Powerbook Buying Tips

[Axeon]

I'm interested in buying a Powerbook G4 (1.5GHZ, 512MB of 1 SO-DIMM RAM). If in the future I required more RAM, say... another 512MB 1 SO-DIMM upgrade, would that be possible? I'm really clueless in regards to the Powerbook's hardware architecture, so any information on how to save money instead of using Apple to upgrade RAM (ridiculously expensive) would be appreciated.

 

[dav]

Yes, the 15" has two RAM slots.

If you order 1 SO-DIMM in the beginning, you can add another at any time.

 

[jsw]

Yes, you can have two sticks in the PowerBook, and you could add another 512MB stick to match the one you're considering buying. Use the "Search" option on the toolbar above (the one next to "New Posts", not the "Search Site" one) and look for "PowerBook RAM" to find other threads.

Basically, you just need to buy from a reasonably reputable dealer and make sure you have the right stick for your PB. Adding RAM to a PB is not trivially easy, but it isn't rocket science, either.

 

[Axeon]

Yes, you can have two sticks in the PowerBook, and you could add another 512MB stick to match the one you're considering buying. Use the "Search" option on the toolbar above (the one next to "New Posts", not the "Search Site" one) and look for "PowerBook RAM" to find other threads.

Basically, you just need to buy from a reasonably reputable dealer and make sure you have the right stick for your PB. Adding RAM to a PB is not trivially easy, but it isn't rocket science, either.

I actually did search for "Powerbook RAM" (that exact thing). The answers I got were a bit amiguous, and with a large purchase close to $3000, I wanted a specific and concise answer.

Thanks for your replies. I'm fairly experienced in installing hardware on PCs, so I'm sure jumping over to Macs isn't that difficult either. Also, from what I've heard, Crucial and OWC seem to be the two most popular and reputable brands for RAM upgrades on Macs (I've been reading Mac Rumors Forums for about 2 months or so but haven't registered until today). Any further recommendations?

 

[jsw]

I actually did search for "Powerbook RAM" (that exact thing). The answers I got were a bit amiguous, and with a large purchase close to $3000, I wanted a specific and concise answer.

Thanks for your replies. I'm fairly experienced in installing hardware on PCs, so I'm sure jumping over to Macs isn't that difficult either. Also, from what I've heard, Crucial and OWC seem to be the two most popular and reputable brands for RAM upgrades on Macs (I've been reading Mac Rumors Forums for about 2 months or so but haven't registered until today). Any further recommendations?

Crucial, Kingston, and OWC are the ones I see mentioned as well, and their sites all let you select your system and see what RAM is available for it. I'd pick the cheapest RAM you can find among those three. Others would tell you to just get the cheapest you can find anywhere, but I think that's a bit risky. I've bought from Kingston and Crucial and have been happy with each of four purchases (two from each). Not a giant sample, I know, but enough to keep me going back to them. Note that Crucial tends to use cookies to set prices on popular RAM, so you might see different prices depending on which browser you use to view them and whether or not you have cookies enabled.

The only installation issue I've seen is that the screw used to hold the RAM in some PBs is a bit out of the ordinary ( a bit smaller than usual, if I recall correctly).

 

[Axeon]

Are you allowed to install uneven amounts of RAM?

Eg: 1 512 stick and 1 1GB stick?

 

[Macmaniac]

Are you allowed to install uneven amounts of RAM?

Eg: 1 512 stick and 1 1GB stick?

Yes the G4 does not required paired RAM, the G5 Powermac does. You can combine what ever size you want.