How much ram do I need?
 

I'm buying a G5 and am told that the factory will add another 512 mb ram for just an additional #130 (C). This would give me 1 gb ram (which is what I have been using in my Powerbook). However, I'm also advised that I should probably be looking at over 1 gb. Apple guy tells me if I get a ram upgrade to more than 1 gb from the factory it will cost significantly more. He says Kingston offers 2 gb memory kit for $450 (giving me a total of 2.5 gb). Now I know it would be ideal to have 2.5 gb but it's way more money so my question is could I get away with 1 gb?

Thanks for any help. Wendy

You can get away just fine with a gig. Apple RAM is over priced but be carefull from whom you purchase RAM, even if they say it's "guaranteed" tp be compatible. I ordered RAM from a well known Mac supplier and it made my FCP and Photoshop as well as other apps, crash at least once a day. I ordered from http://www.4allmemory.com and got Samsung memory for a good price and all is well now.

Thanks very much Dave. Even at US prices, the site you recommend offers ram at a lower cost than what I've been quoted and your endorsement is encouraging. This gives me the information I need to make a decision about what to purchase right now.

Wendy

If I were you I'd buy 1gb and see how you get on. I'm getting away with 758mb and have never had a problem. I think the virtual memory routines are there to help in rare cases of overload.

If you feel a gig isn't enough, just slot some more in later on.

Yeah me personally i bought the upgrade when i purchased my G5 just so it wouldnt be the bottle neck performance wise on my computer. Then i later purchased 2GB(two 1GB sticks) from www.newegg.com it was made by a company called Geil and they actually make Mac version ram( dont know if there is a difference but purchased it anyway) so now im up to 3GB its great i havent had a problem with the ram at all. I think it was only $250 when i bought ram it might be cheaper now. I think 450 is way too much for ram in my opinion

Thanks very much you guys. Yes I think I'll buy the upgrade when purchasing and see if I need to add later.
Wendy

I bought 2 gig's of RAM from suppliers on http://www.dealram.com
I got'em for under $200.00 :) Now the Dual G5 runs like a "silent killer"