Upgrading to 2gb RAM?

Am thinking about upgrading my iMac Core Duo 2ghz from 1gb to 2gb.
Is it worth it for me, will I notice performance increases?
I use iLife, Handbrake, I do video conversions using ffmpeg, Office under Rosetta. Am also planning to get Paralels soon to using a few windows programs.
Also, Apple want £240 for 2 x 1gb RAM chips, but other sites do the same spec for £80, why such a big diffrence with Apple, is it better stuff or are they milking the customers?

RAM upgrade is always a good idea. Parallels will take great advantage from 2gb as for iMovie and rosetta applications. If you plan to use Parallels I would say that 2gb is the bare minimum, so you can reserve 512mb to Windows and you still have plenty of ram to run mac applications.
Handbrake is a numbers-crunching application, so it is influenced by CPU speed, RAM wouldn't speed up the video conversion much.
As long as I understand you are not over-stressing your iMac (no pro applications such as final cut or photoshop), so probably you wouldn't notice a great performances increase immediately. You'll see the benefits when opening more than one application at time, and surely when you'll run parallels.
You can see how much ram you are using looking at "System Memory" section in "Activity Monitor". Use your mac as you normally do for a couple of hours, then open activity monitor and look at how much memory is allocated.
A low amount of "free memory" means that you are using almost all your available ram (and you should consider the upgrade), but what is more important is "Page ins/out". It shows the number of times your mac swapped information between ram and disk. Swapping is what makes your mac slow. You'll see two numbers divided by a "/". The one you should care about is the second one, that shows how many times you needed cached information. If that number is zero it means that you never swapped from disk back to ram, so probably you wouldn't need more ram.
Another important parameter is "Inactive memory", the higher the better. A low number means that you need more virtual memory (and so the bad bad swapping to disk).
Do not buy RAM from Apple Store! It's ridiculously over priced. For some reason Apple doesn't want you to buy ram from its store (probably they want you to add ram at BTO time). Have a look at crucial dot com instead.
if you need more info, please ask

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NB305 - I have upgraded to 2GB RAM and Movie still look poor...

Hi
I recently bought an NB305 which i was hoping to watch movies on, however i started watching a standard def movie fromitunes and it slow and jumpy..
Ive upgraded to 2GB Ram with very little improvement..
Can this be fixed ? or am i best returning and getting an ipad ??
Many thanks
Simon

Numpty,
Im having the same problems and Im frustrated that everyone seems silent on all the threads I can find on this subject. I also upgraded to 2gb ram with no improvement on my itunes video performance and I'm just watching standard quality videos as well (instead of HD). I cant get through more than 1 minute of a Tv show from itunes without the sound going out and the video getting horribly choppy, requiring me to pause and let the video and sound get back on track.
I am using Windows 7 Professional. I have since tried to adjust my virtual ram (kicked it up to 3000mb), tried to adjust my video color quality (down to 16-bit), and tried playing the videos in Quicktime (which I figure has less memory requirements than itunes). None of these adjustments has helped. The only thing that might be working for me, though not a lot, has been to watch the videos in a very small window....but I'm starting to think Im just kidding myself with this even. I cant believe this isnt more of an issue for ppl. Its just weird that a little 2 year old ipod can play movies better than a brand new laptop, even if it is a netbook. I just ordered a recovery DVD from Toshiba to restore my comp to factory settings (i didnt make a backup before i installed Windows 7 Professional cuz im a $uck) and Im hoping that maybe some of the original video drivers or graphics settings might just work better....maybe I messed them up when I installed Professional, i dont know.
Input anyone?

