Second Life Forums Archive - Upgrade RAM or Video Card?

Malachi Rothschild

Registered User

Join date: 19 Apr 2006

Posts: 17

07-10-2006 15:33

Hi all.

I have a 12" Powerbook G4 running 10.4.7 with 256 mb of ram, and an nVIDIA GeForce4 MX. If I want to get more out of SL on this computer, which should I first upgrade and what specifically do I want to purchase? Thank you.

Malachi

Kristy Cordeaux

Registered User

Join date: 13 May 2006

Posts: 94

07-10-2006 15:38

I have an unsupported video card, and I found when I went from 512MB to 1.5GB RAM it make alot of difference. Hard to believe you can even move with just 256MB RAM. So I'd say get more RAM, least a GB worth. Hope this helps

_____________________

eMachines T5010, but modified to: 2.30Ghz AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 (128 MB). 250GB HD.

Prester Joffre

Alchemist

Join date: 4 Dec 2005

Posts: 87

07-10-2006 15:55

RAM. It will be cheaper and also boost every aspect of your computer, not just playing games.

_____________________

Sweet Vitriol - Alchemic Design for Humans inhabiting the Virtual Ether

Ricercar Voltaire

deja vu

Join date: 2 Jul 2006

Posts: 8

07-10-2006 17:53

PowerBooks do not have upgradable video chipsets. You would have to buy a new laptop, or RAM. I suggest RAM. 256MB on 10.4.7? Need more RAM.

However, you may wish to consider playing on another computer if SL is your only reason to upgrade the PowerBook. I find Second Life unplayable on my PowerBook G4 1GHz 1.25 GB with a superior graphics card to your GeForce4 MX (a FX Go5200) and broadband. YMMV.

Alan Barbecue

Registered User

Join date: 21 May 2006

Posts: 78

07-10-2006 20:56

I've been watching RAM usage on both my Macbook Pro and my Windows machine and SL seems to creep up to 500-600MB of RAM usage on machines with 1.5 and 2GB of RAM respectively. With this being the case I would suggest you upgrade your RAM as best you can. I'm not sure if it is as RAM hungry on the G4 processors but I would guess it would be.

Malachi Rothschild

Registered User

Join date: 19 Apr 2006

Posts: 17

07-10-2006 23:01

Thanks for your help everyone. I actually don't have much trouble getting the game to be functional which based on the responses is I guess a little unusual for my setup, although it has been lagging a little more since I got Tiger. But I do keep all of the graphics preferences turned down all the way and avoid very crowded sims, so that probably has something to do with it. I'm going to get 1 gig of RAM which I think is the most she can take, and hopefully the performance will improve. Thanks again.

Malachi Rothschild

Marti Marx

Registered User

Join date: 27 Apr 2006

Posts: 17

I guess I'm sneekie

07-11-2006 00:00

You won't believe what I run SL on...

----------------------------
Compaq Presario SR1503WM

Hardware
Base processor
Celeron 340 (P) 2.93 GHz:
533 MHz front side bus

Memory
256 MB DIMM PC2700 DDR SDRAM

Video graphics
Integrated with up to 64MB allocated video memory
---------------------------------

Granted, the experience is diminished greatly and it limits where I can go. I have to keep my draw distance at the lowest setting and everything else set on minimum. I will lock up if I go into a casino or bar with a lot of people or small spaces with lots of items to rez... but overall I'm pretty happy so far just being in Life. I've found a lot of good friends here, so I'm pretty grateful.

That being said, I'm looking into upgrading this PC as much as possible, but even that is limited. I'm buying 2GB of ram and and a new video card. What restrains me the most is my lack of an AGP SLOT!!! Who makes motherboards without an AGP SLOT??? lol...COMPAQ, that's who. (ASUS, how could you...). Any suggestions on a PCI vid card? I think my on board Vid is going to pop from exhaustion.

Ricercar Voltaire

deja vu

Join date: 2 Jul 2006

Posts: 8

07-11-2006 12:59

From: Marti Marx

Any suggestions on a PCI vid card?

