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pwp
2005-06-26, 12:59
Im am going to buy an ibook to use for ms office, msn messenger, internet, email and itunes/ipod. How much memory should i need to be able to carry out those functions, i probably wont have them all programes open at the same time. And I have a 40gig ipod photo so would a 60gig HD, 20gig for programmes, be big enough?
Cheers
PWP

MCQ
2005-06-26, 13:04
512MB should probably be enough for what you're planning on doing - maybe 768 if you expect to do other stuff in the future.

A 60GB HD iBook should be enough for programs/documents if you're not doing much video related work.

pwp
2005-06-26, 13:06
I dont think i will be doing any video work so thats ok.
Thank you

awilso
2005-06-27, 06:35
Im am going to buy an iBook to use for ms office, msn messenger, internet, email and itunes/ipod. How much memory should i need to be able to carry out those functions, i probably wont have them all programes open at the same time. And I have a 40gig ipod photo so would a 60gig HD, 20gig for programmes, be big enough?
Cheers
PWP


Hi,

I had a powerbook G4 with 1gig in it, when I started I had roughly 800meg free mem for normal use with all the progs you mentioned. Over time I have added more progs and stuff, result am now running with 300 free. Wireless networking, having stuff open etc all chews it up. I would say its always worth spending a bit more on memory, sou will always find situations that demand it and it will reduce wear on the HD, keep the sys cool and generally make life better.

Memory is like having a spare jerry can of gas in the boot.

Franz Josef
2005-06-27, 07:08
Harddrives always fill up faster than you think - if you're setting aside 40GB for the iPod, I'd be inclined to get an 80GB HD to allow you sufficient headroom for other stuff. Re RAM, 512MB probably OK but you will likely find things run faster with 768MB - Mac's like to cache and if there's insufficient RAM available they use the HD (which is much slower re retrieval).

Luca
2005-06-27, 08:03
A year ago I would have recommended 512 MB. Now with Tiger and the Incredible Memory-Eating Widgets, I have to recommend 768 MB. An extra 512 MB of RAM isn't even very expensive - you can get a 512 MB module for a little over $40 (here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820211126)).

It's not hard to install RAM in the iBook yourself, and it's HUGELY cheaper than buying the extra RAM from Apple. Apple charges $150 for the same amount of RAM.

octavist13
2005-06-28, 22:24
Harddrives always fill up faster than you think - if you're setting aside 40GB for the iPod, I'd be inclined to get an 80GB HD to allow you sufficient headroom for other stuff. Re RAM, 512MB probably OK but you will likely find things run faster with 768MB - Mac's like to cache and if there's insufficient RAM available they use the HD (which is much slower re retrieval).

Ditto. It's always better to have a little more than you need than a little less if you wallet permits.

Alexia
2005-06-29, 00:14
On the hard drive space - how much does OS X and all the default installed programs(iLife) take up in space?

ohara
2005-06-29, 01:45
i do a custom install

the os itself
tiger 10.4.1. essentials only (1.5gb)

iLife '05

iPhoto 100mb?
iMovie 100mb?
Garageband 2gb?
iDVD (usually skip because i rarely use) 1.5gb

so, at the max with os x i use 5 gb

but by default probably from 6-9gb

FallenFromTheTree
2005-06-29, 02:36
Custom installing OSX minus all the extra languages and unused printer drivers alone saves a bunch of disk space.