Maxing out my RAM

[bigcalm]

hey. i've got an iMac g4 17" widescreen with one slot filled with 512GB RAM (and one empty), 160 Gb HD.. anyway, everywhere I look it tells me the max RAM I can upgrade to is 1Gb, although for some reason I think I heard I could upgrade to 1.5GB without any trouble (the absolute max being 2Gb).

could someone help me out with this? i really want to buy 1Gb for the user slot, but i also don't want to fry my mac. any suggestions would be very very appreciated!

—anthony

 

[~Shard~]

Grab Mactracker, it will give you all the information you ever needed on any Mac! Which 17" iMac do you have? The first one? 1 GHz? The one with USB 2.0?

As a supplement to this though, feel free to reference this thread I started on the exact same topic - excellent replies there.

Hope this helps!

 

[CanadaRAM]

If you have a 1 GHz or higher machine (and I think all 17" are) then you have DDR RAM and can install a 1 GB module in each of the sockets. The internal DIMM socket is technician access only, but the user-accessible SODIMM socket is readily accessible under the bottom metal plate. Unfortunately, your existing RAM is probably 256 + 256, so you'll have to remove the SODIMM that's in there to make room for the 1 Gb, and you'll end up with 1.25 total.

As always: Choose RAM from a reputable vendor who tests and guarantees compatibility with your model Mac, offers a lifetime warranty and a no-cost return if it doesn't work.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

 

[~Shard~]

Actually, the first 17" G4 iMac was only 800 MHz - check out the info from these screenshots...

 

[bigcalm]

holy crap, thanks for the responses!

i was smart enough to buy my iMac with one 512 chip (it's a USB 2.0, the newest version of the Flat Panel G4s), so i have one slot free. i was going to get a 1Gb SODIMM to slot in there. ah ha! so, each slot can take 1Gb each, suh-weet! i think i remember hearing that the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is that 32-bit can support up to 2gigs of RAM vs. 64 with 4gigs. thanks for all the help, everyone! any suggestions on brands? i was thinking of the ULTRA 1024 SODIMM 333 chip...

 

[bigcalm]

hot diggity! that program is amazing. thanks so much for the extremely helpful and quick reply. i'm getting excited... CS2 is gonna fly!

—anth

Grab Mactracker, it will give you all the information you ever needed on any Mac! Which 17" iMac do you have? The first one? 1 GHz? The one with USB 2.0?

As a supplement to this though, feel free to reference this thread I started on the exact same topic - excellent replies there.

Hope this helps!

 

[~Shard~]

hot diggity! that program is amazing. thanks so much for the extremely helpful and quick reply. i'm getting excited... CS2 is gonna fly!

—anth

No problem at all, that's what we do here.

As for brand recommendations, my good friend CanadaRAM will definitely help sort you out there. Basically, with RAM, as with most things, you get what you pay for, so don't cheap out. Above all else, even beyond what specific brand you buy, make sure the RAM is truly Mac-compatible (if it isn't guaranteed, it doesn't count) and that is has a lifetime warranty.

As for brands, many people like Crucial despite their pricing, and other recommendations could include Data Memory Systems, Kingston (not the "value" RAM mind you) or RAMJet. And if you live in Canada, the best place to get RAM is CanadaRAM.