ibook G4 933mhz 640mb ram vs ibook G4 1Ghz 512 mb ram

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
all other specs equal (60gb hard drive on each), i can get the ibook g4 933mhz with 640 mb ram for the same price as a 1Ghz with 512mb ram



which is a better machine? more ram or a faster processor?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    I'd say "does the extra 66 mhz actually make a difference ?" .... but at some point in the future, Apple will come out with a new version of iChatAV that will run on a 1gig G4, but not on a 933 G4 !



    and you can always add RAM later ... just save your pennies
  • Reply 2 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by igitalblah

    all other specs equal (60gb hard drive on each), i can get the ibook g4 933mhz with 640 mb ram for the same price as a 1Ghz with 512mb ram



    which is a better machine? more ram or a faster processor?




    If you buy your RAM from Crusial or some other 3rd party supplier you could have the 1Ghz with 640Mb for the price of the 933Mhz from the Apple Store.



    If not, I'd go for the 1Ghz - you can upgrade the ram in the future, but you are stuck with the processor.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    I've been on a Mac for only 3 years. Prior and during this time I stil use PeeCees. On a wintel machine the answer is simple: RAM!!!!!
  • Reply 4 of 25
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matt FT

    [BI I'd go for the 1Ghz - you can upgrade the ram in the future, but you are stuck with the processor. [/B]



    Yes buy the 1 ghz one. I will add that the ghz is a psychological barrier : it may be important if you want to sell it later.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    how on earth do you fit 512MB of RAM into a 1GHz iBook?

    I'ver personally never seen a 384MB RAM module, but that may be just me.



    The iBook has only one RAM slot, and 128MB are soldered onto the mainboard.

    That limit's you to "uneven" hexadezimal values*: 128, 256, 384, 640. Because the standard has a 128MB module included, you'll have to remove that to add either a 256 or a 512MB module. That takes you to 384 or 640MB, but not 512.



    So unless you mistyped, the question is pointless. and if the question was 933 with 640 vs 1000 with 384, then the answer is clearly 933.



    *(what I mean is, you always have the extra odd 128MB to calculate with: 128+0, 128+128, 128+256, 128+512)
  • Reply 6 of 25
    gnews -- they make a 384mb module -- that is how it would be 512mb (all the catalog dealers are adding free 384mb)
  • Reply 7 of 25
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    I think he meant 256 ram, cause 933 + upgrade to 640 + upgrade to 60GB = $1499... stock 1 GHz is $1499.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    nope, meant what i said... people on this board are so cynical
  • Reply 9 of 25
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by igitalblah

    gnews -- they make a 384mb module -- that is how it would be 512mb (all the catalog dealers are adding free 384mb)



    Well, dealers adding 384mb (i.e. what Macmall says, 256MB before free ram upgrade) would mean that they'll remove the 128MB in the user accessible slot and then replace it with a 512MB module, effectively adding 384 MB. 384MB modules are not made as far as I know.



    It's a toss up as to which is better, I'd guess that the ram would be better to have for multitasking, but the 1 GHz may have a slightly higher resell down the line as someone pointed out.
  • Reply 10 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    I seriously and honestly don't think they're adding a 384MB module. It has to be what was said before:

    Take 128+128, remove 128, add 512, makes a total of 640MB.

    Everything else would require a soldering iron, and I doubt that even more than the existance of a 384MB module.



    G-News
  • Reply 11 of 25
    well depending on what they mean by additional, one of the machines at mac zones is getting a 384mb stick since the 933mhz gets 256mb free ram and the 1Ghz gets 384mb free ram:



    http://www.zones.com/cgi-bin/zones/s...12769&zone=mac



    either way, why argue this point rather than have a discussion about whether a 933 with 640mb ram is a better machine than a 1ghz with 512mb ram
  • Reply 12 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    we're arguing about this point because we think there is no such thing as a 1GHz machine with 512MB RAM.



    PS: BTW looking at your link I found that only the *FREE 384MB RAM offer actually includes the additional 384MB item in the order list, while the *FREE 256MB RAM offers do not show that at all.



