To RAM or not to RAM?

[bsheridan]

I've got a 2.16GHz macbook.
It is capable of having RAM up to 3.3GB, so here's my question:

Crucial offers two 1GB cards for £33. BUT they also offer a 1GB and 2GB for a total of £40.
Is that extra gig worth the £8, I ask because both ram slots wont be at equal pegging; will the 1GB be worth the drawback of the lowered performance?

+ they're both free shipping, nice!

(£1 = $2)

 

[bsheridan]

does anyone have any insight???

 

[slipper]

From my research on this forum, matched sets of RAM only provide minute gains in performance over non-matched sets. Of course minute gains could be just testing variances, thus no gains at all with matched pairs of RAM. If thats the case, maybe its just propoganda from the RAM companies.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Do you need the ram? It looks like a ok deal in GBP for the extra 1 gb, I'd go for it if I were you but then again it just migh be overkill if your budget is tight.

 

[LeMacK]

macbooks don't require matched sets of RAM, and won't benefit from it. the mac pro, however, does.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

macbooks don't require matched sets of RAM, and won't benefit from it. the mac pro, however, does.

Actually, I believe that any core 2 duo macbooks will also be able to benefit from matched pairs.

 

[LeMacK]

Actually, I believe that any core 2 duo macbooks will also be able to benefit from matched pairs.

technically that's true, but benchmark results (xbench) indictate that c2d macbook performance with 3 GB RAM (unmatched) is 3.9% better than 2 GB RAM matched.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

technically that's true, but benchmark results (xbench) indictate that c2d macbook performance with 3 GB RAM (unmatched) is 3.9% better than 2 GB RAM matched.

Yes, I agree. My point was to illustrate that a 64 bit macbook enjoys performance gains over a 32 bit macbook thanks to matched pairs.