kidrobot Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 My girlfriend has a stock Macbook with 2x256mb sticks in dual channel. I'd like to upgrade the RAM but I am wondering if I should go for: 2x512mb stick 1x1gig stick + stock 256mb on other slot Is the performance of dual channel worth going 2x512mb even if that will mean more cost down the road if you want to go beyond 1gig, or is the 1gig single channel a good idea for now and that leaves the door open to get another 1gig stick down the road. Keeping in mind that the most memory intensive thing going on with this Macbook is running Parallels or some photo apps. No gaming/video editing etc... Thanks for suggestions. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
EPDM Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 My girlfriend has a stock Macbook with 2x256mb sticks in dual channel. I'd like to upgrade the RAM but I am wondering if I should go for: 2x512mb stick 1x1gig stick + stock 256mb on other slot Is the performance of dual channel worth going 2x512mb even if that will mean more cost down the road if you want to go beyond 1gig, or is the 1gig single channel a good idea for now and that leaves the door open to get another 1gig stick down the road. Keeping in mind that the most memory intensive thing going on with this Macbook is running Parallels or some photo apps. No gaming/video editing etc... Thanks for suggestions. Yes Dual Channel has a NOTICABLE performance gain. I build a Hackintosh for a friend with almoast the same componants as I have m/b with 915 chipset, Radeon X1600 pro 256, P4 HT, S-ATA harddrive. The major difference is that I puta single 1 GB DDR dimm in his machine while I have 2x 1GB DDR dimms. And my machine is really fast. His machine is also fast but whenever I go over to him I do feel that his system is "slugish" compared to my zippy one. So if you already know that you will at one time need 2GB then I'd go for that single 1GB dimm now and purchase the other one later (but don't wait too long.). But if you don't think that you'll need more than that 1GB then just go for 2x 512MB dimms. In the end you can always exchange both dimms. Cheers, EPDM Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-332510 Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMX-Knuckles Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Dual Channel will provide a modest performance increase in bandwidth-intensive situations, but you're always better off with more memory. I'd add a single 1GB stick and later on upgrade to 2GB. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-336859 Share on other sites More sharing options...
U.C. Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Probably you should buy 1x1GB and leave the 256 in one slot. Thus if you ever wanna go to 2GB you can easily and I am sure you probably wont miss the Dual Channel performance, as your 1.25 GB of RAM will be much faster than the stock 512MB Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-336993 Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremesniper Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Sorry if this sounds noobish, but you're talking about putting three slots of memory in, even though the Macbook only has two slots? Or am I just missing something at this time in the morning... My Macbook has 2x512mb sticks in it and it runs fine 90% of the time. There are times when I try running quite a few things at once, and it starts to slow down a bit, but it's tolerable considering I saved a lot of money by not getting 2x1gb. Maybe one day I will upgrade, but if I do, it will be dual channel as usual. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-337057 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan015 Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 if you ever install windows xp on your macbook via boot camp (like me) it's a lot better with dual channel. and the more memory the better. i'm planning on upgrading my 1gb (2x 512mb) to 2gb corsair pc5300, it's 140 right now on with i think instant rebate but i wouldn't know for sure yet. CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Memory for Apple Notebook Model VSA2GSDSKIT667D2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820233050 i went to the corsair main page and it's compatible with the macbook. plus in the reviews there are plenty of macbook users. i don't know how much you want to dish out right now. but that's not too bad for 2 gb, way cheaper then ddr2-800 for pc... Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-337982 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vipersfate Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 I find it best to have more memory. @EPDM - Of course your system will spank that other system. You have a full GB more of RAM! I would recommend just kinda waiting it out for now. You can get 512 of DDR2 667 on Newegg for about 35 USD before shipping. That's only 70 for a full GB. If you want to move up to 2 x 1GB, it might be worth waiting just a little bit for that. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/45921-what-ram-configuration-should-i-go-with/#findComment-339549 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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