My computer is really, really slow.

I have a PowerBook G4 12" running Tiger 10.4.11. I have 512MB RAM.

I have an 80GB internal, but even though I have 24 GB free, my computer runs really, really slow. I do have quite a bit of music on my computer (~40 GB), but I don't think that would entirely be the problem. I have just a couple freeware programs (UnrarX, ShakesPeer, OurTunes, Perian, Growl), a number of Word documents that you'd expect from a college student, and MS Office 2004: Student Edition. I clean my caches incessantly, restart just about every day, and I still don't know why it takes 15 seconds for my computer to acknowledge my turning the volume up or down or 35 seconds for my dashboard to load (10-15 seconds for it to refresh after I've not summoned it for a while), etc.

Are there any other tips to help me get this thing to run faster? Is the small amount of RAM my problem?

Any helpful suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Ram is definately a need to have. The more you have, the better!
You're probably just at the minimum to run the OS.
What is the MHz for your Powerbook? I'll send you some links to look at.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/2700DDRS1GBA/

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...nces-between-powerbook-g4-12-inch-models.html

yeah try installing 1gb or 2 because 512 is the bare minimum

EDIT: I recant.

Okay...so the only way around this sucker is to buy stuff rather than be able to pull some strings I didn't know about. Well, I have been ACHING to buy the black Macbook, so maybe this is the time to do it since my university just potentially reimbursed me ~$3,000. As much as I do want this, I love the good PowerBook G4 I have...such a great machine that's never, ever let me down (it was my Mac "switchover" laptop from lame, lame Windows *tear*).

If I do decide to buy the Macbook, would I never have these kinds of problems if I max out and get the 4GB RAM? (/computer n00b at heart...s'why I have a Mac lol)

Thanks for your responses.

Soulwar said:

Ram is definately a need to have. The more you have, the better!
You're probably just at the minimum to run the OS.
What is the MHz for your Powerbook? I'll send you some links to look at.

Click to expand...

If I still go down this vein:

Bus speed = 167 MHz
CPU speed = 1.5 GHz

No need to buy a new system - Ram is an extremely cheap and cost effective way to upgrade. You could get 1gig for around a £15 - $30. You will see an immediate benefit. It takes minute to upgrade it yourself.

If I still go down this vein:

Bus speed = 167 MHz
CPU speed = 1.5 GHz

Click to expand...

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/2700DDRS1GBC/

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/PowerBook-G4-Al-12-Inch/53

yeah, RAM is super cheap right now. you could max it out for about the same price of a couple 30 packs of keystone.

try these places: memorytogo.com, 4allmemory.com