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Is 1 gb enough memory for my needs?

A

amycishere

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 1, 2007
328
6
Hello, first of all, I have had a Windows Laptop with 512 mb of memory for three years which has served me well. I don't know if mac computers use more memory to run applications or not.

I will be using the computer to:

-use the internet
-do papers/presentations
-music/videos
-having videos from my isight camera/video chatting
-burning videos to DVD

This memory thing is sooo huge over the internet. All over forums and everything. However, I am not very techy at all and I just don't know if the 2 gb people just use it for alot more than me or if it 1gb is slow and I need 2 gb.

I am however definitely going to get 120gb hard drive after learning the OS takes 20 gigs to run. I already have a 60gb hard drive on my pc laptop that I am goiing to be replacing and I want a bit of an upgrade.

Thanks.
Amy
 
bbergie

bbergie

macrumors regular
Jul 3, 2006
213
0
Calgary
A gig of RAM should be fine for your needs. The general rule is get as much RAM as you can comfortably afford, but based on the criteria you laid out, 1 GB of RAM will be more than sufficient.

At minimum, Tiger (or OS X10.4) requires 512 MB of RAM, and the applications and uses you outlined wouldn't necessarily require more than that, but 1 GB would be a good idea to keep your computer performing well and efficiently over the long term.

Good luck with the purchase of your new system (and I hope it will be a Mac). :)
 
extraextra

extraextra

macrumors 68000
Jun 29, 2006
1,758
0
California
1GB sounds like enough for what you do. But if you plan on using applications that are not universal binary yet like Photoshop, Office, etc. somewhat extensively (I'm talking like several images + 500 page documents, not the occasional essay or picture editing) then you might want to consider 2GB. Those programs will run in an emulator called Rosetta which uses up quite a bit of RAM.
 
A

amycishere

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 1, 2007
328
6
Great, thanks guys, after seeing how you con make word documents and powerpoint presentations in iwork, I am going to go with that over MS Office. And it'll save me 100 dollars over Office! Love Mac student discounts!
 
A

Angrist

macrumors 6502
Mar 11, 2005
335
0
MI or NJ
The more RAM you have the happier you system will be.

That being said, 1GB should be fine for what you're talking about running, however if you want to run Windows as well ... then 2GB is almost a must.

Also .. the default OSX instalation from the factory might be 20GB, but if you re-format and install without all the language files and printer drivers, you can trim that quite a bit. If you cut out garageband you can drop it even farther. I do this with every machine I own, mostly because I have ZERO intention of ever usig a language other than english (and the ocasional bad-english) on my computer.
 
C

copanewbe

macrumors member
Jan 19, 2007
31
0
Angrist said:
The more RAM you have the happier you system will be.

That being said, 1GB should be fine for what you're talking about running, however if you want to run Windows as well ... then 2GB is almost a must.
Click to expand...

Agree to disagree here. I run windows just fine with 1GB. On my old PC, I had 256MB running XP. I'm glad to see that people aren't urging him to get more RAM though. It seems like people are getting 2GB simply because they CAN, not because they are running extensive apps like photoshop as mentioned above.
 
jsw

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
I have 2GB on my work MacBook Pro and need it - in fact I'd be happier with 4GB. Big Java projects, database work, etc.

On the other hand, I have 1GB on my stock MacBook at home, and it works fine. I even used it for a week or two when my MBP was in the shop, and it handled the workload well. It was noticeably more sluggish when I had lots of apps open, but it was usable. At home, it's great.

2GB is still better, and you'd notice a difference if you saw them side-by-side, but odds are, with your usage, 1GB will be quite OK.
 
IJ Reilly

IJ Reilly

macrumors P6
Jul 16, 2002
17,909
1,496
Palookaville
One gig of RAM should be fine for most purposes. If the Mac begins to slow down, restart it. You should do this about once a week as a matter of habit anyway.
 
B

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
you can always add more if turns out not to meet your needs. Personally I think you will be happy with 1 gig.
 
1

12991

macrumors member
Feb 3, 2007
71
0
I mean to be honest... if you have the money get the 2gb. You could buy it from newegg which is way cheaper too. I have 2gb in my MB... and its fast as hell... opens everything quick and i usually have loads of apps open. But, I am a speed demon, so you cant count on my opinion really
 
vi2867

vi2867

macrumors 6502a
Oct 11, 2006
510
88
Eastvale, CA
I just purchased a macbook and ordered 2gb, because I noticed that it was less if I purchased it now. The price increased about 175.00, but if I tried to upgrade it later it will cost more.

Apple charges 350.00 and NewEgg 240.00. You still have to install it yourself. The reason why, is that your system comes with 1gb with 2 sticks of 512mb and to upgrade to 2gb you have to purchase 2 sticks of 1gb.

Be sure you will be fine with 1gb...;)
 
phungy

phungy

macrumors 68020
Dec 5, 2006
2,398
10
FL/NY/TX
I use my MB for pretty much the same uses you listed. I agree that 1GB is enough but if you do find a deal, I'd highly recommend 2GB. I tried out 1GB for a few days before upgrading to 2GB and it made loads of a difference.
 
eluk

eluk

macrumors 6502a
Dec 14, 2006
946
0
East London, UK
amycishere said:
Great, thanks guys, after seeing how you con make word documents and powerpoint presentations in iwork, I am going to go with that over MS Office. And it'll save me 100 dollars over Office! Love Mac student discounts!
Click to expand...

You could save a bit more if you went for Neo Office,
 
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