How much RAM?

This goes for both powerbooks and ibooks really. I just put it in here because I'll probably end up with a 12" powerbook. How much RAM does one need? Is 512mb to little?

It just seems like extra RAM in macs is SO god **** expensive. I'd like to have a gigabyte, but that's pushing it with the price.

The best thing to do is get a small amount in it and upgrade it yourself later at a much cheaper price. I had 512mb in my powerbook and it ran fine but I did notice everything picked up some extra speed when I upped it to 1 gig

Don't they only have one extra SODIMM slot? Then plus the 256mb built-in chip?

Yup there is only one slot.I say the more the ram the better.I upgraded the ram to 768 and there is a huge difference compared to the stock 256.My only complaint is the installation.Unscrewing the screws turned out to be a pain.The screws are so tight and so soft that I end up rounding all four of them.

The number of slots depends on the model...
iBooks only have one slot, with 256MB on-board. Makes a maximum of 1.25GB (or 640MB for older ones).
12" Powerbooks also only have one slot and 256MB on-board.
15" and 17" Powerbooks have no RAM on board, but two slots, they can take up to 2GB.
No matter which Mac you buy, buy it with the minimum RAM, andupgrade it later. Apple's RAM-prices are just astronomical!
How much you need depends on what kind of applicaion you want to use. 256MB is absolute minimum, 512MB or better 768MB is enough for most things. For memory hungry apps like professional Video and Audio editing, 1GB is what I would use as a minimum requirement to work comfortely.

But, as it goes for every modern computer, the more you have, the better it is.

I stepped up from 256MB to 768MB and it was a *phenomonal* change. Highly recommended, 512 should be OK but 768 is great.

256 was horrible... open 3 apps and it slows down to a halt!

I bought an extra 512 mb, so now I have 728 mb. 728 is great...but I'll be buying a 1 gig stick as soon as they come way down in price, and I get a job. It's always best to max out, but 728 mb is great.

i went straight out and maxed the ram in my powerbook. But it was only last week that i was actually able to compare the difference in ram with my friend's new powerbook, same specs as mine. He's got 512k, i've got 1.25gig, definitely a huge leap with multiple tasks open. But like everybody else says, it depends what you want out of your powerbook, unlike some prat in my town who bought a 17" powerbook, with 2gig of ram, just to browse the internet, oh, and to one-up on everybody. tsk, some people have more money than sense.

that's me! I'm that prat! w00T! ok, not really. I only have a gig. Hopefully I'll be doing some of that video editing in college...so yeah.

i just hope he'll get bored and sell me the 17" for as cheap as chips.

Wait, say you put a 512 stich in and then a year later you want a 1 gb module in there, could you rip out one of the older RAM sticks??

yep you can remove the old stick

Yep, you just can't get at the 256MB that's already built into it so for example on a 12" you have to replace the chip you already got with the new one.

thought so I just wanted to be sure so if i do pull the RAM out i would be sure i wouldnt screw the computer up .

Newegg has a 1 gig SODIMM for $227 right now...I am so tempted to buy it.