Extra 256MB of RAM or 133mhz more processor speed?

Hello all, I am currently watchin an Ebay auction for a 667 mhz DA processor (i can just pop that in my DA and it would work right?) I am debating wether or not to buy the faster processor or a 512mb stick to replace one of my 256. What do you all feel would give me better performance? Processor or RAM?

Whats a good price for a used 667MHz CPU?
What can you find RAM for? 512MBs of PC133 seems to be about $70 bux US... (anyone have a cheaper RAM source?).
MacWorld (March 2006) has an article about the benefits of adding RAM. It was suggested that you could gauge the need for more memory by lauching "Activity Monitor" and checking the System Memory" activity under normal use conditions... if the amount of "Free" memory is less then 10% under normal use loads more RAM is called for. The article suggests that more Memory won't speed up the actual "number crunching" done by the CPU (it will still operate at the same clock cycle) but seek time for the numbers is reduced as frequently used code is in "fast memory" (as opposed to being on a hardrrive which is slower). More RAM means more fast memory. This is a good thing as it will improve the speed of app switching and general system performance. If CPU intensive work is to be done you might want the new CPU though...
Get both (but check the price of new CPUs from Fastmac, macsales (OWC), Giga and Sonnet.
D

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Amount of RAM useful limited to processor speed?

I have heard that at a certain point the amount of RAM you throw in your computer won't help past a certain processor speed. If this is true, is there a chart out there that will show these limits?
Or if anyone has any opinions as far as a:
Dual 2.7Ghz (G5)
Dual 1.8Ghz (G5)
Dual 800Mhz (G4)
all PowerPC
thanks,
T

Without a list of applications, you could be starving your apps, especially if they need to be open and active. If you work on large photoshop files and not smallish, it is impossible almost to have too much (and you would need a PCIe G5 to get 10-12GB RAM).
Check page-out; number of swap files; whether you are generating swap files.
just scanning and retouching can eat up 2GB RAM.
OS X uses free memory to cache windows, disk I/O, and those won't show up looking at Activity Monitor.
Virtual memory can be 'requested' or 'allocated' but not used, too.
I saw people with 512-768MB be shocked at what a difference even light use (email, web, writing, etc) it was to upgrade their G5 to 1.5GB RAM. There are also programming changes that go into a G5 that are totally different from G4s.
But it has nothing to do with cpu, front side bus.
And no matter what, a nice fast 10K Raptor boot drive always helps

Is more ram better than more cpu speed?

I am buying a new iMac and wondering if I should go for 2G vs 1G ram or is CPU speed more worth the money, ie 2.4GHZ vs 2.0?
Thanks for any comments.
Bill

It all depends on what you are using the computer for. The difference between 2 ghz and 2.4 ghz is almost undetectable for most apps. You may see a very slight improvement when working in graphic apps or playing games. In my opinion, and I will buck the trend of the other postings, with the configuration your are looking at your would be better off maxing the ram.
Here are some benchmarks. http://www.barefeats.com/imacal2.html
While the clock speed is about 20% faster for the 2.4, real world "noticeable" difference is about 3-5%. In my book that is not worth a 25% increase in price.
Whatever you choose like has been posted many time, do not get your RAM from apple, you can usually find 4 gigs for about $100.00
Brian

Looking to buy MacBook Pro: Processor Speeds

I am looking to buy a 15" MacBook Pro with 4GB Memory and a 200GB HD, but don't know whether its worth £200 more to get .2 Ghz more processor speed with the 2.4Ghz model, opposed to the 2.2Ghz model. I have never owned a Mac before, will it make much difference? Thanks. Tom. x

Is a new OS likely to be a tad unstable?
Likely, no. Unlike Windows Vista this is not a major overhaul and rebuild but a progression of software releases. For stability this is a huge advantage for Apple and more importantly, us users. But as with all major software releases there will be issues of one type or other which range from cosmetic, to marginally annoying and then to very serious which can be crippling.
While I don't expect very many major issues, if any, it's not a given, even with Apple, as some will attest to with even minor updates.
Ultimately the "risk" is dependent on how mission critical your system is. Personally, I never upgrade to a new OS, which even includes minor updates, until I see what issues are going around and with what applications. Only then will I be happy to make the move. The .2 updater is the magic one for me which usually comes a few months later. Plenty of time to prepare my transition, to ensure all of my software is fully comaptible and to choose carefully when it suit me best.
Everyone's different and see "risk" different so do what makes you happy.

Processor speed and RAM for Aperture? Comparing MacBook Pros.

I'm about to purchase a macbook pro and thought it best to ask people who are actually using aperture and other image editing software this question. I need to know if a boost in processor speed and video card from the 2.16 to the 2.33 MBP is noticable enough to make a difference. I'm just getting into RAW editing and my iBook can't handle aperture because of the video card, and I don't want to have any problems in the future. Is the price worth the difference?
I've tried posting in other places and have had little response, so I would appreciate it a lot considering I need to purchase today or tomorrow!