Satellite L30-10Y: Checksum error after upgrading to 2Gb RAM

Hi
I have a Satellite L30-10Y ^ months ago I upraded the RAM to 1.5Gb by adding a 1Gb RAM card to the 512Mb card supplied this worked fine.
I also upraded my sons Hi-Grade lapto with exactly the same specification of RAM which also worked fine. So I decided to up grade my L30 10Y with another card of the same specification to bring it upto 2 Gb as specified by TOSHIBA.
I booted the computer to find the hay presto after the start screen The Following message appeared *"_The file is possibly corrupt.
The file header checksum does not match the computed checksum_"* The computer then froze and I turned it off.
Checks I made Tried both cards in both slots No change, 1 card in both slots (one slot empty) Works fine. Other card in both slots(works Fine) Sons Card in my computer both slots (works fine) All three cards and 512mb card in all configuration of both slots and cards(works fine). All three 1gb cards in all configerations of cards and slots back to error message and some time 1 long beep and 2 short ones.
Yes the cards were installed properly. Cannot alter anything to do with BIOS although this can be accssed. Cannot run from dvd drive although I can select it.
Went back to 1.5Gb and reinstalled all OS from Toshiba recovery disk tried all over again same results. Running windows vista home basic, Bios is the latest download. RAM is compatible. Sons cheep Hi-Grade accepts all RAM in all Configurations no bother OS windows XP.
Can anyone think of anything I have not tried or should I just go and by a hi-grade computer?

Hi Eldorado
Thanks for your reply, 2 of these modules were bought 6 months ago from the same company at the same time (company Offtek) who do a computer scan and provide the modules specific to your computer, and even then I checked the specification of the modules against the upgrade that Toshiba who also scanned my computer on registration and the modules are DDR2 533MHz (PC2-4200) 200-PIN SODIMM . The Third module came from the same company with the same specification.
I am very sure that all three modules will be compatible to the computer, and the specifications does not require the modules are matched pairs like the old sd ram. So what we have is a computer that will run two completely differnt modules of different sizes made by different manufacturers possibly slightly different specs, but will not run two modules from the same manufacturer made at the same time with exactly the same spec.(Must be a break through of innovation for Toshiba!)
I think the beeps may have been a little misleading as these did not accord every time I started the computer over the many tests I did, I still have to look up what these codes signify. I tried looking in the Toshiba knowledge database but I think it's empty or they just don't have any knowledge complete waste of time or I don't know how to use it.
My next step its to contact Offtek and see what they suggest, Find out what the Header checksum is and what it is supposed to report and find out what the computed checksum is and why it does not match. One more thing I did notice that in the BIOS it did not report the full 2048mb it only reported 1984mb of RAM but I think this may be that video memory uses part of this. *_Unless someone out there knows something different_*

2GB RAM too much for 1Ghz Powerbook?

Hi
In order to speed up my G4 17" 1 Ghz Powerbook, especially for Photoshop Elements, I upgraded to 2GB RAM. The Crucial Memory Scanner said that was the max allowable (although I ended up buying Samsung memory from an eBay dealer). My computer seems to be actually working slower now, though it is basically working ok. On looking at the tech spec for my Powerbook from Apple Support I then found this: "two SO-DIMM slots support up to 1GB".
Have I put in too much RAM now (who is right about my memory capacity - Apple or Crucial?), or does it make a difference that I bought cheaper RAM than Crucial or Kingston for example? (Presumably if the RAM was suspect I'd have bigger problems?)
Excuse the scattergun questions - I'm just trying to work out if I'd be better off reinstalling my original pair of 512MB modules, or leave in the 2GB and look at other issues in my computer for improving speed.
Many thanks.

To add to eww's excellent advice, there is a note on my RAM vendor's website page for your PowerBook stating that the 17" G4 1G PowerBook is one of four PowerBooks that uses "bus slewing" and have special RAM requirements.
I recall a couple of years ago there was a little...well, call it a "public disagreement" for lack of a cruder term....among RAM vendors over bus slewing and the right RAM. Crucial was accused in these forums and by other companies of failing to recognize the requirements bus slewing placed on the RAM. However, this seems to have settled down as I see posts here stating more recent Crucual RAM worked. You could call Crucial and ask if the part number you bought supports bus slewing. I'm sure they will make certain you get the correct type from them.
Oops, nearly forgot! Bus slewing is explained in this Apple Technical paper on the 15" 1 G PowerBook. Scroll down about a half page to the section "Processor and Bus Slewing."

Hermes 650 system locks up with 2GB RAM, 1GB OK

I have a Hermes 650 system that keeps locking up when system is upgraded to 2GB RAM. System runs fine with 1GB RAM installed. I tried 2 different brands of 1GB sticks, but same problem.

This is a very old barebones, unfortunately memory support is described as "up to 2GB" and as 1GB sticks weren't commonplace at the time, its possible it might just not work.
1GB should be plenty enough for what this system can handle though.
Have you tried testing the sticks with >>Memtest86<<?

