MacBook help!?

Man, I sure wish I had a 512 MHz machine.

I'm just ****ing with you, man.

You just need to find DDR 2 PC2-5300 memory. Another 512 MB will be fine or if you're feeling generous, 1 GB in a single.

Although I have to say, if you have to ask this kind of question, I seriously doubt you are doing anything intensive enough to really push any machine. But I have to admit OS X should be running with 1 GB of memory.

edit: Wait, are you talking about RAM or HDD? Memory or hard drive space?

I see you mentioned you only have 60 GB. This is rich.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure I follow your question. What is it you want to upgrade?

 

Sounds like 60GB should be fine for you if you don't have a clearly idendtified need for more space (e.g. a music collection that's already 80 GB or something).

More RAM is definitely recommended but not absolutely necessary (the base 512MB performs fine). I went ahead and installed my own upgrade to 1.25 GHz, but I don't know how much of a difference it really made in peformance (but it makes me feel better).

 

I would tell him to reinstall OS X without some unnecessary files but I'm not quite sure he could handle it.

This would bring the entire system to be only 8 GB. The MacBook comes with 15 GB of HDD spaced used on factory installation.

GB not GHz. ;-)

And don't you mean 1.5 GB? I fail to see how you have 1.25 GB of RAM.

 

Because the 512 is made of two 256MB sticks, so replacing one with a 1GB stick makes it 1.25GB. I found it difficult to multitask with only 512MB in my Macbook, now i have 2GB. 1.25GB should be enough for everyday usage but will reduce the graphics performance of the computer (as you don't have paired RAM on the same size.).

If possible I'd wait until after Christmas as the RAM is very expensive for the Macbook atm, as others have said PC2-5300 667Mhz SODIMM's are what you want.

Even though it's cheaper I'd avoid eBay for RAM, it is often "High Density" which doesn't work properly in 90% of computers (including Mac's). I'd pay more for a known brand, you are better off without it than that stuff IMO.

You can upgrade the HD as well, up to 160GB (though Apple is BTO'ing 200GB ones on the Macbook Pro) atm, this costs around £150. If you are mainly using it chained to a desk I'd recommend a USB 2 or Firewire external drive, you can get 400GB for about £100. A firewire drive will run as quickly as your internal too...

 

I had no idea it shipped with two 256 MB sticks.

That's kind of lame but I guess it's common practice for most notebook and desktop PC manufacturers.

I had mine ordered with 1 GB of RAM (two 512 MB sticks) straight from the factory so I didn't bother checking what the stock models have.

 

You want to run Final Cut on a MacBook???

Why didnt you just go w/ the iMac than...

Ram = a chip used to make your computer store temporary memory, makes final cut run a bit faster the more you have measured in MB and GB

Hard Drive = Memory used on your computer to store permanent things, IE: programs or files, documents measure in GB (gigabytes)

Processor = Main piece of your computer that well processes data.. (check me on that im not sure the EXACT thing it does) these are measured now in GHZ (gigahertz)

Might have not spelled everything right but that might clear up things a bit

I would go for a gig of ram (1gb total) and an external drive to hold your video and music. On my MBP i have a 200GB External drive (hard drive) and 1GB of Ram.. works great for me and im Running Final Cut Express

 

Macbook is not the right machine for FCP. I think apple does not recommend it, although it can be done. Also, I personally would have a lot of trouble editing on such a small screen for any extended amount of time (external monitor?). Instead, you should equip yourself with a MBP C2D and at least 1GB of ram (do they come with a gig nowadays? They should!). OR any imac or MacPro (that may be overkill for you though) with at least 1GB for any machine, especially if you are planning to use any PPC apps through rosetta.