All in all, I'd recommend the 2.33 for Aperture. You'll likely keep this laptop for a 2-3 years, so what do the extra dollars give you?
The modest speed bump between 2.16 and 2.33 is OK ... Aperture will use it, esp. since there are 2 x procs. It's really 2 x 10% uplifts, theoretical. You will feel around a 5-10% improvement I suspect.
The bigger reason is the video card VRAM .... 256Mb v 128Mb. VRAM WILL BE USED BY APERTURE and cannot be upgraded later. You soon notice when your RAW's or scanned images are paged from VRAM to main memory and back. Aperture moves the image into VRAM for processing image data using the GPU. More is a good, good thing..... esp. if you ever hang a 2nd monitor off your laptop (which is very common practice).
The additional 1Gb RAM is also needed. Aperture runs like a dog with 8Mpixel plus RAW's on 1Gb RAM and really starts to cruise on 2Gb.
So, you'd need the extra Gb RAM anyway, $175 add-on. That leaves a net of $325, or less than $10/month over the life of your laptop.
All in all then, I'd recommend the 2.33 v 2.16 for Aperture.
G.

More processor-power?

Hi everyone!
I'm in need of assistance. I'm currently working on a major production, an album. I'm using Logic Pro 7.1 on a PowerBook G4 with 1.5 GHz and 1.5 DDR ram.
The project is lagging and I have a lot of restrictions, a lot of things that I can't do in my projects, due to lagging and the program going down, when I press play.
I'm thinking of buying a desktop computer.
Do I need more processor-power (more GHz) or more ram or what do I need to speed up the processing of channelstrips and audio-recs?
Best Regards
Anders Bach Pedersen, Denmark
http://www.myspace.com/epicentremusic
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) Using Logic Pro

hi anders,
yes, you need more of everything.
more cpu - think MacPro
more ram - think bank loan (re: Mac Pro)
more speed with more HDDs - wider bus and more revs/minute.
it's an investment in your career, after all.

Processor Speed vs. Cache vs. RAM?

Greetings,
I am deciding between 2 laptops to purchase and I just wanted to get any suggestions as to which would be better.
1) A REFURBISHED laptop with 2.6GHz (dual core), 1 mb L2, 6gb ram. Pros: 640gb hd, 3 usb 3.0 ports. Con: 1mb cache?
2) A new laptop with 2.2GHz, 3 mb L3, 6gb ram. Cons: only 500gb hd, 2 usb 3.0 ports
Both are the same price and size.
If it's not a big difference or it's too hard to tell, maybe any suggestions as to what to look for in a laptop as far as processor speed/cache.
I do small video projects so it wouldn't hurt to have the more efficient one if cache or speed is more important for that.
Thanks for any suggestions.

I got to thinking later- you must be considering buying RAM from Apple, or you think that what Apple sells RAM for is what it actually costs.
You can get RAM as you go for nothin'. For instance, the RAM I use is PC3200, and I found it today at Circuit City for $45 a GB. What you use is actually cheaper than mine, despite it being newer. More popular, I suppose.
Look it up- -it's always on sale, somewhere. But +do no+t use high-density RAM found on ebay. Make sure you have low-density RAM. If you buy it from a store, it will be what you need, though. Almost certainly.
So get the 8 core, and RAM as you go. Merry Christmas!

Can my old iMac be upgraded for more memory and higher processor speed?

I admit it - I'm not a computer geek. I don't know much about how they work but am proficient in using them. I have an older model iMac. The specs are:
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac6,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM61.0093.B07
SMC Version (system): 1.10f2
System Version: Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549)
I get the SBBOD all of the time no matter what. I've tried all of the suggestions to resolve that issue but they don't work. Even when only one program is open at a time it does it. The speed of getting anything accomplished has been dramatically reduced over time. All of my software is up to date. All I need to know is, if I take my iMac to an Apple store, can they upgrade the RAM or whatever is needed to make the SBBOD go away and make things work faster? Sorry for sounding like a dummy here but I'm really not interested in how it works, just that it does work.
Thanks for any help you can give!

