o._wagner Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I just got a new iMac 20 with the standard 1 gig of RAM. I am bored with it's speed running CS2. I'm wondering how much RAM will make a noticeable difference? Will 2GB be okay or do I have to get 4GB to see the big difference? I just went to crucial.com and saw that they only sell 1 GB bundles and didn't see an option for 2GB sticks. Any other ideas where to buy, besides through Apple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gy Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 you can try OWC ( www.macsales.com ).. I have purchased from them 4x1gb sticks for my macpro. But I had problems with the first order ( ecc errors ) and I had to return back As I live in Azerbaijan, it costed me an almost $150 additional for shipping and customs.. Now all work ok. macpro rams are different than Imac's and you need to be more picky about them. If you live in US, than you dont have anything to loose, they have lifetime warranty and one of best prices in market.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o._wagner Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I saw the 2GB sticks on crucial's site. $350 for 4GB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher hartt dallas Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Just slightly over 3Gb is the max CS2 or CS3 can utilize - set your preference to 100% in the "performance" tab. Since you have an iMac, your max RAM is 4Gb - GET 4 Gb. 3Gb to run PS2 and the other 1Gb for other applications on your iMac. OWC is a good source - $100/Gb. On my first order, I also got sticks with ECC errors and had to return the memory but it was quickly replaced and shipping was on OWC. Buy the "Apple Certified" memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 If you're running Photoshop CS2 on a new iMac, which is an Intel-based system, the best money you can spend will be the upgrade to Photoshop CS3 along with a second Gbyte of RAM. PS CS2 is not a Universal binary and runs on Apple's Intel-based systems in emulation mode. PS CS3 is a Universal binary and runs native on both Intel and PowerPC computers. Godfrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhooru Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Max the ram at either crucial, OWC or Corsair and get CS3. You will see it fly . There are 2gb sticks for the imac at Crucial. http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=CD2AE8ABA5CA7304 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhooru Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 OWC has their branded ram a 4GB kit for $223 - Yikes, that is incrediblly cheap. It the OWC brand decent ram? iMacs like good ram. At that price you can max it and upgrade to CS3. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac_Core_2_Duo/DDR2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Upgrade to CS3 and instally one extra GB ram for a total of 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 1_buy CS3, it will be a speed boost already 2_you need at least 2gig, 3gig will be good, 4gig will be the max and the best. For now CS3 is limited to use only 3gig. If you put 2gig in it on if you leave it at 1gig for money reason, dont give 100% of your ram to it, the system will beave strangly in case you want to let say, download email or stuff for the internet or go to word at the same time..its best to gave him 80%, 100% if you have more than 3gig. I buy my ram at ramjet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I have a slightly older 2.16Ghz 20" iMac with 3Gb RAM in it and am running PsCS3. Even with 2Gb RAM there was a speed increase between PsCS2 and PsCs3, when I ran both in Rosetta (as I needed to initially) and a very noticable speed increase once I switched PsCS3 over to Universal Binary mode. If money is tight I would get PsCS3 (upgrade from PsCS2 to PsCS3 is about $170.00) and one 2Gb RAM "Stick" for now and as soon as you can get the second 2Gb RAM card. One last sppeding up trick: It always helps to have your primary Scratch drives on an external drive not on the same drive as your application. PsCs3 lets you specify and enable up to 9 or 10 scratch drives. I got my 2Gb RAM card from OWC and have been running it for months with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Ellis, Were you running PS CS3 under Rosetta for the sake of some plugin or another? Godfrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Godfrey, Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o._wagner Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thanks for all of the advice- I will consider it all. Especially OWC, I had never heard of them and I'm glad to hear nobody has had any problems with them. That's a much better price than crucial's $350. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david choo Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 3 Gigs for Photoshop and a gig and a half for OSX... so I'd say 4.5 gigs... as your computer does 4 gigs max... the answer would be "4 gigs". What Ellis said is probably the best idea for money savings... CS3 will make a huge difference on an Intel based machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 OS X does not need 1.5Gb of RAM. Maybe if you have a two dozen other programs actively running and running at the same time and have your e-mail program set to check for new mail every minute. The optimum % of RAm for Photoshop is arount 70-75% of available RAM. You set this in PsCS3 preferences. When you can go up to 4Gb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david choo Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Ellis, i say 1.5 gigs of ram with the knowledge that most people that buy an iMAC DO have a half a dozen or more programs running in the background. ;) People don't really know any better. hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 David, On a 3Gbyte RAM Mac OS X v10.4.10 system, with Photoshop crunching away on a big batch job involving processing 40 photographs and 12 other applications doing their thing (including Mail, Safari, Lightroom, and BBEdit amongst others), there is 1.17 Gbytes of free RAM available, according to the system's Activity Monitor. Godfrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now