CS3 and Buying RAM...

[hacksaw35]

I purchased a 20" Imac a few months ago and plan on adding some RAM, b/c CS3 slows it down quite a bit with my current 1gb.

It can take up to 3gb...I was wondering if I should just buy a 2gb stick and leave the 512 in the other slot (2.5gb total)...or pay $50 more and have 3gb (2+1)

Will I really notice a difference between 2.5 and 3 ???

 

[Cabra]

How much ram do you have? I have the mac book with 1gig ram and it runs CS3 pretty good. However, more ram is always better.

 

[hacksaw35]

...CS3 slows it down quite a bit with my current 1gb.

I believe Adobe recommends having at least 1.5 gigs of RAM

 

[Garbz]

This depends on your computer. Check to see how your motherboard supports various ram configurations. With the advent of DDR/2/3 and dual channels the days of blindly throwing ram into the system and expecting it to be stable are gone.

Especially suspect is the fact that your current GB is made up of 2x512 sticks.

 

[hacksaw35]

From the Apple website...
"Although these iMacs will accept up to a 2 GB SO-DIMM in each of the two memory slots, the iMac will only support 3 GB total memory. If you want to maximize the amount of SDRAM in your computer, install a 2 GB SO-DIMM in one slot and a 1GB SO-DIMM in the other.
You can use RAM module sizes of 512 MB, 1 GB or 2GB in the top or bottom slots."

So, it looks like I can do either...

 

[Flash Harry]

Make sure the ram is compatible with your MB too, some cheapo ram wont work at all in this system. H

 

[astrostu]

fastermacs.com is usually a cheap place to get RAM, and it has steps that take you through to select the model you have so you get the correct RAM. Otherwise, lots of folks recommend Crucial.

 

[hacksaw35]

The guys from the "geek squad" told me to go with Corsair or Kensington. I ended up ordering a Corsair 2gb stick from Newegg.com... I will let you know how it works out... thanks for the thoughts guys.

 

[Smith2688]

You'll be fine doing that, however, you won't have the advantage of your RAM acting in dual-channel mode. That advantage, however, wouldn't be very noticeable.

 

[monocle]

there is no such thing as enough ram. period.

 

[GrfxGuru]

I believe both chip strips have to match? So a 2gb strip and 512 strip for example might give you problems. I got my ram from Crucial for my iMac and it has been fantastic thus far.

Regards,
Peter Witham

 

[killcrazy]

unless the two RAM sticks are the exact same make and model, its not safe to mix them.

you can mix them, but they wont work well together, if you are upgrading, i would suggest buying the amount of RAM you want, then sell what you currently have on ebay (to recoup a little costs)

these days RAM is dirt cheap, even laptop ram...

But i wouldnt advise mixing your old RAM with new ram, especially if you dont know what your doing. but whatever you do. MAKE SURE the modules are the same speed. otherwise you may need to buy new mac.