Second Life

I'd update to at _least_ 768 MB of RAM if you really want more performance - not only for Second Life. The more the better.
 
max it out. never have to worry again. if you don't this time, then you'll feel bad chucking away perfectly good but useless ram when you have to replace it.
 
I agree. Just didn't want to make it sound too expensive. But yeah, max it out. :)
 
OK, I just came from the Apple store. I've decided to "max it out" like you guys suggested. Makes perfect sense to me. My question, though, is: Would maxing it out mean that I purchase the 1GB RAM? I need to know because I'm about to buy it from Apple and have them install it. I asked that question at the store, but I didn't really understand the answer. He gave me all this gobbledygook.

And just in case you need to know: I have an iBook G4 with 1.2GHz. What would maxing my RAM mean? Do I need to buy the 1GB RAM card?
 
Oh man, oh man, oh man ... now I'm chatting with a friend and he's asking all this stuff. Like, "Are you going to buy one 1GB chip or two 512 chips?" How the heck am I supposed to know these things?! I just want to purchase the damn thing and have Apple install it. I'm about to make my purchase (one 1GB RAM thingy). Crap, I hope I'm buying the right one...
 
You only have one slot to install memory in - the 256 MB is built-in, so you will get a 1GB chip (for a total of 1.25 GB). Many laptops have two slots to install memory in, but your iBook only has one, so you can't install two smaller chips as your friend asked.
 
...and it's really not that difficult to install the RAM yourself, yo. There are tons of take-apart guides on the net.
 
OK, thanks. That's what I thought. Gettin' me a 1GB, baby! :D

Yeah, I know installing RAM is easy. But you don't know my luck. I can mess up even the simplest things. Ironically, I'm better at accomplishing the more difficult tasks. (I'm screwy, I know.)
 
Sorry to bother you guys again. But I've been teetering on the "Buy Now" button of that 1GB RAM. I haven't pushed it yet because I'm wondering if I really should. Admittedly, my iBook is perfect and works just fine for what I use it for (mostly Internet stuff), and I would be upgrading the memory mostly for the use of Second Life. Which sounds really silly. I keep asking myself: Is it really worth $300 just to play a stupid game? What (if any) would be the benefits of getting 1GB RAM, other than running/playing big games/programs? Probably wouldn't make much different, browser-wise, right? And that's mostly what I use my computer for.

Any last words? :)
 
Maybe not much faster for a single browser. However, if you use multiple webpages, have several apps running at the same time, or just want things to be snappier, you want more RAM.
 
If you're otherwise perfectly happy with the speed of your iBook, I'd simply forget about Second Life and save the 300$ towards your next Mac, iPod or iPhone. If your computer often bogs down, though, starts to write and read the harddrive frantically, it's a sure sign that memory constraints are active. With only 256 MB RAM and Tiger, this seems highly probable to happen all the time, or at least whenever you keep Mail.app, Safari and an iLife app open at the same time.
 
fryke said:
If you're otherwise perfectly happy with the speed of your iBook, I'd simply forget about Second Life and save the 300$ towards your next Mac, iPod or iPhone. If your computer often bogs down, though, starts to write and read the harddrive frantically, it's a sure sign that memory constraints are active. With only 256 MB RAM and Tiger, this seems highly probable to happen all the time, or at least whenever you keep Mail.app, Safari and an iLife app open at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll take it. My iBook has perfect performance and is very zippy, never bogs down. And, yes, I have 256MB RAM but I don't have Tiger; I have Panther. Works great and darn speedy. That's why I was having major second thoughts about forking out that kind of money just to upgrade the RAM so that I could play Second Life. Don't think I'm gonna do it.
 
You can install the RAM yourself. It's not such a big deal. Well worth the 200$ you'd save. ;) It might seem a little fiddly at first, but it's really not _that_ difficult. You just need a very small screwdriver to get at the port below the keyboard.
 
I would also need one of those anti-static thingies, which I don't have. I supposed I could buy it at CompUSA or Circuit City, but like I said, I have a fear of messing something up if I try to install it myself. And if I ruined my perfectly good iBook ... well, that'd be shame.
 
You really don't need anything anti-static. Touch something metal before handling the iBook and certainly power it down completely and remove both the powerchord and the battery before opening it up. But seriously: You won't ruin anything.
 
Worst case scenario (assuming removal of battery, power, and basic grounding), the memory doesn't work. Take it out, and you're up and running again.

It's probably slightly more risky than replacing your laptop's battery.

While it's a good idea to not invest too much in your laptop, a new (apple) laptop will cost at least ~ $800 (refurbished, of course). Assuming that lasts 5 years, you would "spend" $160 per year (plus applecare, batteries, etc). If you think this upgrade will give your laptop another year of life, it's probably worth it.
 
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