Adding RAM to a PowerBook G4 - worth it?

psherburne · Post by **psherburne** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:31 pm

I'm running a 1.67 GHz PowerBook G4 with only 512 MB of RAM (installed in a single slot). I'm considering buying another 512 (or maybe a gig?) of RAM, given that Ableton is running pretty slowly, and my fully arranged tracks tend not to play without dropouts etc., even after optimizing, loading from RAM, etc.

My question is, how much difference does adding RAM make? I'm unclear what part of the slowness is the processor speed, and what part is owing to RAM limits... any advice much appreciated.

Thanks,
Philip

bitmap · Post by **bitmap** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:40 pm

you should definitely add more ram. I have a 1.25 ghz powerbook with a gig of ram.. i run a lot of my clips off of ram because i got my powerbook before they started putting 5400rpm hard drives in the powerbooks...( i get the red 'D' in the upper right corner frequently if i am running a lot of tracks/clips from the hard drive)
also, if you use lots of plugins you'll find that live will be smoother with more ram.
you are lucky that you have 512 in a single slot... that makes it easier.
Live loves ram.

psherburne · Post by **psherburne** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:44 pm

sweet, thanks so much for the reply - that's what i was hoping would be the case (and i'm so glad i left a slot empty when i bought my machine). much love to portland, hope it's not raining there like it is in barcelona. free cascadia!

inis · Post by **inis** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:49 pm

Max out the ram.

Straz · Post by **Straz** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:03 pm

I was running a 1.5 ghz powerbook with 512 mb, after it had been running for about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half it would start stuttering and behaving eratically, a restart resolved the problem. I stuck in another 512 mb and, apart from a couple of crashes, it's behaved perfectly. I wish I had maxed the ram out now.
Hope this helps you decide.

StompyJ · Post by **StompyJ** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:01 pm

I'm gonna throw 2 gigs in mine just for good measure

bitmap · Post by **bitmap** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:36 pm

you are welcome. it is raining though...
it rains 10 months out of the year in portland.

i wish i could afford 2gigs...

jngpng · Post by **jngpng** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:01 pm

Nice to see you posting around here Philip!

I can second what everyone else is saying. Live used to struggle quite badly on my ancient PB until I added an extra gig of RAM, now everything is smooth as butter! Well worth the upgrade.

netchaiev · Post by **netchaiev** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:57 pm

Yep yep!. BUT actually it seems that more than 1gb doesn't change much...?!

dm · Post by dm » Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:43 pm

i boosted my 512 megs of ram to 1.25 gigs and it helps for sure. especially when using reaktor instruments.
btw,philip, i enjoyed your "epiphanies" in the wire recently.

psherburne · Post by **psherburne** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:50 pm

that's good to know, as reaktor is one of the things i've essentially had to leave out of the mix, for slowness reasons. and thanks for the compliment!

4ace · Post by **4ace** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:54 pm

O.K ...so where is the best place/price to get ram?....any brands to stay away from?..
I'll probably go through OWC,i've bought a few firewire cases through them and they're working out fine.

inis · Post by **inis** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:12 pm

www.macsales.com is great because you can buy the original samsung factory ram for really cheap. And those guys are always nice and easy to deal with.

dm · Post by dm » Tue Nov 15, 2005 1:23 am

ive seen it posted many times that at least 1 GB of RAM is required if you want live to run smoothly. plus, OSX uses so much RAM just running the OS. maxing it out will help for sure.

dbolt · Post by **dbolt** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:54 am

I had a PB G4 with 512 and swapped out the external 256 with a 1gig so maxed out at 1.25 still only wished I used a PowerMac G5 with my setup. Live 5 rewired Reason 3....lots of external tracking .....I read about this site www.crucial.com it was recommended by Computer Music MAg great Mag btw. Pricey but good reviews...Go with more memory it helps other normal use programs as well...Crucial is available in other countries also.....The brand Samsung.....So easy to install

Soundman Seabolt

Adding RAM to a PowerBook G4 - worth it?

Adding RAM to a PowerBook G4 - worth it?

Upgrade will help