Hey Mac Users

[hnf2k]

tomorrow im going to buy myself an 20" imac G5 with 250 gig hard drive. i was told apples ram is too expensive and to upgrade it on my own, ive installed ram on a pc, but never an apple and especially not an imac. how hard is it? also what's a good brand and place to buy ram online? how much should i get, 1 gig or 2 total? thanks!

[MarkS]

The RAM that Apple uses is industry standard. The iMac (G5 I'm assuming?) uses DDR400 SDRAM. Buy it from whichever Mac or PC vendor you choose.

As far as installing it yourself, you'll have to read the warranty in detail. When I bought my Rev. A iMac about 8 years ago, there were no warranty issues. I don't know how things have progressed. Apple has been making their computers easily accessable to the user for upgrades. I'm pretty sure the iMac is the same way.

[pnosko]

Originally posted by MarkS
Apple has been making their computers easily accessable to the user for upgrades.

Except for powerbook hard drives.

[MarkS]

Originally posted by pnosko
Except for powerbook hard drives.

True. I was speaking of desktop models. Everyone knows that laptops are not really computers!

[beerguy]

Don't buy cheap RAM - you will regret it. Crucial or Micron would be my first choice. You will also get better performance from 2 equally sized dimms - 3 screws opens it up.

Pete - you void the warranty when you remove the original drive on almost every laptop on the planet; it's not a problem specific to apple.

[MarkS]

I'm not saying buy cheap RAM, just to shop around and not limit yourself to Mac sources.

[pnosko]

Originally posted by beerguy
Pete - you void the warranty when you remove the original drive on almost every laptop on the planet; it's not a problem specific to apple.

Not so with my Dell. It is user-accessible for upgrades/warranty replacements.

[hnf2k]

umm, so what's the verdict on 1 gig or 2 gigs?

[beerguy]

There are only 2 slots. Right now 1gb dimms over-priced IMO. I'm running 2 x 512m in mine.

[hnf2k]

i can get 2 512 factory installed from Apple for like 200 bucks, it might be worth it to do that instead of me do it? 2 1 gig dimms from apple is like over 1000 bucks, crazy!

[beerguy]

that's what I did - didn't feel like messing with it

[hnf2k]

grr...i want my computer to be better than yours thouhg, not equal. downgrade your ram. thx! hehe

[beerguy]

A computer is 20% machine 80% operator - you're toast.

[hnf2k]

haha, sounds like street racing. "it's the driver not the car"

also i plan on networking my imac to my PC, should i get the airport card right away? or should i wait till im actually ready to network, how hard is it to install that?

[beerguy]

It's pretty easy.

[hnf2k]

alright...sounds good, i'm about to goto the mac store and get this going...any other last minute things i need to consider? also do i get my computer on the spot or do i gotta wait for it to be made(if i upgrade ram and hd)?

[beerguy]

Depends on the store. In most cases it will be ordered and shipped if it's not a base config.

[hnf2k]

thx beerguy(someone took their sweet time on that last response, hehe)

[hnf2k]

just got done with the apple store. my 20" 1 gig of ram, 250 gig hd imac g5 is in the mail.

i must say i HATE the apple keyboard. i was using it at the store, soo tiny. i kept hitting F13 instead of backspace. gonna take some getting used too.

[MarkS]

Originally posted by hnf2k

i must say i HATE the apple keyboard. i was using it at the store, soo tiny. i kept hitting F13 instead of backspace. gonna take some getting used too.

Doesn't have to. Get a third party full-size keyboard and be done with it.

[hnf2k]

well i already paid for the wireless keyboard and mouse, so im not switching up anytime soon. gonna take some getting used too.

[beerguy]

I have the wireless and don't care for it. It's "mushy." I do like the "Pro" keyboard better. It's got better tactile feedback and the key layout is better (IMO).

[hnf2k]

is the Pro keyboard a standard PC keyboard? i didnt get to try out the wireless one, but the one they had running on the 20" imac they had was so tiny. i kept reaching over the buttons i needed, stupid fat fingers.

[dendronepthya]

I was surprised at how little the extra RAM in my powerbook mattered. It came stock with 512MB, and I bought an additional 512MB from crucial. It had no noticeable difference in performance with the type of stuff I do. Perhaps the most resource intensive program I run is Warcraft 3.

As far as keyboards go, I really like how the powerbook keyboards feel. I have a hard time going back to other keyboards with thick, punchy keys.

[hnf2k]

gotcha....then i guess im glad i didnt spend a grand on 2 gigs of ram. but i dunno, im running 1 gig of ram now in my PC and sometimes my comptuer lags....so i couldnt like go down to 512 megs of ram, wouldnt my computer lag even more? or is this where an apple hopefully outperforms a PC and wont lag?