook. It looks like it will only come with 256MB of RAM. For an extra $75 apple will bump that up to 512. I was looking around and it looks like for $30 I can buy from crucial and get it up to 512 or for an extra $115 I can go up to 768MB.

What I'm wondering is how easy is this to do. I'm pretty good with hardware so I am not too worried about this part but just want to find out ahead of time.

Someone told me that the first 256MB is not removeable, is that true?

If I upgrade the ram myself with something other than what apple is trying to sell me how does this effect the apple care plan which she is also going to get? I'm guessing if we ever had to send it back or have it looked at I could just remove the added stick of ram and they wouldn't ever have to know.
 
Crucial will send you instructions on how to install the RAM. As long as you feel confident, then you will save money. Adding memory won't affect the AppleCare warranty. Others have posted that they remove the added memory prior to sending it back to Apple. I'm not sure if the 256 is removable or not.
 
Definately do it yourself...


On another not you can probably find some generic ram for like 100 bucks for 1gig. Just make sure it reads its Mac compatible.

Generic ram and ram that has a brand name has very little difference. Sure maybe the crucial ram may perform better but its only during extreme conditions like when you are actually running professional apps.

As far as installation its kind of hard to go wrong. Unless you failed to put two lego blocks together... But basically you find the the slots, make sure the middle seperator is where the ram's indent is and stick in there. Atleast in my PC (not sure about notebooks) you have to press it hard in there until the the clips come up to secure it in.
 
Your iBook has one memory socket, plus 256 Mb soldered onto the motherboard. Upgrading to 512 total is a little wasteful, because you'll soon want more than than andhave to take out the 256 Mb module.
Go with either a 512 or a 1 GB SODIMM. It's easy to install, you just need a tiny Phillips screwdriver.

Choose your RAM from a reputable seller who guarantees compatibilty with your model Mac, offers lifetime warranty and a no-charge return if it doesn't work. I don't advise going with generic RAM for a new Mac owner.

Good memory here
https://www.datamem.com/viewcat.asp_Q_C_E_1152

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
 
Do it yourself. You save hundreds of dollars and you can get the same stuff that comes in the PowerBook anyway.

As for RAM, go with Crucial. Their one of best brands out there.

And from what I understand, upgrading the RAM yourself will not affect your warranty in any negative way because RAM is a user-servicable part.
 
PriorMacHater

Speaking of powerbooks, memory and technology, what do you think of buying a new 17" powerbook at this time? My daughter is in her senior year of college completing a graphics arts program. She has a semester interning on the road and needs to carry her computer with her. I can't see her trucking around her G5 dually. The laptop has to functionally run her Photoshop suite/Quark/etc. I haven't seen the prices of the power books decline since Apple announced its intent to switch to Intel processors. I'm concerned about buying outdated technology at a premium price. Thoughts?
 
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