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How much RAM does the iPad have?

M

MacAgent84

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 11, 2009
81
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Apple, oddly enough, does not list the amount of RAM anywhere on their specs page for the iPad.

Doesn't this seem strange to anyone else?? I haven't seen many people raise this question (a very important question to the overall performance capabilities of this device).

Does anyone know a rumor or official statement from Apple of how much RAM the iPad will have?

I would think that this would be an enormous deciding factor before placing a pre-order and I can't find it listed anywhere.

Who would pre-order a computer without knowing how much RAM it has? Many, I guess. Odd, but true!
 
That is the memory capacity for storage on the device. That is not RAM.

How much RAM will the iPad have??

It seems rather ridiculous that it is not listed anywhere.
 
It is not stated on the iPhone / iPod Touch page either.

I guess it is between 512MB and 1GB. The iPhone OS does not need that much RAM anyway, especially with the absent ability to multi-task.

The iPad is not a computer like a PC or Mac anyway.
 
spinnerlys said:
It is not stated on the iPhone / iPod Touch page either.

I guess it is between 512MB and 1GB. The iPhone OS does not need that much RAM anyway, especially with the absent ability to multi-task.

The iPad is not a computer like a PC or Mac anyway.
Click to expand...

This device is going to have more support for 3D gaming in a much higher resolution than the iPhone, so, of course, this unit will have to have more RAM to accommodate more sophisticated graphics.

BUT, how much RAM will this device have? I don't know why it is not listed anywhere. This is a substantially priced product and we should really know full specs before purchasing.
 
I've seen it stated that it has 512mb of ram. I can't say where this info came from, but I've seen it said multiple times now.
 
spinnerlys said:
It is not stated on the iPhone / iPod Touch page either.

I guess it is between 512MB and 1GB. The iPhone OS does not need that much RAM anyway, especially with the absent ability to multi-task.

The iPad is not a computer like a PC or Mac anyway.
Click to expand...

Uh, I'm pretty sure it's a computer just like a PC or Mac

Has cpu, RAM, and storage (formally called disk).

Only difference is the OS is embedded, but this is a relatively minor difference.

just a hunch
 
mac jones said:
Uh, I'm pretty sure it's a computer just like a PC or Mac

Has cpu, RAM, and storage (formally called disk).

Only difference is the OS is embedded, but this is a relatively minor difference.

just a hunch
Click to expand...

I know it is a computer in the sense of what a computer is, even a microwave is a computer, I just meant it is not like a PC or Mac, that it is a desktop or notebook computer. It's a category of its own.

Thus the same principles of using and configuring a PC or Mac can not be applied. It will not need 2 to 16GB of RAM, 1GB might be more than enough, even with elaborate 3D gaming.
 
No, I think a microwave is not a computer. The iPad is a computer.

All of these silly messages are beside the point. We should know how much RAM the iPad will have, so how much RAM is in it??

Anyone?
 
MacAgent84 said:
No, I think a microwave is not a computer. The iPad is a computer.

All of these silly messages are beside the point. We should know how much RAM the iPad will have, so how much RAM is in it??

Anyone?
Click to expand...

A microwave has a computer inside.

If you don't know what a computer is, have a look at Wikipedia.

A small excerpt: A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format.

In that regard, almost any electronic device today is a computer in some form, therefore my argument that the iPad is a computer, but not like what we perceive as a PC or Mac, being bound to the top of your desk or the top of your lap or the book of your note.
Therefore not the same principles can be applied to the technical specifications and requirements of that machine (iPad), it even uses a CPU with "only" 1GHz.

Do you want to buy or use a Mac or PC with 1GHz today?

The iPad is a simple consumer device, which does not currently multi-task, thus not much Random Access Memory is needed for it to work properly and fast enough for you to not throw it out of the next airlock.
 
I think Apple takes the attitude that this sort of detail is not something the user should have to worry about and I largely agree with that. It will have enough RAM to use the applications that Apple supply with the device. Any third party iPad Apps will have to be designed to work within the given amount of memory. In this way it's very similar to the games console model.

I'm curious to know how much RAM the thing has, however as a user I can't see any real practical need to know this information.
 
MacAgent84 said:
No, I think a microwave is not a computer. The iPad is a computer.

All of these silly messages are beside the point. We should know how much RAM the iPad will have, so how much RAM is in it??

