(Ram) One or two 1gig sticks?

[cartoonfox]

Hey, I'm hoping I can find someone here who uses Flash/Painter/Photoshop with large canvas'.
I have a 20" iMac (without iSight) 2Ghz, 512mb RAM.
I use it for everything (excpet games), but the most intesive programs are Painter IX.5, Flash MX and Photoshop CS2. I'm an Illustration student and part time web designer (I also use an A5 Wacom Intuos 3).
My previous Mac was a G3, so at first this Mac was lighting speed, but slowly I started to realise it is getting slower and slower, as my projects get bigger and bigger!
So, I think it's new RAM time. I've had a recent burst of good freelance work, so I can afford it.

First of all, I'm thinking of buying it direct from apple (UK) 'cos it seems easier, less hassle and guarenteed to work. (Either online or Apple store).

Now, I want to know if an upgrade of 1 gig, bringing my total to 1.5 gigs is enough of an upgrade to make Painter, Flash and Photoshop run as smooth as butter even on huge canvas' (2200x1600 at 300dpi), (I often have 2 or 3 applications open at the same time).
Or should I splash out even more, and get two 1 gig sticks, bringing my total to 2 gig's (1 replacing my 512, right?).

Buying 2 gig's would be pretty exspensive, would it be worth it (or recommended) for my situation and needs?

Hope someone can advise me.


Peace

 

[twoodcc]

i would highly recommend not buying from Apple....i got the same RAM for my macbook....2GB for $150. and there are some that costs a little more that is guranteed to work

 

[cartoonfox]

Holy crap, is this right?

Apple 1 GB stick = £140
Crucial 2 GB (2x1GB sticks) = £140.99

... 99 pence for an extra gig of ram?!
They are both the same ram right? DDR400/PC3200.

I can't beleive it. The crucial one must be slower or something, right?
I'm this close to ordering the 2 gig sticks right now!

 

[twoodcc]

Holy crap, is this right?

Apple 1 GB stick = £140
2 GB (2x1GB sticks) = £140.99

... 99 pence for an extra gig or ram?!
They are both the same ram right? DDR400/PC3200.

I can't beleive it. The crucial one must be slower or something, right?
I'm this close to ordering the 2 gig sticks right now!

see....i told you

but i actually thought you had an intel imac....sorry, but still, same concept

 

[cartoonfox]

Damn, so is Crucial reliable? Seeing as there is a link at the top of every page, I would assume so.

Also, is instaling RAM in iMac's hard?

Peace

 

[FFTT]

Datamem.com is a reliable vendor of Apple Guaranteed lifetime RAM.

AFAIK they do international shipping.

 

[apfhex]

Damn, so is Crucial reliable? Seeing as there is a link at the top of every page, I would assume so.

Also, is instaling RAM in iMac's hard?

Crucial is good. They make it relatively easy to find the right RAM for your model, but still make sure you're getting the right stuff. Installing it it isn't hard as long as you have the right tools. I forget what the iMacs require, maybe just a right size phillips, but Apple's manual will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[cartoonfox]

Cheers twoodcc, FFTT and apfhex. I will sleep on it I think : ]


Peace

 

[cartoonfox]

Ok, I'm about to buy the Crucial RAM (2x1gig sticks).
Before I do there are a few questions I want to ask.

For reference, here is the RAM I will be buying:
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/MPa...&WSMD=iMac+(G5-2.0GHz,+20-inch)&WSPN=CT442012
It say's it's for "Apple iMac (G5-2.0GHz, 20-inch)" So I'm certain it's the right one.

Firstly, I'm buying two sticks. My Mac only has 2 slots so I need to take out the defualt 512mb stick. I just want to be sure that I can actually do this.

I'm sure that after a sucessfull instalation of the RAM, my Mac will become a lot faster. But will it "help" my fans? Right now my fans get very loud, and the Mac heats up a lot, especialy after a few hours painting in Painter. Will the 2gb's of RAM help "ease the load" so to speak? Probably a dumb question.

Any other things I need to consider before buying?


Thanks for your help.


Peace