256 vs 384 vs 512 MB RAM under OS X

Rhino_G3

Rhino_G3

Registered
Currently I have 256 MB in my B&W 350 G3 that's been OC'd to 400.
I have the stock Rage 128 card and 80 gig of HD space on 2 HD's. (Swap on small partition of 2nd drive)

I've done quite a few of the tiny hacks making a more usable system. Although I'm fairly happy performance wise I'm still looking for a little more.
I'm looking to do some upgrades to the system and I'm looking for the best bang for the buck. Would more RAM help or should the money be saved for other mods later on? If I should go for more ram should I grab another 128 or would 256 fit my needs better? (I did the window manager memory compression hack and it seemed to help a little)

Any input is appreciated! :D
 
I have 712MB in my G3 ;)
2 x 256
1 x 128
1 x 64

I think I noticed an improvement :D
More RAM is gooooood ;)
 
Originally posted by AdmiralAK
I have 712MB in my G3 ;)
2 x 256
1 x 128
1 x 64
Click to expand...

2*256 + 128 + 64 = 704?
I like the creative math approach better though. I have 128+512 = 1280 :D

Cheers,
Dak
 
Thanks guys, I'm going out later on today to pick up another 256 MB stick.
What would you sugest to do next? A video card or processor? I was thinking about going with a G4 ZIF upgrade but with the price of those guys I'm not sure what I want to do now.

Or I guess i could just save up for my G5! :D
 
heh, 10,000rpm Cheetah drive...mmmm.... cheetah....A fast hard drive also does wonders to a systems speed, in regards to app load time, doc load time, and i'd assume OSX's VM system. A new video card might do you well, or a processor upgrade. proc upgrades, unless i'm way behind, are always last on my list of upgrades.



Nick
 
Originally posted by godzookie
heh, 10,000rpm Cheetah drive...mmmm.... cheetah....A fast hard drive also does wonders to a systems speed, in regards to app load time, doc load time, and i'd assume OSX's VM system. A new video card might do you well, or a processor upgrade. proc upgrades, unless i'm way behind, are always last on my list of upgrades.



Nick
Click to expand...

Yea, you've got that right. When I got rid of my el Cheapo 5400 RPM Maxtor that came in my G3 and got a WD 7200 RPM drive I was amaized by the difference I saw. I'm running IDE so the only thing I could readily find was 7200 RPM drives. I just bought me a 60 gig so that's kinda out of the question. As far as processor upgrades would it benifit more to get a g4 upgrade or for the same price getting a g3 that's 150mhz faster?
 
Originally posted by Rhino_G3

As far as processor upgrades would it benifit more to get a g4 upgrade or for the same price getting a g3 that's 150mhz faster?
Click to expand...

Check this article, and movie... Then you decide. I'd personally go for the G4, or just hold out for the G5...

Mhz Myth

later
 
Speaking of processor upgrades....
I was thinking,
I have had my G3, B&W for 2 years (will be three years this coming summer).
Should I just wait a couple of more years till my computer can go no further and then get a new tower (whatever model will be out then)
or should I invest in a PCI upgrade, possibly a dual G5 and of course a newer graphics card ? and extend my system's life by a couple of more years ?



Admiral
 
AK, I've been wondering the same thing. I think I'm gonna buy a g5 tower when they come out. Till then I'm thinking about a g4 ZIF upgrade (somewhere around 450 MHZ). You can pick one up off ebay for around 250 bucks


If you're just looking for a few more MHz you can Overclock your 350. I have a 350 and OC'd to 400 and it did make quite an improvement. I've never had problems with it heating up and it's still extremely stable. My roomate has the same setup, overclocked to 400 and has also never had any problems.

If you're looking to do it head over to www.xlr8yourmac.com for instructions. A few jumper changes in your jumper block and you're set to go! :D
 
Originally posted by AdmiralAK

or should I invest in a PCI upgrade, possibly a dual G5 and of course a newer graphics card ? and extend my system's life by a couple of more years ?



Admiral
Click to expand...

