I got a very sweet deal from my coworker James on a six-month old 12" 1.33 GHz PowerBook, which is only slightly slower than the current top-of-the-line 12" model (which is almost identical, except for the 1.5 GHz processor). The end result: I get a great and portable development machine, cheap, and Wendy gets her first Mac in ages -- my old 12" 867MHz model with WiFi-G, the RAM maxed out and hot sexy tech support from Yours Truly.

The PowerBook had the stock 256MB RAM and could take a single PC2700 SODIMM up to 1GB in size. Maxing out the RAM in your computer is the most cost-effective way to maximize its performance, so I started looking about for places in town where I could purchase it.

Although I didn't expect to buy the RAM at CPUsed, one of the higher-profile Mac stores in Accordion City, I gave their price list a look-see. When it comes to RAM, CPUsed is good for determined what the "rip-off price"; if you're paying the CPUsed price, you're getting ripped off.

The CPUsed price, according to their online price list: CDN$399.

Next: Carbon Computing, where those disgruntled with CPUsed tend to migrate.

Their price: CDN$449. Holy crap, someone beat CPUsed at their own game!

Compusmart, who have a branch just down the street from my house, charge CDN$620 for Hewlett-Packard brand RAM.

On a lark, I decided to call the new Apple Store at Yorkdale Mall, which opened just over a week ago.

Their price: CDN$625. That's only four bucks less than the basic Mac Mini!

Fortunately, I never expected to purchase the RAM from any of the aforementioned vendors. I just wanted to see how high the price for the RAM I wanted could go.

The next step was to visit NewEgg.com to see how low the price could be. Their price: US$118, or CDN$147, plus shipping and possibly some duty (here's their entry for the RAM).

Some Googling found what I was looking for: a 1GB KingMax RAM stick for CDN$176 from Canada Computers (where I bumped into the worried Mac fan from this entry). Some more Googling found generally positive reviews from other PowerBook users, so I bought my RAM from there.

The PowerBook is running just fine, showing a whopping 1.25 GB of RAM -- the most I've ever had in any computer.

Thus far, it works like a charm!


For the technical and curious, here are the speed results reported by XBench:
  • Results    133.32
     
  • System Info 
    • Xbench Version        1.1.3
    • System Version        10.4.1 (8B15)
    • Physical RAM        1280 MB
    • Model        PowerBook6,4

  • Processor        PowerPC G4 @ 1.33 GHz
    • L1 Cache        32K (instruction), 32K (data)
    • L2 Cache        512K @ 1.33 GHz
    • Bus Frequency        167 MHz
  • Video Card        GeForce FX Go5200
  • Drive Type        Hitachi IC25N060ATMR04-0

  • Memory Test    133.32   
    • System    148.06   
    • Allocate    696.69    454.45 Kalloc/sec
    • Fill    153.86    1224.72 MB/sec
    • Copy    81.12    405.61 MB/sec
  • Stream    121.24   
    • Copy    118.69    867.59 MB/sec [altivec]
    • Scale    120.48    889.14 MB/sec [altivec]
    • Add    123.87    792.75 MB/sec [altivec]
    • Triad    122.06    745.76 MB/sec [altivec]