Anyone?
Click to expand...

To date I haven't seen or heard about anything officially from Apple. My guess is 512meg to 1gig. The iPhone I believe was found to have 256megs. You don't need as much ram for gaming as you might think considering the iPhone OS isn't eating up a huge portion of it. The exclusion of multitasking also assures the program running as full system resources and not sharing the ram with other non used apps in the background.

Bottom line, no one can answer your question as Apple has not stated on their "tecch spec's" how much it will have.
 
Of course it matters how much RAM the iPad will have. This will significantly impact what the 3D gaming capabilities will be.
 
MacAgent84 said:
Of course it matters how much RAM the iPad will have. This will significantly impact what the 3D gaming capabilities will be.
Click to expand...

But as the iPad most probably uses the AppStore to acquire the games that are being played on the iPad, the maps (the data that gets stored in the RAM) will not be as a big as with a game that comes with 2 DVDs (15GB).

Even COD 4 - MW can be played with a 128MB graphics card.
 
MacAgent84 said:
Of course it matters how much RAM the iPad will have. This will significantly impact what the 3D gaming capabilities will be.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter because it's not something we can change anyhow. 256, 512 or 4gigs... whatever the number it is... "it is what it is". Developers will optimize their games for the system resources. Their is nothing to compare it to anyhow as the games being built for the iPad wont' have anything to compare themselves to, so thier is no real way to find out if it would run "better" with more ram or not. Beyond simple curiosity.. the question is rather pointless really.
 
MacAgent84 said:
Of course it matters how much RAM the iPad will have. This will significantly impact what the 3D gaming capabilities will be.
Click to expand...

This is important for game developers and I'm sure that they will very quickly find out the details that they need. However as a user I don't particularly care; as long as people create fun games then I'll be happy.

If high-quality 3D graphics in games is a big factor for you then it might be wise to hold off for a bit and see what developers can do with the hardware in practice.
 
chriszzz said:
....really?

It amazes me people still do not understand the difference between RAM and storage capacity.
Click to expand...

Not everyone understands computers like others understand chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics and other areas you might not even have a hint of knowledge on.

It's the same with computers. Many people don't realize, that a phone or a modern TV and even a remote is some kind of computer.
 
People are confused because you are not being precise.
Since it uses much the same processor as the Touch and Phone it is reasonable
to say it has at least 128 megs of Vram for processing. Apple may have added more for the graphics but we cannot predict how much- that will have to wait till we are told.
The NVram is the flash ram that is used for storage.
 
blackNBUK, you raise a good point. Do developers know how much RAM is in the iPad? If so, why hasn't this been made public?

If developers do not yet know how much RAM is available for the iPad, then that really does not make much sense at all.

Bottom line: this information should have been made public by now, and it will be a crucial factor for me when purchasing this device.
 
spinnerlys said:
Not everyone understands computers like others understand chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics and other areas you might not even have a hint of knowledge on.

It's the same with computers. Many people don't realize, that a phone or a modern TV and even a remote is some kind of computer.
Click to expand...

I don't expect every grandma and grandpa to understand every technical detail, but this is an online community focused on technology. I would expect at least a basic understanding of computer components.
 
chriszzz said:
I don't expect every grandma and grandpa to understand every technical detail, but this is an online community focused on technology. I would expect at least a basic understanding of computer components.
Click to expand...

You "would" expect, but you really can't.

Just because someone is able to use a computer and register at a message board doesn't mean that someone knows about the inner workings or components of a personal computer.

It's like using a TV, VCR, car, hammer, fridge, washing machine, elevator, door, ... .
You (the general you, as I don't know the extent of your knowledge) don't need to know how the cathode ray tube or LCD inside a TV do work, how the spools in a VCR spin, how a car gets its petrol pumped into whatever, how the hammer is made, how the fridge cools your milk, why there is a big block of cement in your washing machine, what the cables of that elevator are made of, and how that door automatically opens.

Many forum users know about the inner workings of PCs, especially ones visiting these forae, but also many don't even understand the difference between the many OSs or just the two main ones or what an OS really is.

We're still not K-Paxians.
 
The "knowledgeable" consumer product experts are getting in a frenzy here. Why does it need a whole gig of RAM? Have any of you even opened the SDK and played around with the limits on the iPhone? Let alone the iPad.
 
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