Personaly I wouldn't do a PCI upgrade unless there's absolutely no other way. Using the PCI bus in the B&W your processor bus speed runs at 100 MHz :(. The PCI bus is what then also becomes your processor bus. Leaving you to make up the difference with a high clock multiplier. I believe the G4's are already at 133 and by the time the G5's come out who knows what it'll be running at.

This is to the best of my knowlege... take it for what it's worth. :p
 
Thanks for the input

1) I dont plan on overclocking :p a few more Mhz wont do much good, and my mac is too precious for my day to day dealings (be it work, homework or entertainment) to screw around with ;)

2) I might just wait a few more years :p Then get a new mac with a Hub and a new screen and make a network he he... perhaps make a small OS X cluster:rolleyes:
 
Getting back to RAM, I recently added a 512MB stick to my slot-loading iMac for (get ready for it)...
$52!
(Actually, with tax and shipping, it came to $62.)
Got it from coastmemory.com.
When I first installed OS X last March, I had 128MB. Very shortly after that, I replaced one 64 with a 256 for 320 total. BIG improvement. Then when I saw the price for the 512, I couldn't resist, added it to the 256 for a total of 768MB.
And X loooves all that RAM!
 
I grabbed 256 meg for $35 in town. I couldn't believe it. That's what spurred my thought about more RAM. It's just way to cheap not to add it.

I remember buying my first 32 meg DIMM a few years ago for the low, low price of $72 :D
 
Originally posted by twyg


Check this article, and movie... Then you decide. I'd personally go for the G4, or just hold out for the G5...

Mhz Myth

later
Click to expand...

Yea, I know about that but they're compairing a PPC to an intel. Two completely different architectures. THe G4 is just a G3 with the altivec added on. I was wondering how much of a MHz gap the altivec made up for. I figured on my box... originaly a G3 that the G4 of around the same speed wouldn't speed me up much.

A 150 Mhz difference on the G3 would sure make quite a difference.
 
Actually, a G4 is not just a G3 with Altivec. There are a bunch of differences. You can't have multiple G3 chips running together, for example. Plus, G3s have basically the same math co-processesor (if it's even called that anymore) as the PowerPC 603 and 604 chip. I find this sucks big-time when I want to do some big calculations.

Plus, the whole motherboard has seen a ton of revisions which have sped things up a lot. My personal favorite is AGP graphics, since Apple never really implemented the PCI graphics card right. This meant that there was a cap in the framerates (at around 40 to 50 frames per second) in practically all games on Macs, no matter how fast the computer was.
 
Originally posted by Rhino_G3
I remember buying my first 32 meg DIMM a few years ago for the low, low price of $72 :D
Click to expand...

Yes - I know the feeling. My first extra RAM was 16MB for about 400US$ ;-)
Then I kept it when I replaced it and hoped that RAM prices would go up again (in order to sell it to another poor soul...). I think it's still lying around somewhere. ;-)
 
Originally posted by Red Phoenix
Actually, a G4 is not just a G3 with Altivec. There are a bunch of differences. You can't have multiple G3 chips running together, for example. Plus, G3s have basically the same math co-processesor (if it's even called that anymore) as the PowerPC 603 and 604 chip. I find this sucks big-time when I want to do some big calculations.

Plus, the whole motherboard has seen a ton of revisions which have sped things up a lot. My personal favorite is AGP graphics, since Apple never really implemented the PCI graphics card right. This meant that there was a cap in the framerates (at around 40 to 50 frames per second) in practically all games on Macs, no matter how fast the computer was.
Click to expand...

the g3 and g4 are more simmilar than you may think... The g4 was originaly going to be marketed as an advanced g3. The G4 was originaly going to be what's going to be called the G5. They went away from this marketing scheme because they thought it may be confusing.

Motherboard differences were the reasons I was wondering if I would be better with a g3 with a higher clock rate. The differences I speak of are purely processor, not computer itself. Although, I guess with a g4 upgrade it would be like running one of the original Yikes G4's (PCI graphics and 100 mhz system bus)
 
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