I did the etrecheck as suggested and here is what it came up with. Does anything look suspect?
EtreCheck version: 1.9.15 (52)
Report generated August 22, 2014 10:07:43 PM CDT
Hardware Information: ?
iMac (24-inch, Late 2006) (Verified)
iMac - model: iMac6,1
1 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
1 GB RAM
Video Information: ?
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT - VRAM: 128 MB
iMac 1920 x 1200
spdisplays_display_connector
System Software: ?
Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 0 days 12:43:21
Disk Information: ?
Hitachi HDT721032SLA380 disk0 : (298.09 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
- (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 200 MB
v (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 297.77 GB (48.61 GB free)
USB Information: ?
Micron Built-in iSight
Microsoft Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop® 2.10
Brother HL-2270DW series
EPSON EPSON Scanner
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Kernel Extensions: ?
[not loaded] com.olympus.CamBlockCommandsDeviceUP (3.1.0 - SDK 10.6) Support
Launch Daemons: ?
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[not loaded] com.deploystudio.lkdc_fix.plist Support
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ?
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[failed] [email protected]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support
User Login Items: ?
Garmin Express Service
iTunesHelper
EEventManager
Music Manager
Internet Plug-ins: ?
DirectorShockwave: Version: 11.5.7r609 Support
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 Support
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support
AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin1017265: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 Support
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
Silverlight: Version: 4.0.51204.0 Support
Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6
NP_2020Player_IKEA: Version: 5.0.94.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support
CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version: Version 1.1.6 Support
GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.1.0.0 Release - SDK 10.7 Support
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.2 - SDK 10.6 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version
Safari Extensions: ?
AdBlock
Pin It Button
Add To Amazon Wish List
iTunes Plug-ins: ?
Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.2
User Internet Plug-ins ?
fbplugin_1_0_3: Version: (null) Support
npBcsMcTcIO: Version: (null) Support
BrowserPlus_2.9.8: Version: 2.9.8 Support
CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.26 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes: ?
BrowserPlus Support
Flash Player Support
MusicManager Support
Time Machine: ?
Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.
Top Processes by CPU: ?
      1% WindowServer
      0% WebProcess
      0% LaunchCFMApp
      0% fontd
      0% ps
Top Processes by Memory: ?
244 MB WebProcess
134 MB Safari
35 MB WindowServer
28 MB Garmin Express Service
22 MB DashboardClient
Virtual Memory Information: ?
32 MB Free RAM
560 MB Active RAM
276 MB Inactive RAM
154 MB Wired RAM
560 MB Page-ins
346 MB Page-outs

Installing extra 2gb of ram?

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I have a BookPro 15 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4 GB Ram, that's more slow after updating to X Lion 10.7.5

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The iPod Touch 4G is supposed to have 256MB of Ram, but mine can barely reach 90.

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When you purchase extra cloud storage, does that allow more storage for music, apps, and so forth to be downloaded?

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How to find how much RAM and Processor speed

what commands should I use to find out:
1. How much RAM the machine have?
2. to find the processor speed?

what commands should I use to find out:Not the only solutions, but:
1. How much RAM the machine have?prtconf | grep Memory
2. to find the processor speed?psrinfo -v
Alan
Sun Developer Technical Support
http://www.sun.com/developers/support

Looking to buy new MacBook Pro for editing with Premiere/After Effects, but wondering about trade-off between Processor Speed and Graphics Card

I'm a professional video editor (using Premiere and After Effects) looking to buy a new MacBook Pro and am deciding between two models. The slightly older model has a 2.8GHZ i7 (3rd generation) Quad Core processor with a 1GB SDRAM of NVIDIA GE FORCE GT 650M Graphics Card. Then newer model has a 2.3GHZ i7 (4th generation) Quad Core preocessor with 2GB SDRAM of NVIDIA GE FORCE 750M/Intel Iris Pro Graphics Card.
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Poikkeus wrote:
1. Your MBP will be somewhat slower than your iMac, as reflected in the general speed; desktop Macs have more RAM and storage.
You recon? If he get's the 17", he would have up to 8x more RAM, 4 x more GPU,, and a bit faster CPU;.
2. Be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of extra RAM. Loading up the slot will make juggling multiple applications easier, like Photoshop, VLC, and Safari. However, more than 4gigs of RAM will make loading your MBP on startup twice as slow - at least a minute, probably longer. That's why a MBP user with extra RAM should sleep their machine nearly always when not in use, rather than powering off.
I did not know this, I just upgraded from 4gb to 8gb the other day. Have not noticed it being slower, but I don't often shut it down. It's nice to not even have to bother with ifreemem.
3. Additional storage and RAM will maximize the basic capabilities of your MBP, but you won't be able to make a 2.3ghz machine any faster than it already is.
SSD
4. I still feel that your iMac will be faster than your prospective MBP. The only way to dramatically increase the speed would be the installation of a SSD drive (like the lauded OWC series). But they're not cheap.
I don't want to rain on your parade, but want you to get a more realistic idea of your performance.
I chose a macbook pro, 17" of cause. I use it for gaming. Yes a iMac is better for gaming. But, it's nice to be able to move around. Set up a man cave in the lounge 1 week, or in the bedroom, the next. But you fork out a lot more dosh for that luxury. And yes, not as much power as Poikkeus has said.

Extra 256MB of RAM or 133mhz more processor speed?

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