2 or 3 Gb of memory for MBP?

[cheese-o]

Hi all!

I'm upgrading my work computer from iBook G4 to new MBP 15''. Now I'm wondering how big is the difference in performance between MBP with 2 Gb compared to 3 Gb of RAM and whether this would be worth the money? I am using the computer in analysis of scientific measurement data of electrical signals rather than, say, video editing, but I'm not quite aware of the benefits of increasing the amount of memory in a non-graphical work.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

you will probably notice a difference in performance, but i don't think it will be a $575 USD (or $930 AUD!) difference. If you have the money, go for the 3GB, but 2GB will give you adequate performace.

when speculation was flying around for the C2D MBPs, people desperately wanted more than 2GB of RAM. I think the more RAM the better, but 2GB notebook sticks are just too expensive at the moment. Wait a few months, then upgrade.

 

[Chundles]

If you can afford to ask that question then the answer is simple. 3GB. As for the performance benefits, who knows? But 3GB of RAM should take you well into the future when coupled with such a capable machine.

 

[aaronfzr]

hi cheese-o - I cant really say whether your work will benefit from the extra ram. I was in a similar situation, and while more is always better, I figured that I'd go with stock 2gb for the moment (which does seem to be plenty) with a view to upgrading in a few months time when 2gb sticks are likely to be much cheaper, if you feel you would benefit.

 

[Collin973]

I opted for the 2 GB on my C2D MBP and it is excellent. I haven't run in to one slow down yet. I usually have a large excel speadsheet (or two. we're talking 10 columns by 40,000 rows or so long). It's really really excellent. I had a 12" powerbook with 1.25 gb of ram, but that couldn't handle excel, safari, firefox, mail, yahoo messenger, ichat, and maybe word even close to as well as my mbp. I don't know if the gig of memory is necessary. Eventually, 3 gb might be necessary, but I think 2 gb is just about top notch.

Thanks!