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VogonPoet

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Original poster
I just ordered one of the new 15" PowerBooks with the standard 512MB of RAM. I want to upgrade to 2GB myself after I receive the PB. NewEgg is currently selling these Kingston ValueRAM 1GB sticks (DDR2 PC2 4200 SODIMM).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144183

Based on the specs I can find on Apple's site, that RAM should work? Any thoughts.
 
VogonPoet said:
I just ordered one of the new 15" PowerBooks with the standard 512MB of RAM. I want to upgrade to 2GB myself after I receive the PB. NewEgg is currently selling these Kingston ValueRAM 1GB sticks (DDR2 PC2 4200 SODIMM).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144183

Based on the specs I can find on Apple's site, that RAM should work? Any thoughts.

Yeah, that *should* work, but beware. PowerBooks are famously picky about RAM.
 
the answer is: yes

iumeda said:
Please let us know if the memory works for you. I think there are many people who would benefit from this information. Thank you!

-ian


I'm answering my own post here. I got 2GB of Crucial memory from newegg and it seems to work just fine.
 
iumeda said:
I'm answering my own post here. I got 2GB of Crucial memory from newegg and it seems to work just fine.

you ordered from the link in your first post? i noticed the reviews say that it doesn't work in the latest powerbooks
 
i ordered a 1gb ddr2 stick yesterday from DataMem.com and will receive it today. i will report back and let everyone know how it works out.
 
tekmoe said:
i ordered a 1gb ddr2 stick yesterday from DataMem.com and will receive it today. i will report back and let everyone know how it works out.
I know you will be happy. They are very good. If you are not happy for some reason, I guarantee they will do whatever possible to rectify the problem.
 
tekmoe said:
i ordered a 1gb ddr2 stick yesterday from DataMem.com and will receive it today. i will report back and let everyone know how it works out.

can't wait to hear, so i can decide on what to order. i need more ram!
 
ok, i got home today and installed the 1gb stick. everything is running flawlessly. i even ran the mac hardware test for the heck of it and of course, everything checked out A-OK.

before i shutdown my powerbook to install the RAM, i had an uptime of over 7 days. now let's see how long of an uptime i can get! ;)
 
tekmoe said:
ok, i got home today and installed the 1gb stick. everything is running flawlessly. i even ran the mac hardware test for the heck of it and of course, everything checked out A-OK.

before i shutdown my powerbook to install the RAM, i had an uptime of over 7 days. now let's see how long of an uptime i can get! ;)

that's good too know. i guess i'll have to order some soon
 
twoodcc said:
that's good too know. i guess i'll have to order some soon

I can't decide between the Kingston from Newegg ($80), or the datamem special ($99).

I've used Kingston and Crucial in my PC's for 8 years with no issues, but never anything from DataMem.
 
Hmmm...just noticed the Transcend is only $67 after rebate. I could get 2 GB for just a little more than the 1GB kingston or datamem, and then sell the 512 stick that came with my PB.

How good is transcend though, I've never heard of them.
 
update: iTunes just crashed for no apparent reason. i had it playing in the background and it crashed. i did not have an app crash during the entire 7 day uptime from before i installed the new 1gb stick from DataMem. i will give this ram one more chance. if i have another app crash, the ram is being returned. grrrrrrrrr
 
just another thought...maybe i need to remove the original 512mb factory stick because it may not be fully compatible with the 1gb datamem stick?
 
tekmoe said:
just another thought...maybe i need to remove the original 512mb factory stick because it may not be fully compatible with the 1gb datamem stick?

if all the specs are the same on it, they should work well together.
 
maybe the iTunes crash was a fluke...but i have a gut feeling that it has something to do with the new memory stick. i've never seen iTunes crash on any of my macs before. :rolleyes:

for some people, a crash here and there is no big deal. but my mac has to be 100% stable. i do live performances using serato scratch live which is a dj'ing software. if my mac crashes when i am in the mix, it is a HUGE deal. it is VERY important that my mac is running top notch at all times or else i am screwed. chances are, i am going to be sending this memory back. one crash is pretty much enough to turn me away from using this ram. i still have 29 days left so i will use it for what its worth but i am not feeling very confident at this point.

will post back if anything else weird happens.
 
just so you know, i have the same powerbook as you do, and mine just crashed. i had an uptime of almost 8 days (not quite) and i'm sitting here in class and all of a sudden i get this grey screen thing that comes up and says: You must restart your computer. Press and hold the power button.

it has the message in a few other languages also.

it might not be the ram, since i have the same laptop you do, but who knows? i probably needed a restart anyways, after installing programs and stuff
 
twoodcc said:
just so you know, i have the same powerbook as you do, and mine just crashed. i had an uptime of almost 8 days (not quite) and i'm sitting here in class and all of a sudden i get this grey screen thing that comes up and says: You must restart your computer. Press and hold the power button.

it has the message in a few other languages also.

it might not be the ram, since i have the same laptop you do, but who knows? i probably needed a restart anyways, after installing programs and stuff

ouch. that's not good at all. kernel panic! have you added any additional RAM?
 
tekmoe said:
ouch. that's not good at all. kernel panic! have you added any additional RAM?

yeah, i didn't think it was good. i haven't done anything to it hardware wise, i just added quite a few programs. photoshop, final cut pro, and quite a few other media applications. is there anything i should do about this?
 
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