Do I need more RAM?

C

chris041067

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Well, I have a new G4 pb, 1.25 Ghz w/ 512 mb RAM....I just got garageband and also installed soundtrack. I noticed that when I run soundtrack, it runs smoothly for the most part, even when I get up to around 20 tracks. But when I use Garageband, "part of the song was not played" after i get up around 8 tracks. In Help, it says it would help to upgrade RAM, and i have been told by others that it would help too, but my question i guess is, Why does soundtrack run so smoothly while Garageband...doesnt.?

And the reason i posted this in the hardware section is because I want to know if it would be a good idea to pick up more RAM (i was thinking a 1 Gig stick so i would have 1.25 gigs total since it came with 2 256's) And if i do up the RAM, wheres a good place to get it, other than from apple since they seem to be the most expensive? I have looked around but there are so many kinds i dont know what to look for specifically.
 
Padawan

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chris041067 said:
Well, I have a new G4 pb, 1.25 Ghz w/ 512 mb RAM....I just got garageband and also installed soundtrack. I noticed that when I run soundtrack, it runs smoothly for the most part, even when I get up to around 20 tracks. But when I use Garageband, "part of the song was not played" after i get up around 8 tracks. In Help, it says it would help to upgrade RAM, and i have been told by others that it would help too, but my question i guess is, Why does soundtrack run so smoothly while Garageband...doesnt.?

And the reason i posted this in the hardware section is because I want to know if it would be a good idea to pick up more RAM (i was thinking a 1 Gig stick so i would have 1.25 gigs total since it came with 2 256's) And if i do up the RAM, wheres a good place to get it, other than from apple since they seem to be the most expensive? I have looked around but there are so many kinds i dont know what to look for specifically.
Click to expand...

I bought my RAM from http://MacSolutions.com. They had good pricing, good service, and I've had no problems with it.
 
Osiris22x

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You can get your RAM at MacSolutions but it will be overpriced. My suggestion is to buy direct from Crucial at www.crucial.com. They're a direct memory maker, so there's no middle-man markup. They have a lifetime warranty, they guarantee it will work with any Mac, and shipping is usually free.

256 MB @ Macsolutions = $79.99
256 MB @ Crucial = $69.99

512 MB @ Macsolutions = $149.99
512 MB @ Crucial = $122.99

1 GB @ Macsolutions = $479.99 (ouch!)
1 BG @ Crucial = $415.99

So as you can see...there's some pretty gross markup going on over at Macsolutions...as with almost all Apple retailers. ;) Anyway, enjoy your new Powerbook! I just upgraded my RAM and it's humming right along.
 
Padawan

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Osiris22x said:
You can get your RAM at MacSolutions but it will be overpriced. My suggestion is to buy direct from Crucial at www.crucial.com. They're a direct memory maker, so there's no middle-man markup. They have a lifetime warranty, they guarantee it will work with any Mac, and shipping is usually free.

256 MB @ Macsolutions = $79.99
256 MB @ Crucial = $69.99

512 MB @ Macsolutions = $149.99
512 MB @ Crucial = $122.99

1 GB @ Macsolutions = $479.99 (ouch!)
1 BG @ Crucial = $415.99

So as you can see...there's some pretty gross markup going on over at Macsolutions...as with almost all Apple retailers. ;) Anyway, enjoy your new Powerbook! I just upgraded my RAM and it's humming right along.
Click to expand...

That's strange. When I bought my 512 MB over the summer, MacSolutions was a bit less than, or right around, $100. They were cheaper than Crucial, because I remember checking there before I bought at MacSolutions.
 
witeshark

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Padawan said:
That's strange. When I bought my 512 MB over the summer, MacSolutions was a bit less than, or right around, $100. They were cheaper than Crucial, because I remember checking there before I bought at MacSolutions.
Click to expand...
I'd say that sort of shift is normal - trading off whos taking bigger profit and such :cool:
 
rman

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Memory prices are like Gold prices, they are always gonig up and down.
 
OP
C

Chamorro

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Sorry, can't tell you why Soundtrack runs better than GB; possibly due to being made for older hardware?

Anyway, can't hurt to add RAM (or even max it out).
 
OP
C

chris041067

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thanks :)

one more thing...why is a Gig of RAM more than twice as much as 512?
 
witeshark

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Getting a gig or Ram is done usually with 2 X 512 sticks so about 1024 total
 
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Wapa18

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witeshark said:
Getting a gig or Ram is done usually with 2 X 512 sticks so about 1024 total
Click to expand...

i think he meant why is the price of a 1 gig stick more than twice as much as a 512 stick. and to answer that, i think it just has to do with the density of the memory chips on the stick of ram. it just costs more to squeeze more memory into the same amount of space.
 

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