recommended ram?

I am switching my parents over to a Mac because there e-machine just stopped working. I was planning on buying them an imac through the EPP store and was wondering what would be the recommended ram? Is 512mg enough? All they do is surf the net, check e-mail, and play solitaire games and also command and conquer generals. But I hope the switch goes okay because they are use to windows based pcs and if they don’t like it, I’ll keep it for myself.

Your feedback will be appreciated!

D.A.R.Y.L. said:

I am switching my parents over to a Mac because there e-machine just stopped working. I was planning on buying them an imac through the EPP store and was wondering what would be the recommended ram? Is 512mg enough? All they do is surf the net, check e-mail, and play solitaire games and also command and conquer generals. But I hope the switch goes okay because they are use to windows based pcs and if they don’t like it, I’ll keep it for myself.

Your feedback will be appreciated!

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For the usage you're describing, 512 MB should be sufficient. Whichever model you select, I would suggest ordering the base configuration from Apple and then purchasing any additional RAM from somewhere like Other World Computing or MacSolutions. You might want to opt for 768 MB if you can, but 512 MB should still perform well. Many people automatically assume that more RAM is better and purchase a tremendous amount, only to have most of it sit unused the majority of the time.

D.A.R.Y.L. said:

... Is 512mg enough? All they do is surf the net, check e-mail, and play solitaire games and also command and conquer generals. ...

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512 MB would be plenty for what you describe. Just get the stock configuration for the iMac and you should be fine. If you find that more is needed, you could get it at a later time.

Get the base 512mb, watch the local ads for a 512mb stick of PC3200 that is cheap after rebate, then buy it so you'll be up to 1gb. I got 2 sticks a couple weeks ago for $30 each after $20 rebate. Even if you don't need over 512mb all that often, its nice to have. Spending an extra $30 on a computer that cost over a grand is really worth it to have it run smooth all the time.

mynameis said:

Get the base 512mb, watch the local ads for a 512mb stick of PC3200 that is cheap after rebate, then buy it so you'll be up to 1gb. I got 2 sticks a couple weeks ago for $30 each after $20 rebate. Even if you don't need over 512mb all that often, its nice to have. Spending an extra $30 on a computer that cost over a grand is really worth it to have it run smooth all the time.

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Agreed, an extra 512 although not needed for the way they are planning on using it will help if they start overly using dashboard and have alot of programs open at a time.

If you are going to go with 512mb only then make sure you explain to them to shut down programs they aren't using. Unlike windows just closing the window doesn't quit the program. It would be really easy for them to have a lot of programs that they aren't using running in the background, which can make the system feel slow.

With 1GB of ram I would just leave programs running in the background even if I didn't currently need them because it was nice for them to load quickly when I did need them.

Yeah, the Powermacs go to 8 GB, and we're still trying to figure out why...

sevenhelmet said:

Yeah, the Powermacs go to 8 GB, and we're still trying to figure out why...

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Well, when you are running Final Cut, After Effects, Macromedia Studio MX and about 3 or 4 miscellaneous mixing and editing apps...well, 8 GB still might not seem like enough at times.