    Makes me think ones of the following things is true:

    - offer A comes with additional 384MB RAM, up from the standard 256. That makes a total of 640MB RAM, composed of one 128MB bank soldered on and one 512MB module.

    - offers B and C both ship with 256MB RAM installed (the default installation, and the "*FREE 256MB RAM" are either a typo or a way to lure people into buying the default config, thinking it is more than the default config.

    - offers B and C actually include 384MB total, composed of one 128MB bank soldered on and a 256MB module. In that case, offers B and C are not complete in the "show me more" listing, because they do not mention the extra 128MB, as offer A does.



    I think the important line on that page is: "*Specific Free item available varies by model, see specific model for details. $40 memory or airport card installation fee applies."





    So, last but not least we have two options, as far as I can tell from this page:



    -Offer A: a 14.1" iBook G4 1GHz with a total of 640MB RAM after mail-in rebate, for $1,584.98

    (the mail in rebate system is not updated to include the iBook G4 yet, which may be a further clue into the obvious confusion these people have about the iBook)



    -Offer B: a 14.1" iBook G4 1GHz with the default 256MB RAM for $1,494.98



    -Offer C: a 14.1" iBook G4 933MHz with the default 256MB RAM for $1,294.98 (possibly intended to be 384MB)



    assuming the *free 256MB offer on offer C actually means a total of 384MB, would indicate confusion of the dealer about the expansion possibilities of these iBooks, because it is calculated differently on Offer A.



    So, at best you have the choice between an iBook 933/384MB RAM for 1294.98 and an iBook G4 1000/256MB RAM for 1494.98.

    That makes the 933 a clear winner in both price and performance.

    If the question is whether to get offer A or B, the answer is clearly A.



    If one assumes that offer C has only 256MB RAM, not 384, then you have the usualy 200$ delta between the 933/40GB and the 1000/60GB model. If you think the extra 33% drivespace and extra 66MHz CPU clock are worth 200$, then go ahead.



    Fine, I hope we cleared this one up, then.



    G-News
  • Reply 13 of 25
    gnews



    thank for your insightful analysis of all the different offers at maczones.com



    however, the two machines i'm looking at come from two different sources, not the same store



    anyways -- it's nice that you spent so much time trying to debunk the possibility of the situation i posed rather than address which machine you actually think would be a better buy IF they both existed and were the same price



    the problem with these boards is certain people spend so much time attacking technicalities within posts and the credibility of posters that they stray from the topic of the post and really make posting here an unhelpful and unpleasant experience
  • Reply 14 of 25
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    igitalblah - You have to understand that it's difficult to assess the value of something that doesn't exist. Really, we're not getting on your case... it's just that you can't have a G4 iBook with exactly 512 MB of RAM in it. You can have these configurations:



    128 (128 + 0, if you remove the stock 128 MB chip)

    256 (128 + 128, the standard configuration)

    384 (128 + 256)

    640 (128 + 512)

    1152 (128 + 1024, requires an extremely expensive 1 GB RAM chip)



    Having exactly 512 MB of RAM would require a 384 MB RAM chip, which just doesn't exist. The 12" PowerBook, however, has 256 MB of RAM on the motherboard, so you can add another 256 MB module for a total of 512 MB. By the way, I looked at the details for the bundle in MacZone, and in the PDF it mentions 512 MB / 1 GB upgrades. So I'm assuming they'll equip the iBook with a 512 MB module instead of a 128 MB module. They just have to say "free 384 MB" because 256 is standard with the machine (i.e. you pay for it) and 640 MB, the amount you end up with after the bundle, is 384 MB more than what you pay for. Saying "free 512 MB" would imply that you're not paying for the 128 MB module that normally ships with the computer.



    Normally I'd say go for the 933, because even after the hard drive upgrade it's still $150 less than the 1 GHz which only has a 67 MHz faster processor. You won't notice a difference in speed.



    However, this is different because in order to get a 60 GB drive in the 933, you have to BTO, and you can only BTO from the Apple store. If you buy a BTO 933 with a 60 GB drive from Apple, you'll have to pay $1349 + tax. I don't know what tax is in your area but even if it's a very low 5% (only that low in a few states) it still adds almost $70 to the price. That's a little over $1400, and then if you add 512 MB of third party RAM (Apple overcharges for their RAM by a lot, that's why I say to buy third party RAM, it's about $100 for 512 MB), that pushes the price up to a little over $1500 - the same price as the 1 GHz iBook with the free RAM upgrade from MacZone.



