[rescue] Should I buy a 12" G4 iBook?

[John Francini]

On 10 Dec 2007, at 19:23, Nadine Miller wrote:

> bill at bdoserr.com wrote:
>>> And are OK with 1,280 Megs RAM (should be fine for most  
>>> applications,
>>    but it is a limitation with older G4 laptops >(like my 15" 500  
>> MHz Ti
>>    PowerBook - 1 Gig max)...
>>> Lionel
>>    I have a 12" 800Mhz.  How does one get it to 1,280?  Mine has 128
>>    built in, and a 512 so-DIMM.  I recall learning that 512 was the
>>    biggest it would take, or at least the biggest amount documented.
>>    Does 1 GB work? That would give 1,152.
>>    I'd love to increase the RAM in mine.  It's still a very useful
>>    machine.
>
> Stated memory limits are not always true.  Usually they are  
> dependent on
> tested configurations for memory sizes available at the time of
> design/testing.
>
> Check some of the hardware forums to be certain, but generally, larger
> sticks of RAM will work.  As an example, I had 2x512MB SODIMMs in my
> Pismo, which was only stated to accept 2x256MB SODIMMs.

The Pismo limitation was based on the fact that, at the time, using a  
pair of 512 MB SODIMMs would consume enough power that the little  
rechargeable button cell that keeps the memory contents alive when  
the machine's asleep and you're changing batteries wouldn't be able  
to keep the memory going for the stated amount of time (I think 5  
minutes).

John