17" powerbook - which ram do i need

[Ghost in the Shell]

hi i have just received my new G4 powerbook (1.67ghz) which sadly only came with 512mb ram. i am about to order another gig of the stuff to get to a better value of 1.5GB

the question is which stuff is more closely matched to the stuff i already have (from apple)

my choices are

DDR2 PC2-4200 • CL=4 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-533 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64

or

DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64

The book is listed as having 512B PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM (running at 333MHz) on the packaging and the following in system profiler - Size: 512 MB Type: DDR2 SDRAM Speed: PC2-4200S-444

im just being extra sure but i am convinced the 444 means CAS4 as per the first choice listed above. However.... correct me if im wrong but if the system ram is running at 333 (333x2=667*) then surely i need to get the 2nd choice or im going to have more ram but running at slower speeds...

i cant mention the above site that i saw this ram but most should know. if theres somewhere else to get ram that meets my needs better will somebody please contact me through my trust email... i dont want to order the wrong stuff!

p.s. can you order extra modules through apple at all to install yourself?

thanks

 

[Matt]

p.s. can you order extra modules through apple at all to install yourself?

£210 for 1gb

 

[Ghost in the Shell]

thats expensive but can i get equal ram elsewhere??

 

[MagicBoy]

You only need 333Mhz RAM as the bus speed is 166Mhz on the late G4 powerbooks, so go for the DDR2-4200 unless the faster stuff is cheaper. The Mac will clock the faster RAM down so won't see any performance benefit anyway.

 

[Ghost in the Shell]

ok thanks any hints on where to get the best stuff for my mac?

 

[Ghost in the Shell]

You only need 333Mhz RAM as the bus speed is 166Mhz on the late G4 powerbooks, so go for the DDR2-4200 unless the faster stuff is cheaper. The Mac will clock the faster RAM down so won't see any performance benefit anyway.

hmm as matt pointd out i looked into the apple stores ram and it is the pc5300 stuff that they are suggesting for my mac..

im really confused now what to do.

i can get a 512mb for £70 from apple which will be good enough (total 1GB) and its not too expensive - im tempted to get this stuff to be sure i dont just gain in size what i lose in speed.

cany anyone else suggest what to do or how i can find out exactly what speed rating, bandwidth and CAS the stuff my current powerbook has exactly so i can do the best job in matching it?

thanks

 

[Matt]

hmm as matt pointd out i looked into the apple stores ram and it is the pc5300 stuff that they are suggesting for my mac..

im really confused now what to do.

i can get a 512mb for £70 from apple which will be good enough (total 1GB) and its not too expensive - im tempted to get this stuff to be sure i dont just gain in size what i lose in speed.

cany anyone else suggest what to do or how i can find out exactly what speed rating, bandwidth and CAS the stuff my current powerbook has exactly so i can do the best job in matching it?

thanks

Ask on the MacRumors forum, or somewhere like that Though have you tried looking at the RAM that's in there already? as it probably has a sticker on it that tells you exactly what it is.

 

[MagicBoy]

Apple are trying to flog the PC5300 stuff as it's the one size fits all solution. It's the memory as used in the MacIntel machines (MacBook Pro, MacBook, iMac and the new Mini). I expect it will happily run underclocked in the Power PC machines.

Specs for your G4 is here .

 

[Ghost in the Shell]

Apple are trying to flog the PC5300 stuff as it's the one size fits all solution. It's the memory as used in the MacIntel machines (MacBook Pro, MacBook, iMac and the new Mini). I expect it will happily run underclocked in the Power PC machines.

Specs for your G4 is here .

your totaly right dude and that is exactly the spec. im just trying to get an answer that tells me exaclty what to buy.. they are making it confusing!

seeing as you are quite knowledgable can you please tell me what ram would you get - manufacturer, speed and size etc.

are you certain then that the ram in my system is running at 4200 speeds?

thanks for the time on this one fellas

 

[Spyhop]

I thought the G4 powerbook took PC2700. Just plain old laptop-sized PC2700 DDR (not DDR2) modules.

The G4 is an old processor. It has never needed DDR2. The bus speed is 167Mhz, isn't it? So 2x 167Mhz = 333Mhz = PC2700.

 

[Ghost in the Shell]

i have the newest high res DDR2 model that they released just before the mbp

dont ask me if it uses it effectively all i know is its very quick and very cool