The Epic 4GB RAM upgrade, how MUCH would I benefit? And where is it cheapest?

[SavageLLama77]

Hi.

I just bought a 2.2ghz MBP, and I will connect it to a 23'' display at 1920X1200 resolution. I plan to use the computer for running the following applications, probably at the same time in some instances:

Multiple Tabs/Windows in Safari, with some of them streaming video
Multiple Tabs/Windows in Firefox, with some of them streaming video
Mail
iWork
Microsoft Office
iTunes
Multiple Windows in iChat
iMovie, iPhoto, or Garageband
Sherlock
Intensive Games, such as World of Warcraft
Multiple Clips/Movies in Quicktime Player

Yes, I have searched on the internet as well as these forums with hazy results, so please don't bash me

1. I just want to know how much this would benefit me. Sure, it may not justify the price of up to $200 because I'm not running "professional apps", but it would be nice to have some noticeable speed difference.

2. I would also like to know where the cheapest 4GB RAM module is. It used to be OCZ with Frys for $160, but I don't think that exists anymore.

3. Also, what should I do with my 2GB RAM? Sell? Keep?

4. On a side note, what, exactly, controls the speed of opening applications?

Thanks.

 

[Multimedia]

$234.99 Omni Optival With Attached Ramseeker.com Link

Use This Link To Get Best 4GB Kit. Omni is a very excellent source of RAM with one of the lowest failure rates in the industry. If you are near Fry's they do offer those better deals from time to time if you are patient.

You will definitely see faster performance with 4GB inside. You can turn off the launch animation in the Dock Preferences to speed up launch times.

 

[Eidorian]

You're going to hit a hard disk performance wall long before RAM and processor activity running all that at once.

 

[SavageLLama77]

You're going to hit a hard disk performance wall long before RAM and processor activity running all that at once.

It'd be great if you could explain that

 

[Eidorian]

It'd be great if you could explain that

Your hard drive is going to be a bottleneck for performance running all those applications at once.

 

[L3X]

Your hard drive is going to be a bottleneck for performance running all those applications at once.

Definitely upgrade to the 7200 rpm HDD to insure faster load speeds. Remember, everything reads from the HDD.

OWC also has great prices on RAM, cheaper than Omni.

 

[NickD]

Look at OWC for the RAM, but definitely get a very fast HD before that.

 

[mgargan1]

if you go under activity monitor, which is under applications-> utilities-> activity monitor, you can see how much RAM you're currently using.

You can also check your page in and page outs... if you have many page outs, then you should consider getting more RAM.

Hope that helped

 

[DaLurker]

My page outs were about 1/3 of my page ins and that's when I knew I needed more ram. After upgrading, its much much faster when multi-tasking.

The most obvious indicator usually is lag as you load a new application. This indicates a page out/page in is occurring.

 

[whateverandever]

I really think people that recommend Omni are just sales trolls or blind followers of random purchases. A company that brands more expensive ram as "multimedia enhanced" shouldn't be recommended by anyone. They're scamming stupid customers into paying more for the same product.

Anyway, ranting aside...

I usually recommend Frys.com as they almost ALWAYS have the best prices on 2GB modules (or 4GB kits). However, Frys seems to have a drought of 2GB modules recently.

So... for the cheapest, best RAM... from a reliable seller...

We've got Newegg. 2GB Patriot DDR2-667MHz chips @ $99.99 + $5 shipping after $20 rebate. Sadly, one rebate per customer.