Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
there needs?

With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
How can you tell if you have enough?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

General rules for OSX are pretty easy-Give it as much RAM as you can
afford. Having said that, a reasonable amount of RAM depends greatly on
what you are doing. For simple Office/web browsing, 256-512Meg is
probably adequate. Throw in Photoshop/movie editing tasks, and you
probably want to go to a Gig. For what it is worth, I have a G5 with a
Gig, and often have a dozen programs open. I rarely see slowdowns from
too little RAM. Having said that, my image editing work is very light,
though I do quite a bit of DNA/protein sequence analysis. Others who do
more image editing could give better recommendations than I.

HTH

--
Dave Fritzinger

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <1110328887.740811.11710@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
"-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-" <nomads_05@yahoo.com> wrote:

> How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
> there needs?

Use the machine for a few days. Open Terminal and type "ls -la /var/vm"
and count how many swap files you've got. Bonus points if you take a
look at the timestamps on the files.

G

--
There's nothing quite like the joy of first hearing an Alvin & the Chipmunks
cover of Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut." "Not Now John" is especially sublime.

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-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-:
> How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
> there needs?

It's easy. Max out your ram.

> With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
> afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
> How can you tell if you have enough?

See above.

Davoud

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <1110328887.740811.11710@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
"-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-" <nomads_05@yahoo.com> wrote:

> How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
> there needs?
>
> With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
> afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
> How can you tell if you have enough?

Use 'Activity Monitor' in the Utilities Folder of the Applications
Folder.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

dfritzin@hotmail.com wrote:
> General rules for OSX are pretty easy-Give it as much RAM as you can
> afford. Having said that, a reasonable amount of RAM depends greatly on
> what you are doing. For simple Office/web browsing, 256-512Meg is
> probably adequate. Throw in Photoshop/movie editing tasks, and you
> probably want to go to a Gig. For what it is worth, I have a G5 with a
> Gig, and often have a dozen programs open. I rarely see slowdowns from
> too little RAM. Having said that, my image editing work is very light,
> though I do quite a bit of DNA/protein sequence analysis. Others who do
> more image editing could give better recommendations than I.
>
> HTH
>
> --
> Dave Fritzinger
>


A Gig is plenty for most tasks. For Apple Motion it is recommended that
the machine be equipped with 2 Gig for optimum performamce.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

>>How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
>>there needs?
>
> It's easy. Max out your ram.

That's like saying the best way to know if you're getting enough Vitamin
C is to take as many pills as humanly possible throughout the day.

Like most other things, if you need it, you KNOW you need it. I know
the hype is that 256 MB is not adequate for OSX, but I can tell you it's
fine for basic use. 512 MB is even better, but more than that will only
really make a difference if you're doing some pretty high end tasks.

I just got a mini and am upgrading to 512 MB as soon as my DIMM comes in
the mail, but for now, 256 MB enough to keep Safari and Mail open, and
iTunes (running), and the only time I see swap files being written is
when I open web pages with LOTS of flash or graphics. I can even run
Photoshop, open a pic and start editing, and I'm still doing okay.

I'm not saying more RAM won't help, but you have to consider the cost
vs. the benefit. If you go over 1 GB in those Powerbooks, you're
looking at a pretty hefty price tag.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

On 8 Mar 2005 16:41:27 -0800, "-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-"
<nomads_05@yahoo.com> chose to bless us with the following wisdom:

>How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
>there needs?
>
>With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
>afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.

Are you seriously claiming that most newer Windows machines can't take
two gigs of RAM?

>How can you tell if you have enough?

When it doesn't hit the swapfile all the time while you're using it.
That said, RAM is dirt cheap right now. Just go ahead and max it out.




--
"...I doubt that I would ever buy a Mac. I've seen
what owning one can do to people. And I don't want
any part of that."

Rich Brooks
columnist for the
Southwest Florida
Herald-Tribune

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

Mayor of R'lyeh wrote:
> On 8 Mar 2005 16:41:27 -0800, "-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-"
> <nomads_05@yahoo.com> chose to bless us with the following wisdom:
>
>
>>How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
>>there needs?
>>
>>With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
>>afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
>
>
> Are you seriously claiming that most newer Windows machines can't take
> two gigs of RAM?
>
>

Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
machine can top that?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <112smkrs8s1762c@news.supernews.com>,
John <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:

> dfritzin@hotmail.com wrote:
> > General rules for OSX are pretty easy-Give it as much RAM as you can
> > afford. Having said that, a reasonable amount of RAM depends greatly on
> > what you are doing. For simple Office/web browsing, 256-512Meg is
> > probably adequate. Throw in Photoshop/movie editing tasks, and you
> > probably want to go to a Gig. For what it is worth, I have a G5 with a
> > Gig, and often have a dozen programs open. I rarely see slowdowns from
> > too little RAM. Having said that, my image editing work is very light,
> > though I do quite a bit of DNA/protein sequence analysis. Others who do
> > more image editing could give better recommendations than I.
> >
> > HTH
> >
> > --
> > Dave Fritzinger
> >
>
>
> A Gig is plenty for most tasks. For Apple Motion it is recommended that
> the machine be equipped with 2 Gig for optimum performamce.

I have 2GB and it does make a difference with Motion.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

John wrote:

> Mayor of R'lyeh wrote:
>> On 8 Mar 2005 16:41:27 -0800, "-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-"
>> <nomads_05@yahoo.com> chose to bless us with the following wisdom:
>>
>>
>>>How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
>>>there needs?
>>>
>>>With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
>>>afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
>>
>>
>> Are you seriously claiming that most newer Windows machines can't take
>> two gigs of RAM?
>>
>>
>
> Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
> machine can top that?

