Enough Ram?

Im trying to decide wether i want to make the upgrade from the 1GB to 2 a Macbook im about to buy. As long as 1Gb can tackle doing Word(sorry im new, whatever the equivilant is i know there are many) at the same time as several internet windows and possibly one more small program then i dont think ill need the upgrade. Any advice?

1 GB will be fine, right now I have MSN, iTunes, Limewire (high ram usage), 4 safari windows and NeoOffice open with 1GB of Ram is smooth. 1 Gig is enough/ too much for most people.

Unless you're editing video or running an instance of Parallels, 1GB should suffice for ordinary Mac OS X use.

I have run Parallels and a bunch of Mac apps at the same time and 1GB handled it just fine, but I could definitely feel the slowdown and 2GB would definitely have helped. But like I said, in your case, 1GB is more than enough.

I agree with the above; a gig will be more than enough for your needs. Heck, I'm on a computer now with 192MB and I have Safari, chat client, iTunes streaming from internet, and quicktime open and its working great. (Gonna upgrade the RAM on this machine anyway, haha) :headphone

Thanks for the info guys, I just bought my Macbook 2 days ago and was thinking the same question. Same as the original poster I only use the computer for regular stuff like browsing the net and using office application. And as you said the 1 gig I have is more than enough.

How is the 1 gig put in the macbook is it 2 512's or 1 1 gig? Because if it's 2 512's you will have to buy the full 2 gigs in the future.

They are put at 2x512MB, so if you want to upgrade, you're going to have to replace both of them.

is 512 for a macbook too little???

i was running on 512 for a couple of months, then i upgraded to 2 GB and it is a major increase in overall system performance for OSX and the intel hardware combined.

I have a black CD 2.0ghz... with 512 ram, and i find it slow as ****... Im honestly liking my PC better. I ordered some mushkin 1gb ram, and I hope itll increase performance

I would run at least a gig for normals apps.

I wish I could upgrade to 2 gigs but the RAM for this is so expensive, but i'm using final cut studio

Mr G5, how well does it work? Final Cut, that is. And what kind of a processor do you have?

I'm asking because I placed an order today for Final Cut Express (Studio is about $1200 too much for my budget) and I want to know if I need to up my RAM before using it extensively.

Rule No. 1 --- you can never have too much RAM!

I agree with CB.

I'm especially weary of the MacBook's video RAM setup: it's shared with main memory (RAM). It is said to be topped at 64MB, but still...

IMO this wouldn't make the MacBook age gracefully as apps become more and more demanding. So just to make sure, I would add as much RAM as I can afford just so the pleasure of using the MacBook lasts and lasts.

Slokunshialgo said:

Mr G5, how well does it work? Final Cut, that is. And what kind of a processor do you have?

I'm asking because I placed an order today for Final Cut Express (Studio is about $1200 too much for my budget) and I want to know if I need to up my RAM before using it extensively.

Click to expand...

well i just got final cut and right now i'm not using the whole 1 gig, because i'm doing more basic stuff. If you did more advance editing you would want 2 gigs.

I have a mac pro.

I have 1 GB of RAM in my Macbook and its fine. Usually I have Firefox, Adium, Transmission and iTunes running. If you find you more RAM later on, it easy to install more RAM.