Soon to be Mac Daddy...

And something you can do *gasp* on a Mac too.

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On a Macbook?

Yes. Just google "macbook how to install RAM" and you'll see users can add their own RAM in Macs.

It's generally quite easy to add RAM to a Macbook. There are numerous examples online telling you how to do it.

If your daughter doesn't intend to game, Parallels might be better since she wouldn't have to reboot to use Windows apps. If she does a little bit of reading on the Mac equivalents of Windows apps, she can probably transition pretty quickly and find she may not be using Windows much at all.

Yes. Just google "macbook how to install RAM" and you'll see users can add their own RAM in Macs.

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I checked prices...OUCH!!! It's actually cheaper to get it from the factory with 2gb installed. I guess that depends somewhat on what I can get for the 2-512mb sticks I remove.

2 GB of Ram for the MB generally runs in the $200 range I believe. I'm not finding any place online that's upping the RAM by 1.5 GB for less than that. Maybe you're finding something I'm not, but most charge at least that much more if you order it that way. It's easier to get better value from the RAM upgrade going from 1 GB to 2 GB than it is in going from 512 MB to 2 GB (since you really don't need that 512 in there in the first place).

I was looking at upgrading the 1gb macbook to 2gb. I assume the 1gb model has two matching 512mb sticks. If I did the replacing, I could sell these to recoup some of my cost. What I've seen so far is $175 to upgrade from 1gb to 2gb at the time of purchase and $250-$325 to purchase the ram to do it myself.

I recently switched to the Mac, and I had planned on running windows on my mac. To be honest I have yet to find a reason that I need windows, but this is different for everyone. I would suggest running the Mac as intended for a few months before installing windows, and see if after that there is a need for windows. You may be surprised.

biguglyman said:

I was looking at upgrading the 1gb macbook to 2gb. I assume the 1gb model has two matching 512mb sticks. If I did the replacing, I could sell these to recoup some of my cost. What I've seen so far is $175 to upgrade from 1gb to 2gb at the time of purchase and $250-$325 to purchase the ram to do it myself.

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Hi Biguglyman!

According to ramseeker.com looks like you should be able to get a 1GB stick for roughly $100. So then if you just add that stick yourself to the 1 that comes in it, you should be good to go. Adding RAM to a MacBook is pretty easy. I even upgraded the hard drive myself (although that was more of an ordeal, and took me a patient hour and a half about).

I'm running Parallels on my Macbook Pro. The only reason I run it is to preview web sites I design in IE to make sure they "work". Aside from that, I never use it. I can open and edit Word, Excel, etc. just fine in OS X. Never had any problems whatsoever with Parallels, and I think it will end up being what the majority of hybrid types use on their Macs.

Parallels weakness right now is that it doesn't fully tap the power of the video card, whereas Boot Camp does. This is why if your step-daughter games on her Mac, she'll want to use Boot Camp. If she doesn't game at all, I'd just get Parallels unless the 80 bucks is a turnoff. The way things are looking Parallels will be be "gameable" by the end of the year anyways. They are extremely pro-active in upgrading it, and seem to do so a couple times a month. I think by Christmas you can just pop in any CD and install any application or .exe file that you want while in OS X (via Parallels). Parallels will display Mac windows or Windows windows on your desktop depending on what application you're running. It's a brave new world.

I'm also a very avid gamer (Battlefield 2142 and Oblivion are the two I play pretty much daily). I tend to like highly demanding, graphic intensive games and I play on a PC I put together with some help from my brother. I upgrade the video card as needed. Looking forward to Crysis when it comes out. For fun I installed Battlefield 2 on my Mac once, and it ran fine, just like a PC. I can tell you that you wouldn't have any problem with HL2 and all mods on a Mac right now, via Boot Camp, depending on which Mac you got.

Price-wise, the Mac Mini is the only thing competitive currently with what you're getting ($600-800), and I believe that for that amount you can put together a better gaming machine on your own, so you've taken the right path for a pure gaming machine. For putting together one on your own, it all comes down to the motherboard...get a nice, flexible one made for the future, and you can upgrade the invidual components (Ram, video card, etc.) as needed for years.

durandel said:

...So then if you just add that stick yourself to the 1 that comes in it, you should be good to go.

