RAM: 1GB or 1.5GB

[Teambayern]

Hello,
I'm buying a Macbook soon and I had a question about the RAM. My school offers a great deal on upgrading to 1Gb of RAM (only $50), but I can also get a 1Gb stick of good RAM for around $85 online, which would give me 1.5Gb overall when added to the 512mb stick that comes stock. With the benefits of dual-channel, would the 1.5Gb (512mb x 1Gb) be noticabley faster than the 1Gb (512mb x 512mb)?

 

[gadgetgirl85]

The more ram you can put in the better

 

[drlunanerd]

Hello,
I'm buying a Macbook soon and I had a question about the RAM. My school offers a great deal on upgrading to 1Gb of RAM (only $50), but I can also get a 1Gb stick of good RAM for around $85 online, which would give me 1.5Gb overall when added to the 512mb stick that comes stock. With the benefits of dual-channel, would the 1.5Gb (512mb x 1Gb) be noticabley faster than the 1Gb (512mb x 512mb)?

The MacBook comes with 2 x 256MB, not 1 x 512MB.

If your school deal upgrades to 1 x 1GB then bite their hands off!

If not, and it's 2 x 512MB, then it's still a great deal.

 

[Teambayern]

The MacBook comes with 2 x 256MB, not 1 x 512MB.

Thats what i thought at first because of the website, but the stock Macbook comes with 1 stick of 512mb. I called Apple today and that is what I was told.

 

[orangezorki]

Thats what i thought at first because of the website, but the stock Macbook comes with 1 stick of 512mb. I called Apple today and that is what I was told.

That's definitely, 100% wrong. The Macbook PRO does come like that, but the integrated graphics of the Macbook (and Mac mini) need two DIMMS of the same size in order to work properly.

 

[Teambayern]

Ok, that's good to hear. Its much less confusing this way. I guess the apple rep i talked to wasn't up on her stuff.

 

[drlunanerd]

That's definitely, 100% wrong. The Macbook PRO does come like that, but the integrated graphics of the Macbook (and Mac mini) need two DIMMS of the same size in order to work properly.

They don't need 2 SO-DIMMS to be able to work properly, it's just that you get a slight speed boost if you have 2 of the same size. It's better to have more total RAM though than worry about having matched pairs.

 

[amac4me]

I suggest u get the 1.5 GB

 

[drlunanerd]

I suggest u get the 1.5 GB

He can't have that - 1.25GB is what he'll end up with. Re-read the thread, sheesh.

 

[Chundles]

The extra 256MB of RAM would outweigh any (and it's very slight) performance increase from having matched pairs.

Get the extra 1GB stick and add it to the 256MB one. Then, when you've got the cash, go for the full 2GB.

Hold onto the original sticks for the purposes of returning your MacBook back to shipping specs if you ever need Apple Care warranty repairs.

 

[mccldwll]

Disagree. Pairs don't need to be matched, and 1.25 may be better than 1.0 BUT if upgrade w/ Apple ram is only $50 that's probably the better way to go. Not that Apple ram is any better, but if any problems at all, it's their problem, not yours. That's worth a lot. And, 256 sticks have little or no value but 512 Apple ram does, if you later want to upgrade to 1.5 or 2.0.

 

[xfiftyfour]

Disagree. Pairs don't need to be matched, and 1.25 may be better than 1.0 BUT if upgrade w/ Apple ram is only $50 that's probably the better way to go. Not that Apple ram is any better, but if any problems at all, it's their problem, not yours. That's worth a lot.

I don't know about that. If it's not Apple RAM, and something goes bad with a stick of it, then it's that company's problem - same way it would be Apple's if it had been their RAM. Just because you buy it third-party doesn't mean it doesn't have any sort of warranty.

And, 256 sticks have little or no value but 512 Apple ram does, if you later want to upgrade to 1.5 or 2.0.

512 doesn't have much value, either, and it'll only be worse as more time passes and 512 becomes the lowest (soon enough we'll be complaining about Apple only giving us 2x512.. ) It certainly has more value than the 256 chips, yes, but I wouldn't base a decision off of that.

 

[miles01110]

Put as much as you can afford into it and save the old chip.

 

[todd2000]

Is the RAM in the iMac 1x512, or 2x256? Im assuming since system profilers says this

DIMM1/BANK 1:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Speed: 667 MHz
Status: OK

That it's one 512 right? I was going to post a thread like this but Teambayern beat me to it. Im going to upgrade and can't decide if I should get a 512 chip or a 1G for a total of 1.5GB. Is the whole Dual-Channel thing overated, or does it really make a performance difference if they are matched pairs?