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Dynamyk

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 8, 2005
648
0
Toronto
Ok, I just took on a webmaster job part time for my school, and I'm going to be using Photoshop,Dreamweaver and Flash probably simultainuously. I have a stock iBook right now. Question is is another 512 MB going to be sufficient to run 2 of those programs at a time or do I really need to go upto 1024? Money is tight and saving anything would be good but I want my comp to run smooth and not have beachballs when I'm doing the job.
 

hoopmastaflex

macrumors newbie
May 23, 2006
5
0
Dynamyk said:
Ok, I just took on a webmaster job part time for my school, and I'm going to be using Photoshop,Dreamweaver and Flash probably simultainuously. I have a stock iBook right now. Question is is another 512 MB going to be sufficient to run 2 of those programs at a time or do I really need to go upto 1024? Money is tight and saving anything would be good but I want my comp to run smooth and not have beachballs when I'm doing the job.

I would highly recommend getting 1024MB. At work I use an XP machine and do pretty much what you are talking about doing. At first the machine I was using had 512MB and it was just painful. I finally talked my boss into giving me more RAM and now I have 1.5GB of RAM and everything runs smoothly even when I have Photoshop, Dreamweaver (although I hate Dreamweaver), and several other applications open at the same time.
 

mkrishnan

Moderator emeritus
Jan 9, 2004
29,776
15
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Dynamyk said:
So it looks like I'm going to be shelling out $150 + :(

It shouldn't be quite that bad.

Troll DealRAM or keep talking about memory prices until CanadaRAM shows up (it's like a dog whistle to him! :eek: ;) :D ) ... you can do a lot better than $150 for 1 GB of new memory....

'Sides, your Mac will adore you for it. :) My earlier iBook sadly only has 640MB of RAM, but my iMac LOVES 1.5 GB. :D It's a G5/2.0, honestly, so yeah, it's going to be faster than my G4/800 iBook :eek: but still...the RAM makes a big difference....
 

CoMpX

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2005
1,242
0
New Jersey
As a rule, whenever I upgrade RAM I put the maximum the computer can support. Especially with something like an iBook G4 or a Mac mini G4 which has only one RAM slot, it makes more sense to just do it in one shot.

Otherwise, say you put a 512 MB chip in. Then you have to get rid of the 512 later on to make room for a 1GB. Not worth it. ;)
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
mkrishnan said:
...keep talking about memory prices until CanadaRAM shows up (it's like a dog whistle to him! :eek: ;) :D ) ...
Eh? What was that I hear? Something way up high saying "raaaaaaaaaaam... raaaaaaaaaam"

Dynamyk, if you are in the USA I second the vote for Data Memory Systems Good RAM, good Mac people.

Edit - Oopsie - Toronto. Really wish the Locations showed up while writing a reply to a post. In that case, I hope you can deduce who to check with ;)

And a good rule is: always maximize the socket -- that is, when you fill a RAM socket, always put in the largest memory module it will hold. In the case of an iBook, since it has only one, that means topping it up with the 1 gb module. Otherwise as CoMpX says, you're faced with a loss on the lower capacity RAM when you need to upgrade later.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
 

Caitlyn

macrumors 6502a
Jun 30, 2005
842
0
I'd say the more RAM the better. If you can afford it, max it out! I was able to pick up a 1GB chip for my iBook from NewEgg for $129 US. I've used Photoshop and Dreamweaver simultaneously with the 1.5GB and they both run with absolutely no slow down. So, I would assume you could get Flash in there with little slow down. :)
 

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
I've still got the 1 gig chip the was used for six weeks in my iBook. Samsung which is OEM Apple ram.
 

Kwyjibo

macrumors 68040
Nov 5, 2002
3,809
0
The OP is on a budget, so the advice to maximize the slot is good, but it might not be right for him.

I think you will be fine with 1GB of RAM. I have that much in my 15" PB and I can run both of those applications at once, but I probably do not use them at the level that you might. If you can only afford the 512, then thats all you can do.
 
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