For NVIDIA, the GeForce FX 5700 PCI is the best NVIDIA PCI card I've seen. They are no longer available on Pricewatch,, so good luck. After the 5700, Newegg.com offers one GeForce 6200 PCI, but I'm not convinced that the low-end 6xxx is better than the 5700 (upper-middle of the previous generation). The GeForce 5100, 5200, 5300, and 5500 are variations of the same chip which should be avoided. The PCI 5200 I own is dismal. The GeForce MX4000 is worse than any 5x00, essentially a GeForce4 MX dieshrink.

I'm not as familiar with ATI's Radeon series, but ATI seems to cater to PCI better than NVIDIA. However, avoid any Radeon 7x000. A Radeon 8500 might work better than a 9200, 9250. The 9000 is (barely) better than a Radeon 7x00)

_____________________

"Yes, we all know that Ulrika is a shinning beacon of Peace, Love and Harmony."
-VS

"I'm not making this thread to bash Second Life... What is your Number 1 issue with Second Life?"
-BY

Malachi Rothschild

Registered User

Join date: 19 Apr 2006

Posts: 17

07-14-2006 10:39

Part 2: What I'm finding is that the 867 Mhz powerbook can only have a max of 1 gig of ram on it, and that would only be possible if it already had 512 mb built-in. But since mine only has 128 built-in, the best I can do is take out the additional 128 I have and put a 512 in its place. Is that true?

Missy Malaprop

♥Diaper Girl♥

Join date: 28 Oct 2005

Posts: 544

07-16-2006 03:53

From: Malachi Rothschild

Part 2: What I'm finding is that the 867 Mhz powerbook can only have a max of 1 gig of ram on it, and that would only be possible if it already had 512 mb built-in. But since mine only has 128 built-in, the best I can do is take out the additional 128 I have and put a 512 in its place. Is that true?

the 867mhz G4 12" powerbook, i have one...

It has 128mb of ram hard soldered onto the motherboard, that ram cannot be changed. It also has 1 memory slot, that Apple lists spec can run a 512mb stick, which maxes the ram at 640mb. Beyond Apples spec, i have a 1gb stick in mine, and i have 1.12 gb of total memory and it works fine.

Malachi Rothschild

Registered User

Join date: 19 Apr 2006

Posts: 17

07-16-2006 11:24

So it can be pushed beyond the specs... Can you check what brand you have for me?

