768MB RAM Vs 1.25 Gigs RAM

768MB RAM Vs 1.25 Gigs RAM?

Does anyone happen to have links to benchmarks with 768 MB of ram vs .25 gigs?

I just bought the new 12" powerbooks but am definitely buying at least another stick of 512MB however I have to see a noticeable difference to justify the extra 300 dollars. I'm not familiar with the way OS X handles memory on the OS level and how efficient it is.

The most intensive app that I'll run is Reason 2.5 for music production but that won't be the majority of the time.

I know many say the more the better but I just don't want to mindlessly buy memory especially at that price.

are you buying ram from apple? if so, that's a bad idea. one 512 stick of rame shouldn't be 300 bucks....closer to half that...if that even...I have a 12" 1ghz pb w/ 768mb ram...and my stick only cost...somewhere between 120-140......I think..possibly less.....also it is good memmory with a lifetime warranty..I got corsair....

so unless memmory prices have gone up a whole lot....300 bucks is too much.

TylerMoney said:

are you buying ram from apple? if so, that's a bad idea. one 512 stick of rame shouldn't be 300 bucks....closer to half that...if that even...I have a 12" 1ghz pb w/ 768mb ram...and my stick only cost...somewhere between 120-140......I think..possibly less.....also it is good memmory with a lifetime warranty..I got corsair....

so unless memmory prices have gone up a whole lot....300 bucks is too much.

Click to expand...

No, I wouldn't buy memory from Apple since their prices are way overpriced. I've built my own PCs forever so I'm always price comparing but I do tend to buy RAM (and most components) from the more reputable companies (with warranties) and memory module makers rather than a no-name brand (just for piece of mind.

When I said "extra 300 dollars" I meant the extra 300 dollars to buy a 1-gig stick rather than a 512MB stick. That's according to what I saw on Crucial.com yesterday.

IMHO.. Well when I ran reason w/ 512 it was running pretty good; only had like 5 tracks. I mean there wasn't a very noticeable slowness.. however when i run photoshop it runs very sluggish. But you know I think that getting a 512 will probably be enough but the 1 gig will sure satisfy your memory hunger; and well i'm pretty sure you'll need it for reason if your going to use like 20 different tracks. If not, then 512 should be enough...

EY

oh, a 1gig stick, that sounds about right then..I thought you were just talking about a 512 stick...

TylerMoney said:

oh, a 1gig stick, that sounds about right then..I thought you were just talking about a 512 stick...

Click to expand...

np, Thanks tyler and eypuff. I'm still undecided but will make a decision by tomorrow and just order the RAM. I'm kinda thinking about just getting the 1gig stick so I won't worry about getting more RAM in the future.

I agree with the 1 gig stick cause I think it's best to load each RAM slot to its max - no wasting sticks in upgrades

Wow! Memory is really expensive in the states... glad i don't live there! In Hong Kong, i only paid $1000 (HK Dollars) thats less than $150 bucks for you guys for 1Gb stick of Samsung Branded (PCB and Chips) memory module.

For peace of mind and for PowerUsers, 1.25 GB should be more then enough for most tasks... But if your powerbook is your 'main' or only system, upgrading to 1.5Gb isn't such a bad idea, unless prices of RAM drops drastically and if your thinking of upgrading to the max! I would check first to see your application supports the extra memory, as I discovered Adobe Photoshop CS only sees the first 2Gb. Then again, my G5's never short of ram!

Well, I went ahead and ordered the 1 gig stick. I figured that I wouldn't worry about upgrading the memory for the life of the powerbook.

I'm curious to see how much things will change in doing daily activities in addition to memory intensive apps.

I use Reason every day on my PB (see sig for details) and I never have any problems. I max out the tracks and use a lot of samples. I will definitively opt for 1gb ram at some point, but so far everything´s butter

Well, I went ahead and just bought the 1 Gig stick. I figure I'll just go ahead and do it all at once so I don't have to worry about it later down the road. Hopefully there will be some noticeable difference (or else I'll have to pretend it's there to justify the cost).

lar5one: what kind of music are you producing with Reason? I'm a total beginner but wanted to hear some tracks if you have them posted and available for download.

Just hope Apple don't change the memory type in their next revision of Powerbook too much... i hate to 'dump' the ram!

Doesn't the 12" Powerbook only have one slot?

The 512mb stick at Crucial is $129.99, btw.

Man, I wish I had that option -- I can't afford to go past my defautl 256 mb

My Powerbook has yet to arrive, but is it going to choke on Photoshop, then?

yes, the 12" only has one slot...so it's max compacity is 1.25....which is a lot of ram.....

Well, he said "another stick of 512 mb" (which I take it is how he was getting 768 mb), and so I was rather confused...wait, is this slot in addition to the built-in 256? Otherwise, getting a 512 stick won't add anything, but just replace the 256.

<-- Powerbook still flying overseas, so has no idea

Yes its in addition to the 256 built in so 512 would make it 768.

I'm currently running 512 MB, as I added a 256 MB stick and I'm finding it to be insufficient even for daily use. So...I'm ordering a 512 MB stick from Crucial sometime this week.

Anybody wanna buy a 256 MB stick for $40?

hype.it said:

Just hope Apple don't change the memory type in their next revision of Powerbook too much... i hate to 'dump' the ram!

Click to expand...

It would be ideal if they used the same RAM but I'll probably keep this PB for the next few years and I'm sure they'll be past PC2700 by that time.

I got the RAM last Wednesday but didn't install it until today since I went out of town on business. Haven't really had the chance to do much except basic tasks and it'll probably be that way since the next couple of weeks are going to be killer for me at work and school.

I'll reply back once I've had a chance to test out the PB. Anyone want me to run some benchmarks? Give me some links and suggestions, I know all the benchmarks for PCs but since I'm new to the world of Macs.

well....when they do go past 2700, it'll be a lot cheaper to upgrade your ram...I've had my mac since december..so about five months...right when I got it I bought a 512mb stick....768mb ram total...and it's just treatin me dandy so far. I figure I'll be keeping the powerbook at least 3-4 years before I buy a new one...and in about another six months-year..I'll probably try and buy a gig stick and max out my memmory....and let the computer live it's last terms with as much power as it's able to have...it'll be awesome....

gig sticks are so expensive right now...it's rediculous...like 400 bucks....I need them to get down to 512 stick pricing...like 120 bucks....ram prices are up right now anyways....I figure six months...and it should be closer to what I want to spend.