I have an air with 64Gb hard drive and 2Gb RAM and would like to upgrade both the HD and RAM. WHat should I buy?

I have an air with 64Gb hard drive and 2Gb RAM and would like to upgrade both the HD and RAM. WHat should I buy?

TWTexas wrote:
WHat should I buy?
compensate or purchase a new Air
Recommend a SUPERSLIM portable 1TB HD
RAM cant be upgraded, as The Fox-man has already said.

I have a iMac 8.1- 2.4 Ghz Intel Core2 Duo with iGb RAM . I wish to upgrade to OSLion which requires 2Gb RAM, which Memory 2Gb card would be the most suitable

I have an iMac 8.1 - 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 1Gb Ram. I wish to upgrade to OS Lion which requires 2Gb RAM. Which 2Gb card would be the most suitable .

Go to crucial.com
Enter your specs, and buy as much as it'll hold. You'll be happy you did. I've been using them for years. Great company, and the best value for RAM in my opinion. And you don't want to mess with cheap RAM. It can mess EVERYTHING up...

2.16ghz 2gb ram black macbook Lion upgrade question

Hello, I have a 2.16ghz 2gb ram black macbook and wondering if upgrading to lion would be a good idea. It is maxed out on the amount of RAM it can run. Dont want my macbook to slow down so i figured i would ask before upgrading.

heres my info
Hardware Overview:
Model Name:    MacBook
Model Identifier:    MacBook2,1
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:    2 GB
Bus Speed:    667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:    MB21.00A5.B07
SMC Version (system):    1.17f0
Serial Number (system):    W87380X9Z60
Hardware UUID:    00000000-0000-1000-8000-001B63349001
Sudden Motion Sensor:
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Upgraded from 2gb to 4gb of RAM and now my Imac freezes up all the time.

I have a 2009 model Imac and I upgraded from 2gb to 4gb but now after about 20 minutes of the computer being on it will freeze up randomly. It could be 20 mins - 3 hours of use before it freezes up. I did my research and I'm didn't get any RAM my Imac couldn't handle...so I have NO idea what's wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

As old as it is have you cleaned out the dust? Dust buildup can lead to over heating issues. Remove any and all things plugged into it including the power cord, Remove the RAM access grille. Vacuum all openings starting with the RAM access area (air intake). Vacuum all ports and plugs, DVD slot and the opening across the top of the rear of the body. Blow compressed air through all your openings and vacuum again to remove any dust you loosend. Reinstall the RAM grille. Plug in the keyboard and mouse if not blue tooth. Insert power cord...
You are now in a perfect position to do a
SMC RESET
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and ALL peripherals.
Wait 15 seconds.
Attach the computers power cable.
Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.
Here is a Widget to monitor your temps and other operations:
http://islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

Performance with 2GB RAM and SSD

I own a late 2010 MBA, 13" baseline model with 2GB RAM, w/SSD. I am using Snow Leopard, and it runs perfectly. I would like to upgrade to ML to sync with ipad, but a concerned with performance. I use my MBA for word processing, emails, and internet surfing, including occasional movie downloads. I cannot upgrade the RAM on this model. I would therefore very much appreciate if someone who has run the latest versio of ML on this model can inform me of its performance w/2GB RAM and an SSD drive. (I know it can run; I want to know how it runs). Thanks very much!

Just went through the same situation with my 2006 iMac. Technically my memory tops out at 3gigs, but I can get 4 in there if I insist (though the machine won't take full advantage).
After a considerable amount of research, and hearing some horror stories of some folks who dove straight into Lion on older machines, I opted on upgrading memory to 3gig, backing up all my data, then running a clean install of Snow Leopard. I then reinstalled all my stuff, followed with a run of Monolingual (a shareware program that removes unnecessary languages and builds), then ran OnyX (another shareware) to run scripts and check/repair permissions.
Works fantastic. Machine is operating perfectly on 10.6.8 and with the memory upgrade and clean drive its running faster than ever. Definite new breath of life in the machine.
As per memory upgrade, I'd recommend going to Crucial. They're very Mac friendly, customer oriented, and reasonably priced. They have a small program you can download that scans your machine to determine the correct chip required, then brings you stright to an info and ordering page. I managed to get a 2gig chip with shipping for about $25. With the Snow Leopard upgrade total cost was under $60 for resuscitation.