A number of AMD64 machines can take 16 or more. A few can take 64.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:52:50 -0800, John <nospam@nospam.com> chose to
bless us with the following wisdom:

>Mayor of R'lyeh wrote:
>> On 8 Mar 2005 16:41:27 -0800, "-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-"
>> <nomads_05@yahoo.com> chose to bless us with the following wisdom:
>>
>>
>>>How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
>>>there needs?
>>>
>>>With windows it was easy. Max out your ram. Put in as much as you can
>>>afford. However, some of these power books can take two gigs of ram.
>>
>>
>> Are you seriously claiming that most newer Windows machines can't take
>> two gigs of RAM?
>>
>>
>
>Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
>machine can top that?

Almost all the AMD64 based ones can. Some of the XEON based ones can
take that much.



--
"...I doubt that I would ever buy a Mac. I've seen
what owning one can do to people. And I don't want
any part of that."

Rich Brooks
columnist for the
Southwest Florida
Herald-Tribune

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <uce-9902E5.20075308032005@comcast.dca.giganews.com>,
Gregory Weston <uce@splook.com> wrote:

> In article <1110328887.740811.11710@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> "-oo0-GoldTrader-0oo-" <nomads_05@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > How can a Power book user determine if they have enough memory for
> > there needs?
>
> Use the machine for a few days. Open Terminal and type "ls -la /var/vm"
> and count how many swap files you've got. Bonus points if you take a
> look at the timestamps on the files.

A variation is to use top in terminal, and inspect the pageouts and
pageins numbers. If the numbers inside the brackets are frequently
non-zero, you need more memory.

e.g. top -u -s5 10 will produce a list of the top 10 cpu guzzlers
updated every 5 seconds.

Do not be swayed by the physmem numbers you see in the line above that.
OS X is a lazy reclaimer. It won't free up memory till something really
really needs it, so the 'free' number is almost always small, even if
you are wallowing in excess memory.

--
I thought I would be the last on earth to mung my e-mail address.
fsnospam$elliott$$
1A96 3CF7 637F 896B C810 E199 7E5C A9E4 8E59 E248

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

in absolute truth, there's not really any such thing as too much memory
- although, admittedly, there's not a huge point to having more than
four Gb at the moment, unless you're doing vast (and i mean VAST) 3d
renders/high-end video work/huge A1+ poster design or so forth. i run
on 1.25 Gb in my G5 at the moment, and i do a lot of video editing and
3d rendering. it'd be nice to have ore, but there's no pressing need
for it, really.
if your computer is running slow, there are plenty of decent
optimisation applications out there, especially in sites like
sourceforge and versiontracker. always take care to read the feedback
though!
also, it does you good to occassionally run a script called applejack -
you can find it on both sourceforge and versiontracker; it gives you
the opportunity to cover the stuff that cron scripts don't often go
for, such as cache removal, permissions repairs, and page file
deletion. i believe the monthly cron script does that, but os x only
runs the daily one with any regularity.
another good app for cleaning your system and maintaining it is called
cocktail - you can get from apple's website; it's a shareware app that
just gives you access to more of the 'under-the-skin' features that
apple have (quite proficiently) hidden from plain view.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue, 08 Mar
2005 19:52:50 -0800, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do comp.sys.mac.misc,
yawatina tan reek esk John <nospam@nospam.com> fornis do marikano es bono tan
el:

>Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
>machine can top that?

My Windows 2003 server at work has 12GB in it, and can take 32GB...

deKay
--
+ Lofi Gaming - www.lofi-gaming.org.uk [Gamertag: deKay 01]
|- Gaming Diary - www.lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary/
|- My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that
|- Hurry up and go touch it.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <pjau21d4g97j4fdd870bus047i8l53h27r@4ax.com>,
deKay <andyk@lofi-gaming.org.uk> wrote:

> Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue, 08 Mar
> 2005 19:52:50 -0800, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do comp.sys.mac.misc,
> yawatina tan reek esk John <nospam@nospam.com> fornis do marikano es bono tan
> el:
>
> >Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
> >machine can top that?
>
> My Windows 2003 server at work has 12GB in it, and can take 32GB...
>
> deKay

There's just a little difference between a high end server and a desktop
machine's RAM requirements.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

In article <pjau21d4g97j4fdd870bus047i8l53h27r@4ax.com>, deKay
<andyk@lofi-gaming.org.uk> wrote:

> Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue,
> 08 Mar 2005 19:52:50 -0800, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
> comp.sys.mac.misc, yawatina tan reek esk John <nospam@nospam.com>
> fornis do marikano es bono tan el:
>
> >Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
> >machine can top that?
>
> My Windows 2003 server at work has 12GB in it, and can take 32GB...
>
> deKay

Well, my dad's bigger than your dad! <g>
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sweet Potato Follies added 2/24/05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.mac.portables,comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc (More info?)

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Wed, 09 Mar
2005 16:58:53 GMT, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do comp.sys.mac.misc,
yawatina tan reek esk TravelinMan <Nowhere@spamfree.com> fornis do marikano es
bono tan el:

>> >Most can. However my wonderful G5 can take EIGHT!!! What Windows
>> >machine can top that?
>>
>> My Windows 2003 server at work has 12GB in it, and can take 32GB...
>>
>There's just a little difference between a high end server and a desktop
>machine's RAM requirements.

I'm not disputing that. The question was "What Windows machine can top
that?", so I answered it.

deKay
--
+ Lofi Gaming - www.lofi-gaming.org.uk [Gamertag: deKay 01]
|- Gaming Diary - www.lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary/
|- My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that
|- Hurry up and go touch it.