Confused over not buying Apple RAM

[J B]

Hey everyone, i have 2 questions

1.) 2gb vs 4gb ? If i will very often have itunes, pages, and safari open all at once and running, plus (at other times) i would use garageband, movie editing, iphoto, pretty much everything that comes with iLIfe and on the laptop.

2.) Basically everyone here says that you should not but Apple RAM, and i understand this because they are overpriced. IF, (and please tell me if i should) I get 4gb i assume that i should get the 2gb from apple and then later buy cheaper RAM to uprade to 4. My question is, if i pay for the 4GB bundle, package, w/e you call it, i will still have 2GB of wasted RAM just sitting there. Any suggestions? Ovbiously i would try to sell it but will i actually get enough money where in the end it was worth buying the cheaper ram?

Overall: Your recomendation: 2gb or 4gb of ram, and will i save at least $50 if i go through the trouble of switching to 4gb of cheaper RAM?

Thanks! all advice is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[melissaur]

Actually, the ram upgrades have come down significantly in price...I know with the edu discount, macbook upgrade prices are actually the same as a 3rd party, and when you order from Apple, your ram is covered under the warranty. In my opinion, the peace of mind is worth it, and I upgraded to 4gb.

That being said, if you're only using itunes/safari/pages, 2gb would be fine. Music/video editing would benefit from the 4gb, but I doubt it would be necessary for you.

If it comes down to a price issue, I imagine you'd be fine with the 2gb for now, wait for the ddr3 third party ram to come down in price (and it will), and upgrade later.


Faster is always better...

 

[f1]

The advantage of not buying Apple RAM is that if you shop around you will find a very good price even if you don't sell the old RAM sticks you would still save a lot of money. The only advantage of buying Apple RAM is that it is covered under Apple's warranty and you deal with one company to get that replaced. However at the same time, I've owned so many computers and the RAM has NEVER failed, and is unlikely to fail.

 

[ref26]

Another good thing about not buying from Apple, if you don't sell the RAM, is that you'll have it as a spare in case the 4gb ever does fail. Even if it is covered under warranty, it would be good to have something to use while you wait for a replacement.

 

[Sun Baked]

When Apple's RAM is close in price to the 3rd party upgrade, it is easier to use Apple's RAM.

this save you the time and trouble of getting the wrong RAM, if you buy from a discount outlet store instead of one of the more reliable 3rd party companies that guarantee it'll work in the Mac.

 

[Le Big Mac]

The advantage of not buying Apple RAM is that if you shop around you will find a very good price even if you don't sell the old RAM sticks you would still save a lot of money.

Maybe it's not true any longer, but for a long time the Apple upgrade from 2GB (or 1GB) to 4GB cost more than buying an entire new set of 4GB from a reputable source, by a decent margin. Throw in being able to sell the 2GB that comes with the computer, and the savings are even larger.

 

[J B]

Thanks so far

Thanks for the advice so far (any more still very much needed / appreciated)
Based on some of the reviews, i think that although i would save some money from buying 3rd party RAM, i think that the amount saved is not big enough to stop me from buying Apple RAM (easier, less time, although little more expensive, i think its ok)

I really want to know now if i should do the 4gb upgrade as mentioned earlier, i use itunes,pages,and safari all at once, running at the same time, plus i would use the more complicated applications that are included on the MacBook

btw, can i get a edu discount if im in high school (i have this i.d. card if it helps

 

[jbrenn]

Thanks for the advice so far (any more still very much needed / appreciated)
Based on some of the reviews, i think that although i would save some money from buying 3rd party RAM, i think that the amount saved is not big enough to stop me from buying Apple RAM (easier, less time, although little more expensive, i think its ok)

I really want to know now if i should do the 4gb upgrade as mentioned earlier, i use itunes,pages,and safari all at once, running at the same time, plus i would use the more complicated applications that are included on the MacBook

btw, can i get a edu discount if im in high school (i have this i.d. card if it helps

high school students do not get the discount. if you are going in the next year as soon as you get an acceptance letter you will then get the discount. also with the ram i would just by from apple there are trends here about 3rd party ram not working in the new computers.