Upgrade RAM or Video Card?
Malachi Rothschild Registered User Join date: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 17	07-10-2006 15:33 Hi all. I have a 12" Powerbook G4 running 10.4.7 with 256 mb of ram, and an nVIDIA GeForce4 MX. If I want to get more out of SL on this computer, which should I first upgrade and what specifically do I want to purchase? Thank you. Malachi
Kristy Cordeaux Registered User Join date: 13 May 2006 Posts: 94	07-10-2006 15:38 I have an unsupported video card, and I found when I went from 512MB to 1.5GB RAM it make alot of difference. Hard to believe you can even move with just 256MB RAM. So I'd say get more RAM, least a GB worth. Hope this helps _____________________ eMachines T5010, but modified to: 2.30Ghz AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 (128 MB). 250GB HD.
Prester Joffre Alchemist Join date: 4 Dec 2005 Posts: 87	07-10-2006 15:55 RAM. It will be cheaper and also boost every aspect of your computer, not just playing games. _____________________ Sweet Vitriol - Alchemic Design for Humans inhabiting the Virtual Ether
Ricercar Voltaire deja vu Join date: 2 Jul 2006 Posts: 8	07-10-2006 17:53 PowerBooks do not have upgradable video chipsets. You would have to buy a new laptop, or RAM. I suggest RAM. 256MB on 10.4.7? Need more RAM. However, you may wish to consider playing on another computer if SL is your only reason to upgrade the PowerBook. I find Second Life unplayable on my PowerBook G4 1GHz 1.25 GB with a superior graphics card to your GeForce4 MX (a FX Go5200) and broadband. YMMV.
Alan Barbecue Registered User Join date: 21 May 2006 Posts: 78	07-10-2006 20:56 I've been watching RAM usage on both my Macbook Pro and my Windows machine and SL seems to creep up to 500-600MB of RAM usage on machines with 1.5 and 2GB of RAM respectively. With this being the case I would suggest you upgrade your RAM as best you can. I'm not sure if it is as RAM hungry on the G4 processors but I would guess it would be.
Malachi Rothschild Registered User Join date: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 17	07-10-2006 23:01 Thanks for your help everyone. I actually don't have much trouble getting the game to be functional which based on the responses is I guess a little unusual for my setup, although it has been lagging a little more since I got Tiger. But I do keep all of the graphics preferences turned down all the way and avoid very crowded sims, so that probably has something to do with it. I'm going to get 1 gig of RAM which I think is the most she can take, and hopefully the performance will improve. Thanks again. Malachi Rothschild
Marti Marx Registered User Join date: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 17	I guess I'm sneekie 07-11-2006 00:00 You won't believe what I run SL on... ---------------------------- Compaq Presario SR1503WM Hardware Base processor Celeron 340 (P) 2.93 GHz: 533 MHz front side bus Memory 256 MB DIMM PC2700 DDR SDRAM Video graphics Integrated with up to 64MB allocated video memory --------------------------------- Granted, the experience is diminished greatly and it limits where I can go. I have to keep my draw distance at the lowest setting and everything else set on minimum. I will lock up if I go into a casino or bar with a lot of people or small spaces with lots of items to rez... but overall I'm pretty happy so far just being in Life. I've found a lot of good friends here, so I'm pretty grateful. That being said, I'm looking into upgrading this PC as much as possible, but even that is limited. I'm buying 2GB of ram and and a new video card. What restrains me the most is my lack of an AGP SLOT!!! Who makes motherboards without an AGP SLOT??? lol...COMPAQ, that's who. (ASUS, how could you...). Any suggestions on a PCI vid card? I think my on board Vid is going to pop from exhaustion.
Ricercar Voltaire deja vu Join date: 2 Jul 2006 Posts: 8	07-11-2006 12:59 From: Marti Marx Any suggestions on a PCI vid card? For NVIDIA, the GeForce FX 5700 PCI is the best NVIDIA PCI card I've seen. They are no longer available on Pricewatch,, so good luck. After the 5700, Newegg.com offers one GeForce 6200 PCI, but I'm not convinced that the low-end 6xxx is better than the 5700 (upper-middle of the previous generation). The GeForce 5100, 5200, 5300, and 5500 are variations of the same chip which should be avoided. The PCI 5200 I own is dismal. The GeForce MX4000 is worse than any 5x00, essentially a GeForce4 MX dieshrink. I'm not as familiar with ATI's Radeon series, but ATI seems to cater to PCI better than NVIDIA. However, avoid any Radeon 7x000. A Radeon 8500 might work better than a 9200, 9250. The 9000 is (barely) better than a Radeon 7x00) _____________________ "Yes, we all know that Ulrika is a shinning beacon of Peace, Love and Harmony." -VS "I'm not making this thread to bash Second Life... What is your Number 1 issue with Second Life?" -BY
Malachi Rothschild Registered User Join date: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 17	07-14-2006 10:39 Part 2: What I'm finding is that the 867 Mhz powerbook can only have a max of 1 gig of ram on it, and that would only be possible if it already had 512 mb built-in. But since mine only has 128 built-in, the best I can do is take out the additional 128 I have and put a 512 in its place. Is that true?
Missy Malaprop ♥Diaper Girl♥ Join date: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 544	07-16-2006 03:53 From: Malachi Rothschild Part 2: What I'm finding is that the 867 Mhz powerbook can only have a max of 1 gig of ram on it, and that would only be possible if it already had 512 mb built-in. But since mine only has 128 built-in, the best I can do is take out the additional 128 I have and put a 512 in its place. Is that true? the 867mhz G4 12" powerbook, i have one... It has 128mb of ram hard soldered onto the motherboard, that ram cannot be changed. It also has 1 memory slot, that Apple lists spec can run a 512mb stick, which maxes the ram at 640mb. Beyond Apples spec, i have a 1gb stick in mine, and i have 1.12 gb of total memory and it works fine.
Malachi Rothschild Registered User Join date: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 17	07-16-2006 11:24 So it can be pushed beyond the specs... Can you check what brand you have for me?

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Upgrade RAM or Video Card?