Memory Upgrade

[maler23]

Hello party people.

My room mate has a PowerBook G4.

Specs are below(as best as I could copy, I'm a PC owner)

It might be a push, but he wants to get Civ4. It appears the only hope would be a memory upgrade(he has 256 and I'm not sure if that is shared with the Go5200 or not, I'm thinking not)

I think he has one slot of memory available and I'm not sure if the other slot of memory is built in and can be replaced.

Where is a good place to get the correct memory at a good price? I'm more familiar with Newegg which is PC-centric. Also, anyone had any luck running on similar specs with more memory?

thanks!

Specs

PowerBook G4 12inch
Metal case
PowerPC g4(1.1) - 1.33 ghz
512kb l2 cache

Memory:

256mb

Bus Speed 167mhz

Memory Slots

Dimm0/Built-In 256 - Type - Built-in Speed Built-in
Dimm1/J31 Empty

Video card

Geforce FX Go5200 with 64mb of Ram

He's running Mac OS X 10.3.9

 

[Skippy_Kangaroo]

Lots of people have reported problems with the 5200 and Civ IV. Aspyr are working on a patch that may remediate some of the problems. I'd probably hold off getting Civ IV until people with the 5200 report a more positive experience.

Secondly, 256MB is like a small broom closet for OS X - even apart from running Civ IV. I would recommend getting at least an extra 512MB - and preferably 1GB. (The memory is not shared with the graphics card, getting 2x512MB may be cheaper than 1x1GB. The resale value of the 256MB stick would probably be didley-squat though.)

I used no-name memory from a reputable supplier here in Australia - no problems. I have noticed that lots of Mac users recommend newegg and crucial - work out your budget and then go from there.

 

[5150]

There's only one memory slot. There's nothing special about the memory, and you can buy from any vendor you like. It's just memory, after all.

That said, Civ4 would be horrible on that machine. I have a 12" PB, and wouldn't even think to try installing it.

 

[5150]

Feeling a little adventurous, I just installed the game on my 12". It runs, and a tiny map is playable. I've got the older 12", with the 867mhz processor and the GF4MX graphics.

 

[Skippy_Kangaroo]

There's only one memory slot.

Memory Slots

Dimm0/Built-In 256 - Type - Built-in Speed Built-in
Dimm1/J31 Empty

I took that to mean there are two slots with one of them currently free. But reading the 'Built-in' bit again suggests the 256 is 'soldered' in. Either way 768MB would be a significant improvement; 1.25GB would be like night and day.

 

[Cougarcat]

You can't beat Newegg's 1 GB Kingmax RAM. Got it for my 15" and it works great.

That said, I probably wouldn't buy Civ IV for that machine. The graphics card is just too weak.

 

[maler23]

Thanks for the feedback! That helps a lot!

Since a lot of Mac hardware lives in its own proprietary world(at least pre-Intel), I didn't know how "special" the memory was. But I did find some on Newegg that should fit the bill.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0+1309121113&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=381

Any of that should be fine, I believe. I think we'll just cram a one gig'er in there unless the two sticks have to match.

In regards to performance, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. My Windows Laptop with 512mb of ram and integrated(shared memory) Intel 900 chipset can run it surprisingly well. That said, it's 1.7ghz p4 intel beats the pants off of anything he's rocking in that G4.

I'm hoping that his seperate video card balances things out. Well, we'll never know till we try. I'll post back when I have results.

cheers,

-J

 

[5150]

Drives and memory have never been proprietary.

 

[Welnic]

The two sticks don't have to match. Put the 1GB in there.