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I DID IT (bought my MacBook)

F

FrenchPB

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 15, 2005
389
0
Hey guys,


After all the great answers I received on this board, I bought my BlackBook in the afternoon.

I used the tax free opportunity, my educational discount, got the rebate on a 2gig black iPod nano, and even saved much more thanks to the favourable exchange rate with the Euro (I'm French currently studying in the US).

I took the basic BlackBook configuration, because I count on adding Ram and have an external HD. I will also sell my 1.5Ghz PowerBook (in perfect shape, under AppleCare for 9 more months).

Of course, I won't open the box before WWDC in case something unexpected about the MacBook happen.

Final questions regarding the Ram:
- should I buy 2GB of RAM on OWC if I only want to use it for music, photos (a bit of Photoshop), watching DVDs, surfing, office applications, dreamweaver... or will 1GB be enough for my needs (1GB + 256MB already there)
- is the MacBook RAM compatible with my PowerBook G4 ? If that's the case, I could put one 256MB chip in my PB (one slot remaining) and make it even better for resell

Thanks a million for all your advices, and for answering those final questions. I really feel like I made a great purchase :)
 
Nice one. :)

I reckon 1GB should be fine for your needs. Unfortunately though, you cannot use the MacBook RAM in the PowerBook and vice versa. :(
 
Congrats. I did the same thing you did. However, I opened mine because I can't think of anything that they can announce that would make me want to spend an extra 100 bucks (taxes). I got mine yesterday and I'm loving it. Good luck not opening it. ;)
 
1GB of ram is more than decent to start out with, and you can always add another 1GB stick later when needs or prices call for it. If you plan on using a lot of PPC apps (requiring Rosetta) you may consider going for all 2gb at once, but other than that you'd be fine. And to your second question, MacBook RAM and PowerBook RAM are incompatible.
 
macdaddy121 said:
Congrats. I did the same thing you did. However, I opened mine because I can't think of anything that they can announce that would make me want to spend an extra 100 bucks (taxes). I got mine yesterday and I'm loving it. Good luck not opening it. ;)
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which one did you get?


anyways, congrats on the purchase! i'm getting mine first thing in the morning!

quick question....white or black?
 
Since RAM works better when in parallel, should I then opt for 2*512MB or get a 1GB chip that I'd add with the 256MB already in the machine and have 1.25 GB ?

If so, I'll place my order online (probably OWC since it seems the best quality/price) and by the time I wait for WWDC, it won't be long before I get my RAM power :)
 
FrenchPB said:
Since RAM works better when in parallel, should I then opt for 2*512MB or get a 1GB chip that I'd add with the 256MB already in the machine and have 1.25 GB ?

If so, I'll place my order online (probably OWC since it seems the best quality/price) and by the time I wait for WWDC, it won't be long before I get my RAM power :)
Click to expand...

i'd say go for 2Gb if you can afford it. you can find it for pretty cheap
 
Well, I can afford it but that's no reason for putting $100 more on extra RAM I wouldn't need for my use (I have an other computer for professional use, that one is just my personal, back at home nice little laptop).
 
well if you're going to be running Photoshop and dreamweaver on OS X on your lappy, then Rosetta is going to want more RAM.

An alternative, though, is loading XP and having your non-universal apps run there, instead.

But, that can cost quite a bit more, too, if you don't already have the software.
 
Me too!!

Since everyone is sharing their stories, I bought my blackbook toooOOO!

I've been heming and hawing since june 2005, was going to get the 15in Powerbook, but I never got around to it. I just kept updating my win98 machine, backed-up all my important stuff to external,and kept plugging along. So finally whent he MB came out, I was hooked. I almost bought the MBPro, but found it more expensive than what I wanted...I also thought the MBP might be it, and anything to replace the ibook would be much less than the MBP.
Well, morale is, I was one who waited and waited and I leaped in now that Apple has their 1) Ipod rebate 2) $100 off new printer and 3) used edu discount!!! Just waiting for the goodies to arrive.....

I am one more former Mac-head coming back home.
 
Let's not lose focus here ;)

So, 1GB (512+512) or 1.25 (256+1GB) ??? Or is 1GB + 1GB really worth it? :)
 
For $150? The cheapest I found online on recommended resellers were around $220. I'd rather not take too much risk on unverified RAM that could cause kernel panics and so on. Do you have a website to recommend ?

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it.
 
FrenchPB said:
For $150? The cheapest I found online on recommended resellers were around $220. I'd rather not take too much risk on unverified RAM that could cause kernel panics and so on. Do you have a website to recommend ?

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
G.Skill brand from newegg is cheap, but a lot of users here have used it and can vouch for it. It runs you about 70-80 bucks for a gig chip.
 
Go with 2gb, I had 2gb in my Powermac G5 and right now I'm on a Mini w/ 1gb. Despite the speed differences, I notice the difference in RAM. If you go with 1gb you'll always wonder what 2gb would be like!

If you've got the cashola go for 2gb;)
 
Next time I purchase a laptop which wont be for another million years is going to be Macbook LOL. Those rock I had a fiddle around at the Apple shop. Enjoy yours :)
 
FrenchPB said:
For $150? The cheapest I found online on recommended resellers were around $220. I'd rather not take too much risk on unverified RAM that could cause kernel panics and so on. Do you have a website to recommend ?

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...



I personally bought my 2GB worth of RAM from DataMem.com



Also... in my opinion 2GB really isnt needed. Ever since using MenuMeters, I have never seen my usage go above 1GB. I practically do exactly what you do on your system and never seen it go over.
 
wako said:
Also... in my opinion 2GB really isnt needed. Ever since using MenuMeters, I have never seen my usage go above 1GB. I practically do exactly what you do on your system and never seen it go over.
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I disagree. Parallels eats RAM (ie it all if you're not careful), but Photoshop and Dreamweaver doesnt use as much as I thought it would. On bootup there is just over 3/4 of RAM free. And RAM just disappears when using a lot of apps (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, iTunes, Safari, MSN, Limewire, Fireworks, Flash, Pages) all at once like I do. I'm glad I upgraded to 2GB RAM, it simply lets me do more without lag.
 
ChrisG said:
I disagree. Parallels eats RAM (ie it all if you're not careful), but Photoshop and Dreamweaver doesnt use as much as I thought it would. On bootup there is just over 3/4 of RAM free. And RAM just disappears when using a lot of apps (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, iTunes, Safari, MSN, Limewire, Fireworks, Flash, Pages) all at once like I do. I'm glad I upgraded to 2GB RAM, it simply lets me do more without lag.
Click to expand...

I am definitely glad I upgraded to 1gb of ram. I can only assume that things would run better at 2gb but I don't think its necessary for me since I don't run many apps at once. Cant seem to get parallels working though (the installation)
 
In the UK, you can get 2GB of RAM for £100 from www.scan.co.uk. I want a MB but am personall waiting until at least the 8th of August so that i can see about what happens at WWDC. I think (most people dont agree) but the blackbook will be updated to better specs.
 
Get 2 x 1GB sticks you certainly won't regret it. If you're using any apps under Rosetta (especially Photoshop) all that ram will be worth it. Besides who know what CS3 will bring next year which might benefit from more ram.
 
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