Memory: 1.5 vs 2 GB?

[matthewr]

I'm in the process of upgrading my 15 in 1.33 GHz PB to try to eek a few more years out of it. I just replaced the 80 GB hard drive with a 160 GB, and am going to get a new battery, too, since the old one doesn't have any life in it.

I currently have 1.5 GB of RAM in it. Would I see much of an improvement in performance if I replaced the 512 MB stick with a 1 GB stick, bringing the total to 2GB of memory? I know the recommendation is always to max out the memory, but I don't want to throw too much money into a 3 year old machine if it isn't going to make much of a difference in performance.

 

[Gymnut]

What sort of applications do you run on your PowerBook? Depending on that would certainly justifiy whether you would need more RAM or not.

 

[matthewr]

PB Use

These days I'm mainly just using Safari, Mail, iPhoto, iTunes and sometimes Photoshop. Nothing too intensive. When I eventually replace it, I'll probably be looking at a mid-range MacBook (I don't really need the "Pro" features right now). My interest right now is to try to put off a new purchase for a while, but still use a somewhat snappy machine.

 

[steamboat26]

In theory, having a matched pair of RAM (ie two 1 GB sticks) should be faster than unmatched pairs, but your experience might vary. Some people notice no difference at all, others notice a huge difference.

 

[techlover828]

If you're going to spend the money on ram just go for 2 GB

 

[CanadaRAM]

In theory, having a matched pair of RAM (ie two 1 GB sticks) should be faster than unmatched pairs, but your experience might vary. Some people notice no difference at all, others notice a huge difference.

No, the first part is not true. The G4 based Powerbooks do not utilize dual channel memory, so there is no difference in memory bandwidth between the matched and unmatched configurations.

OP: The applications that 2 Gb will give you the most benefit will be Photoshop, and iPhoto if you have large-ish Libraries. iPhoto works grand as long as all of the library information is small enough to load into RAM, then it slows down dramatically if you surpass that amount.

 

[steamboat26]

No, the first part is not true. The G4 based Powerbooks do not utilize dual channel memory, so there is no difference in memory bandwidth between the matched and unmatched configurations.

My bad, i'm used to intel macs, which i thought used the dual channel memory

 

[A Cute Baby Lam]

I think if you are really trying to eek a few more YEARS out of it you should go ahead and get it.

 

[mgargan1]

Could you go into Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor...

And then go to the memory tab, and tell us how many page ins/page outs you have right now.

Be sure to do it after you've used your computer for a while... under typical use. Don't do it right after you've restarted.

Post that, and then that'll help with the recommendations.

 

[astrostu]

Could you go into Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor...

And then go to the memory tab, and tell us how many page ins/page outs you have right now.

Be sure to do it after you've used your computer for a while... under typical use. Don't do it right after you've restarted.

Post that, and then that'll help with the recommendations.

You can also look at how much virtual memory is being used up after your computer's been used for awhile.