Installing more RAM for a Powerbook G4

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Feb 22, 2010
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Hi, I've had a Powerbook for a few months now and have been quickly filling it with music and ebooks and all that, so now only have about 3 GB left free out of the 56 GB I started with.

So, since the memory on this is 512 MB, I was thinking of getting another half a GB of RAM and installing that, as the Powerbook's started running pretty slowly sometimes.

I'm kind of a Philistine when it comes to computers, so explain to me slowly whether or not installing the extra RAM would mean I had more usable space for MP3s, Logic etc. And if not, what I should do instead.

Thanks.
 
C

chas_m

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No, adding more RAM will not give you more space on your hard drive.

3GB free space on your hard drive is well into the "danger zone" of trouble. Mac OS X needs a fair amount of temporary space to work with, I would recommend leaving no less than 6GB available at all times (10GB would be better).

What you need is both more RAM (512MB is just not a serious amount these days, go ahead and max it out, its cheap) and a larger internal hard drive (or more of your stuff offloaded to an external). Having more RAM will make for a faster and smoother overall experience, particularly when doing things like playing games, using the internet or working with graphics or video.

The good news is that both RAM and HDs for are super-cheap these days. I would suggest getting at least 1GB additional RAM, and at least a 250GB drive (you'll be hard pressed to find anything smaller these days anyway!). Installing the drive may need to be done by a tech depending on exactly what model you have, I recall the PB G4s as a right pain to swap out the hard drives on.
 
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Feb 24, 2010
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Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP 2.5Ghz C2D 4GB 500GB Seagate 7200RPM / 15" Powerbook G4 1.5Ghz 2GB 160GB Seagate 5400rpm
I just picked up a new Seagate 160 GB drive for my Powerbook G4 for $90, though there are bigger Western Digital drives. Seagates seem to perform better so I prefer the smaller better performing drive. Remember that you are looking for an ATA drive not a SATA drive.

As for memory, sounds like you are in stock config so that means you have 2 256MB chips. I ran a 1GB and a stock 256GB for years in my Powerbook with great results.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Macbook Pro 15"
Is it one of those 12" PowerBook G4s? Those are awesome!
 

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