First Impressions: New MacBook Air 13" - 128GB HD - 2GB RAM

Thought I'd post some initial impressions here for those who are asking questions about memory, heat issues, noise, hinges, hard drive space etc.
This week I purchased the 13" MacBook Air, 128GB HD, 2GB RAM config in Apple Retail store. Ultimately a couple days later I ended up returning it and ordering the 2.13GHz upgrade, 256GB HD and 4GB RAM via Apple Store online. I'll tell you why at the end of this post.
Initial impressions:
- Gorgeous, well-designed machine. Feels great to use. Very solid.
- I chose the 13" over the 11" because the resolution seemed slightly higher, it was easier on my eyes and the 11" tended to bounce a bit when used in my lap while the 13" did not.
- I used Dropbox as my drive in the cloud for Documents, Photos and Videos (have been doing that for a while) as it allows you to get away with a smaller drive footprint.
- I did NOT yet have MS Office installed.
- For a mobile laptop, the new MBA cannot be beat. It's sleek and solid. No heat issues. Fan rarely came on if at all.
- I was using about 38GB of the 128GB drive. So I was glad I did not buy the 64GB 11", although I really, really wanted to like that smaller one.
- I installed a RAM monitoring app in it to see how much of the 2GB would be used under normal use (is there even such a thing anymore?). Without using MS Office, just surfing the web and using default OS apps, the lowest amount of RAM I had available was 700MB, so roughly 1.3GB was being used up in the worst scenarios. Despite this, it zipped along with multiple browser tabs open, uber-fast bootup and shutdown and really long battery life.
- I appreciated the fact that the 13" has 2 hours longer battery life than the 11". Ultimately that 7 hours played a big factor in why I bought the 13" instead of the 11".
- Bottom line? Definitely rate this a BUY. In spite of the omission of the backlit keyboard, it's a good machine; though I would NOT recommend it as a replacement for a MacBook Pro. It is a mobile computer. Fully functional, but I would not do heavy video editing or graphics work on it. For everything else it's superb and feels wonderful in your hands.
Why I ultimately took it back to the store.
I liked using it so much that I figured I may be using it more than my MacBook Pro, and as such wanted to max out the chip speed, RAM and HD space on it. Currently as of this post date you cannot get the higher performance MBAs in-store. You can only order them direct through Apple.
I ordered the 2.13GHz MBA with 4GB RAM and 256GB HD. It takes 2-3 bus days for them to configure it at Apple and another 2-3 bus days to ship to you so should get it next week.
For anyone considering buying this machine, I give it a strong thumbs up. For most users, the 13" 128GB and 2GB RAM should be fine. If you're looking to replace an existing MBP (wouldn't recommend it), you probably want to order through Apple and get the upgrades.
HTH,
Adam

After calling the customer service they told me I should receive before the 8 of November that makes 18 days!
Adam, that's nothing. When Apple introduced the liquid-cooled PM G5s, we had to wait over 2 months before Apple shipped them! They may halted production to fix the apparent video flaws a lot of people are experiencing. The longer you wait, the less chance you may get a lemon.
Check out the new remodeled MacOSG website! 24-hour Apple-related news & support.
 MacOSG: An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast  Follow us on Twitter: MacOSG

Powerbook G4 1.67GHz 2GB ram ... HUGE performance issues

Hardware:
17" Powerbook G4 1.67GHz with 2GB ram
System:
10.5.4 Leopard
*Ever since i upgraded to Leopard, i have noticed tremendous latency / pinwheel issues in many areas such as:*
1. Switching between running applications hangs up sometimes as long as 15 seconds
2. Video playback in quicktime is choppy
3. Various programs take a tremendous amount of time to open
4. Opening relatively small illustrator and or photoshop files pinwheels for unusually long time
5. Opening finder windows unusually slow
One of the MOST frustrating of all issues:
6. Powerbook heats up rather quickly... gets very hot and the fans have NEVER come on... VERY frustrating, since i would have no problem with noise if it meant better performance...
_*Overall, the entire computer feels VERY sluggish*_
i have tried clean installs, as well as regular maintenance... and upgraded my RAM to the max of 2GB
Is there anything else i can do? Anyone else having similar problems and or know the best way to repair?
DESPERATE for a solution here... while i realize the G4 can only handle so much, i just feel like it cant possibly be this slow under leopard... or can it?!
*ANY HELP AT ALL greatly appreciated...*
Best,
Mike
+Mac user since 1989+