    In this case, I'd say get the one from MacZone. It would be about the same price for the 1 GHz model which is faster than the 933 MHz (even by only a tiny amount).
  • Reply 15 of 25
    There is NO 384MB RAM module ... it just doesn't exist.



    Do the math .... it just doesn't work .... the way they are made, a RAM module MUST be evenly divisible in base 8.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    Quote:

    the problem with these boards is certain people spend so much time attacking technicalities within posts and the credibility of posters that they stray from the topic of the post and really make posting here an unhelpful and unpleasant experience



    I'm sorry you feel that way, I was rather trying to help, not trying to piss you off.

    I was also trying to answer your question, but maybe you had stopped reading up to that point, I don't know.

    I personally think the 1GHz model is, compared to the other two models, overpriced. 150$ premium for 66MHz, which is eventually only going to save you fractions of seconds of work time...the only advantage here really is the resell value, because of the psychological 1GHz barrier.



    Other than that, more RAM is going to help you more for heavy multitasking, than 66MHz are.



    My brother has ordered an iBook too, a 14.1" 933 with a 60GB harddisk. The premium for the 1GHz model is simply not justifyable if you don't want to sell it in the near future (1-2 years). I'd rather BTO an Airport extreme card for that extra cash! Or a second battery. (which is another point: the 933 most certainly has a few minutes extra battery life).



    So, I'm talking too much about stuff you're not interested in (although you asked us to evaluate between a green elefant and an african elefant, which is hard...), here's what I say:



    Get the 933 maxed out.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Excellent point G-News, and most of the time I would have pointed that out - however, you can only get a 933 with a 60 GB hard drive BTO from Apple, which is expensive because you have to pay tax. You can buy a 1 GHz (which comes with a 60 GB hard drive standard) from any old place (except avoid MacMall, they suck), and you won't be charged tax and you'll probably get a decently priced RAM upgrade as well. They charge something like $40 for the "installation fee," and it's "free" through a mail in rebate, but it's still a good price for an upgrade considering a 512 MB module is normally about $100 these days (more expensive than one year ago). If you just factor in the tax and not the extra RAM, it might still be good to get the 1 GHz model. If you don't need the extra hard drive space, save your money and get the 933 from a reseller, but if you want a 60 GB drive I think the 1 GHz is a better deal IF you buy from a place like MacZone or CDW. No tax = good, and tax is significantly more than the cost of shipping (Apple has free shipping).
  • Reply 18 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    Indeed, that is a point I was not considering (since I'm not in the states plus I get a heavy edu discount).



    We could sum it up as follows then:

    The difference in processor speed doesn't matter, more RAM and more HD do. So you should get what offers you more of that, for less or the same amount of money, than the offer you're comparing with.

    If that is the 1GHz iBook, even better.



    (Having written that, I think the answer was clear from the beginning, if igitalblah is honest.)



    G-News
  • Reply 19 of 25
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by igitalblah

    gnews -- they make a 384mb module -- that is how it would be 512mb (all the catalog dealers are adding free 384mb)



    Please prove this.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    Doing a google search for a 384MB SO-DIMM module yielded no results. Apart from defying all logic, what's a 384MB module supposed to be good for?



    Remember the RAM we have seen so far (excluding ancient 30pin SIMMs):

    4MB

    8MB

    16MB

    32MB

    64MB

    128MB

    256MB

    512MB

    1GB

    2GB



    The "double" factor that is a simple consequence of the base 2 math behind the memory chips, is quite obvious, if you ask me.

    The only way to construct a 384MB module would be by soldering the chips for a 256 and a 128MB module on a single module. This making the module twice the size, breaking any JEDEC standard and no longer being able to fit it into an SO-DIMM, even less into an iBook.



    last but not least, here's the corresponding excerpt from the Apple iBook Developer Note PDF file:





    If that isn't enough proof, I don't know.
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