Slow New Mac

Question

I just sprung for the new 2Ghz Duo Core MacBook and named it Flash because I expected it to be super fast. I had previously had a 1.3 Ghz single processor PowerBook that lasted me many good years but I thought was worth giving up to use Aperture and FinalCut fast with the x2 processors. Yeah for speed!
Sadly, Flash is not living up to his name. In fact, my new MacBook is running so slow I'm thinking I screwed up by getting a new one. One possibility: I had a gig of RAM in my old laptop and have only 1/2 that in this puppy. But basic tasks and applications take SO much time to process (e.g. volume adjustment, opening applications) that I doubt its the RAM and am worried I have a bigger hardware problem. Scanned for spyware, viruses etc / came up 0% and never had any network issues before.
My Q: is this a typical hardware of OS problem that people have been having with the new MacBooks?
Thanks for the help!
MacBook 2Ghz Processor   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

Answer 1

Hello,
I went through the exact situation with my mac mini. The problem however is the ram. I have no idea why apple makes MacBooks or minis with 512 ram because that is completely insufficient for non UB Programs. Basically this is the breakdown of what happens:
Why is my computer so slow when opening programs ?
Your processor is super quick, your ram is actually quite quick, your hard drive is quick, your video card is o..k but not horrible. However, your 512 MBs of ram is completely insufficient so your computer slows down completely due to it. Think of it like a weak link in the chain, with one weak link your whole computer breaks down easier.
Why is 512 so insufficient?
Well what happens is your 512 MB of ram is actually more of 430 because 80 MBs gets used up by the integrated graphics card. Ok so 430 is still decent right? Wrong. When running anything not universal binary (MS Office, Most Adobe Programs and tons of other stuff) your computer need about 512 Ram to properly run/open those programs in a snappy fashion. However you don't have 512 MB of ram because your video card and Rosetta take at least half that. This doesn't work well. Because of Rosetta your computer demands a lot when running stuff thats not Universal, unless you have at least 1 Gig of ram. I'm sure when your opening Safari and iTunes and iPhoto you don't experience a slow speed. This is because 512 MB of ram is fine for most Universal Programs, but when Rosetta needs to rewrite PPC written stuff in a matter of seconds, you will quickly find a slow down. This is especially true when opening programs. While opening programs, Rosetta does most of it's rewriting to prevent major slowdowns while using the apps. Because of this, programs can take up to 15 Seconds + just to open. (Unbearable for a new computer)
You've mentioned Rosetta A Lot and Universal Binary And PPC what is this? (Sorry if I'm being condescending just trying to help)
PPC: PPC is the code used to write all programs in the G3-G5 series and previous old school processors. This code is made for macs specifically.
Universal Binary (UB): Universal Binary is the code used to be recognized by Intel Processors. Most programs now a days are written in this code since apples switch to Intel. The programs are all eventually going to switch (Unless they're really old or uncommon).
Rosetta: Rosetta is a background task which rewrite PCC codes into UB, all in a manner of microseconds. However, this process is usually mostly done when launching programs. It also takes up lots of ram. For games this isn't done completely at launch up becasue there is so much code to be written so you'll find most non UB games unplayable on the Macbook. This results in huge waits for programs to open which aren't UB unless you have sufficient ram which supports the process to go much quicker. Even with sufficient ram though, Non UB programs (Especially graphicly intensive programs like games and photoshop etc.), they will be slower in Rossetta then they should be (Maybe even slower then your old Computer). This however is temporary because, like i said upcomming relaseses and patches will be in UB.
Suggestions:
My suggestion is if you can, return your macbook and buy more ram (Not that huge of a price increase for something so essential). If you can't return it, spend the extra cash when you can and get more ram. If you do that, you'll find your computer running much much faster and you shouldn't experience a slowdown when running multiple applications as well. If you plan on using Photoshop and other programs simultaneously you may want to even consider 2GBs of ram (if your budget permits it) but thats not necessary unless your a major multitaskers. In fact, 2 GBs of ram would be a waste if you don't multi task a lot because it won't do much for gaming or video intensive tasks because then your weak link would be the Integrated Graphics not the ram.
If however, you completely can't afford more ram, just be patient. Eventually everything will be written in Universal Binary. This will make your computer much faster as time goes on (Usually the opposite). Software hasn't caught up to hardware yet, so if you can't afford more ram, just wait for the speedup.
I know it's kind of a complex subject and I'm not good at explaining. My laziness also results in a lack of proper English which I'm guessing also doesn't help. But i hope you have a understanding of why Flash isn't so Flashy.
Good to luck to both you,