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384 or 640 in 700 iBook?

post #1 of 12
6/13/02 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
Hi -

Typing this from my new 700mhz iBook, and planning on adding RAM. Basically, what sort of performance gain could I expect from adding 512 megs versus 256 megs? And in what sort of applications? The 512 is rather expensive, but I could see it being worth it in the long run - as opposed to having to shell out more money for a replacement later on, with the advent of more demanding apps and games. Opinions?
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post #2 of 12
6/13/02 at 7:45pm
OSX loves ram, buy all that you can afford.
When i first upgraded my ram i only bought 128 (this was 2+ years ago), i've since upgraded two more times and it has certainly cost me more upgrading in increments than it would have if i had bought as much as possible in the first place.
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post #3 of 12
6/13/02 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
Cool - I'm thinking I should just accept the inevitable and max out now. But how does one effectively shop around for RAM? I've used RamJet in the past - they seem cheap and reliable, but are there other meaningful contenders?
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post #4 of 12
6/14/02 at 8:23am
Actually I just bought a 256MB stick from 18004memory.com and they seemed to have the cheapest prices. If your wanting to add 512MB, 8004mem has it for $150, which last I checked was $50 cheaper than RamJet.com. Hope this helps.
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post #5 of 12
6/14/02 at 10:14am
Thread Starter 
Great - thanks for the heads-up.

I guess my following question would be - if 18004mem, for example, only charges $140 for a web-ordered 512 module, might we assume that there's a disparity in the quality of the chip itself? I mean, Apple charges $400 to max out an ibook! And RamJet charges $200. So is this a question of the product itself being better or worse - cheaper to produce, or at least obtain - from one reseller to another? Or is it the same stuff (hoping!) at wildly varying prices, due to individual supply and demand fluctuations for each reseller?

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it - but honestly, I'd so much rather pay 140 than 200 (obviously) that I sort of feel compelled to question the option.

Also - has anyone done any gaming on an iBook with either configuration - 384 megs versus 640? I'm going to use mine for the basics - email, text and spreadsheets with Office, some light DVD use - but probably a lot of iTunes, some low-key Photoshop, and of course, gaming - stuff like Warcraft III and Max Payne, if it ever comes out.

Is 384 enough? Or should I bite the bullet and go for 640?

thanks for tolerating my incessant curiosity
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post #6 of 12
6/14/02 at 11:37am
[quote]Originally posted by dreadpirate:
<strong>Great - thanks for the heads-up.........</strong><hr></blockquote>

No problem, thats what were here for. Personally I say buy what you can afford. If you can afford the 512...do it now. You may not have the chance to get it later for that price, or hey...you may be broke. =) As for the comparison, so may disagree on this, but I am running a 256MB stick from 800mem in my iBook right now, and it does great. Apple's RAM is manufactured by them, it's some Korean company that starts with a K. I don't have my old memory in front of me or i'd tell you. Anyway, my point is, 800mem comes with a lifetime guarantee with their RAM, and as far as specs go...there is no difference between the RAM that they sell vs. the RAM that Apple ships...except price.

As for gaming. I have a PC running a 900mhz Athlon TBird, 384MG RAM, and a 32MB ATI Radeon. My iBook performs just as good as my PC with better specs does. In fact, i'm having a LAN party tonight and one ove my friends is going to use my PC tower to game on, while I chose to use my iBook. =) For the record...i've hit up to 76fps in UT with my iBook. Thats with details turned all the way up.

Keep the questions coming, I love to brag about my new iBook. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
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post #7 of 12
6/14/02 at 5:51pm
Try <a href="http://www.dealram.com." target="_blank">www.dealram.com.</a> That's another RAM deal site. You're probably going to find the best deal if you shop around at sites that shop around. Last time I checked (maybe 2 weeks ago), 512MB modules were going for about $150. The only reason Apple charges so much for RAM is that they want to quickly and easily add to their profit margin by selling extras to the consumer at the point of sale. If they have a little box that says, "How much memory do you want?" and the buyer knows that memory is important but doesn't know you can add it yourself, then they are likely to buy it from them. It's similar to car dealerships trying to sell you rust protection or upholstry cleaner when you get a car.
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post #8 of 12
6/14/02 at 6:52pm
<a href="http://www.ramseeker.com" target="_blank">www.ramseeker.com</a>

the best place to price ram... 18004memory seems to always have the lowest rates tho <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> bought a 512 PC 133, 256 orig imac and 256 orig iBook and 4 mb orig iMac vram from them... no problems whatsoever
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post #9 of 12
6/14/02 at 9:08pm
I have bought 4 different chips from 18004memory (64, 128, 128 and 256) over the past few years. All of the chips have worked perfectly and i have yet to have any problems (knock on wood). They always seem to hae the best prices
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post #10 of 12
6/16/02 at 9:28am
My girlfriend just bought a new 14 inch iBook (new 700Mhz version) that comes with 256 MB of memory. Unfortunately, it is using two seperate chips so upgrading means taking out 128 out first. When I went to put in a 256 MB chip out of her old Powerbook (ruined in a rainstorm) I noticed that the chip Apple put in there was a PC133 chip. I rechecked Apples's iBook page and the manul that came with the computer and both stated PC100 was the required spec. I put in the 256 MB PC100 Ram from the Powerbook and all seems to run fine. I was just wondering if there was any difference in performance between the two speeds of chips.
Also I have bought memory from 1800.... and had no problems with it.
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post #11 of 12
6/16/02 at 6:36pm
[quote]Originally posted by craiger77:
<strong>I was just wondering if there was any difference in performance between the two speeds of chips...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Mainly what it means is the safe capability of that RAM. 133 means that you can run it "safely" @ 133Mhz. That does not mean that it HAS to run at that speed. Although I have heard of others that have had problems with "underclocking" their RAM and making systems unstable. But then again, that was on PC's, that may be why. =)
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post #12 of 12
6/16/02 at 9:47pm
In some cases, "underclocking" the ram can cause problems, but I'd assume it's safe there if Apple was using it.

Anyway, I typically get OWC branded memory from <a href="http://www.macsales.com" target="_blank">www.macsales.com</a>

their ram all has good warranties 3yr or life I believe, and I've never had a problem with any of it. They tell you what Mac models the different types of memory will work in, it's not low-quality pricewatch stuff, it all seems good.

And I'd get the 512. No sense in buying a 256 and later deciding to get the 512. It will help gaming and regular tasks, especilaly if you have multiple apps open.

Q3-engine games let you tweak the config files to increase memory allocations to various things. That translates extra memory into speed.
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