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Sadly, if the Macbook comes with 1gig of memory it will be in a matched pair of 512gig sticks.

Sadly, if the Macbook comes with 1gig of memory it will be in a matched pair of 512gig sticks.

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That's what I thought...

yogi said:

Well, I know that the ability to run both is what brings in most people, but let me tell you: Run OS X alone for a while. You can always put on Windows later. Trust me, if you try "surviving" with OS X for some weeks, you and your daughter will notice the difference.

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Listen up to this post. Like the OP, I was one what bought a mac with the intention of using XP in bootcamp or parallels. And Id planned on using XP the majority of the time, and only tinkering in OSX until I got to know it better.

But once I got home I decided to wait and make myself learn OSX a bit. Almost 9 months later Ive never installed bootcamp. I did get parallels, back before the price increase (went from $50 to 80 last July). I have installed XP with parallels, but have only ran it a handful of times just for the novelty factor.

When I got my mac I wasnt one of these people with horror stories about Windows. I was just interested to see what OSX was like. And while I still have never had that WOW moment that most people seem to have with a Mac, I cant see myself ever going back to Windows.

The ability to hang onto what you know with Windows is indeed a factor in alot of peoples decision to get a Mac. "If I dont like OSX, I can always go back to Windows" was the logic I used. Some people see it as a type of security blanket, I did. But the fact is it becomes a crutch if you let it. Let go of Windows for a while and you'll find that OSX is more than capable of taking its place.

biguglyman said:

What I've seen so far is $175 to upgrade from 1gb to 2gb at the time of purchase and $250-$325 to purchase the ram to do it myself.

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231069

A TON of mac user have used this ram to upgrade. This is the ram I was going to use but when I was set to buy it was over $100 a stick. Now you can get 2gb for under $150.

You can easily sell the stock 512 (2x256) for $60. Your upgrade only cost you $90 now.

Durandel, that's great news on Parallels if they can upgrade it to work with video cards and make it gameable. Gaming is the big issue for me that will require Boot Camp as things stand with the two programs right now.

Smell The Glove said:

Durandel, that's great news on Parallels if they can upgrade it to work with video cards and make it gameable. Gaming is the big issue for me that will require Boot Camp as things stand with the two programs right now.

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Parallels just released an updated version yesterday (2/27/07) that now allows you to install and run Windows apps. natively on the Mac. So, you can literally just be in OSX and pop in a Windows CD and it will install whatever Windows app. you want.

Parallels has stated that they WILL have full video game support some time this year. In my mind their the ones to go with.

A TON of mac user have used this ram to upgrade.

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Looks like an option. Will doing this void my warranty?

Gaming is the big issue for me

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Besides cost, it's the biggest reason I won't switch to a Mac myself. I may be getting closer though...

biguglyman said:

Looks like an option. Will doing this void my warranty?


Besides cost, it's the biggest reason I won't switch to a Mac myself. I may be getting closer though...

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Wont void the warranty unless you break something during install.

If games are any issue at all, there is just no convincing anyone remotely interested in getting a Mac.

Personally, while Im not that old (32), Im well past my prime video game playing days so it was a non-factor. Console gaming is all I need.

Personally, while Im not that old (32), Im well past my prime video game playing days so it was a non-factor.

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I'm 50 and just hitting my stride. I love Half-Life and play the online mod called DoD. (Day of Defeat) It's a WW-II simulation type mod.

biffyiffy said:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231069

A TON of mac user have used this ram to upgrade. This is the ram I was going to use but when I was set to buy it was over $100 a stick. Now you can get 2gb for under $150.

You can easily sell the stock 512 (2x256) for $60. Your upgrade only cost you $90 now.

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Does anyone here know if that RAM would work in an Intel Core Duo iMac? Sorry cut in, but since it was linked to, I thought it would be better than making a new thread.

Sandwichman said:

Does anyone here know if that RAM would work in an Intel Core Duo iMac? Sorry cut in, but since it was linked to, I thought it would be better than making a new thread.

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Yes. This ram works with all intel macs except the Mac Pro.