Hi,
Just to chime in, I am running a PB G4 1.67, and I am running Leopard (10.5.4) on it just fine. In fact, I am *more than* pleased with the fantastic performance. I am a very very heavy user (enterprise software developer permanently running 101 things simultaneously on his machine) and I have no problems.
First of all, try to figure out what is chomping performance. Is it CPU? Fire up activity monitor, go to the CPU tab, list "all processes" and order by CPU usage. See if a process is swamping your CPU. Until I let it run overnight to index my 250Gb drive, the Spotlight indexing engine (mds) was eating all my CPU. Thereafter, it's fine. Or you can disable it.
So yeah - let's first figure out what is causing your CPU to over-work (and hence, your machine in general to heat up, they do get hot, especially in hot climates) and work from there. No reason to suspect hardware failure yet...

2GB RAM

I might buy a iMac G5 iSight. I would probably upgrade it to 2GB RAM. Well, i usually have InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, MSN, mIRC, iTunes and Firefox opened at the same time. I have now 512mb of RAM and its soooooooo slow. With 2GB, is it too much for what I am doing with it ? If not, will it run really smoothly ?
Thanks =)
Windows XP Pro

Hello and Welcome to Apple Discussions.
1. Crucial guarantee their RAM works with the model of Mac you state.
2. You won't see any performance increase using PC2 5300 as the iMac G5's memory bus is forever stuck at 266MHz (i.e. PC2-4200 RAM). It may be worth getting the PC2-5300 to improve it's re-sale value and if you may move to an Intel-based iMac in the near future where it will be compatible.
mrtotes

I have a macbook with 2 512 mb ram, and wanting to at least replace one with 2gb ram. Do I need to reinstall OS If I do that?

I have a macbook with 1 gb ram, 2 rams with 512 mb. I am planning to replace one with 2gb ram. Do I need to reinstall OS if I replace one of them? Please help. Thanks.

If you want to upgrade your RAM it;s very easy on most MacBooks with the removable battery. We'll need to know the model to further advise you. Go to the Apple in the upper left corner and select About This Mac, then click on More Info. When System Profiler comes up check the Model Identifier.
1,1 (Early 2006) can handle 2gb of 667mhz PC2-5300 RAM
2,1 (Late 2006 & Mid 2007) can handle 3gb of 667mhz PC2-5300 RAM
3,1 (Late 2007) can handle 4gb of 667mhz PC2-5300 RAM
4,1 (Early 2008) can handle 6gb of 667mhz PC2-5300 RAM
For RAM check DealRam.com http://dealnews.com/memory/prices/systems/Apple-Mac-Book-PC2-5300-DDR2-SODIMMS/4 3938/2GB.html or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/DDR2/
Here's instructions on replacing RAM http://homeoffice.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=44404

32 Bit Windows 7 with 2Gb RAM?

I've been running 32 Bit Windows 7 Pro quite successfully on my 2009 MacBook under bootcamp for a little under a year. I didn't go 64 bit because of compatibility issues with software I use.
I started having issues recently running low on memory, and upgraded from 2GB to 4GB. Unfortunately while W7 sees the 4GB only 2.7GB is available. I do understand that the 32 bit version of W7 can't address the full 4GB, but was under the impression it should be able to address up to 3.5GB.
Has anyone had any luck getting 32 bit Windows 7 to be able to use more than 3GB on their Mac?

Hi,
the mileage of avaiable RAM with 32-bit WIndows varies from computer to computer.
I myself for example "only' get 1.99GB RAM with 32-bit Windows on my Mac Pro.
If you really feel adventerous, you might wanna try the little program mentioned here http://www.unawave.de/windows-7-tipps/32-bit-ram-sperre.html
But that's up to you and shouldn't be tried without having backups of everything valuable.
Regards
Stefan

Upgrading to 2gb RAM?

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