Is 1gb of memory enough for leopard?

I'm on a hunt for a new lappy. I think the Macbook suits me well and I'm wondering if 1 gb is enough for running various software. I ocasionally edit video, photoshop, sometimes plays games... I don't want Mac to lag and I'm wondering if I should spend like an extra $150 for 2gb. It's kind of expensive for RAM...

 

Well, 1 GB to run Leopard is fine...but 1 GB to run Leopard + video editing/Photoshop and such, would lag a bit. I suggest you get 2 GB of RAM then.

 

Do you mean like running Leopard, the os itself only without any additional software running? That would be kind of useless to have 1 GB. BTW, thanks for the quick reply.

 

Well, running Leopard and other not-as-RAM-hungry applications on 1 GB is fine. But Photoshop is a heavy RAM drainer, and even on just Tiger, I recommend Photoshop users to have 2 GB of RAM. You will see a large improvement with 2 GB of RAM.

So yeah, 1 GB of RAM will run Leopard fine, but when you run RAM-heavy applications on Leopard, I would recommend getting 2 GB or even more.

 

I guess I'll add my 2 cents. I have a c2d 2.0ghz macbook with 1gb of ram, and for 90% of the things I do, it's enough. I usually have Mail, iCal, Address Book, MSN Messenger, iTunes and Safari open (with a few tabs), and it's always snappy. Now when I use Parallels, it lags. Once windows opens, and everything is "settled", it runs a bit better, but the experience isn't as smooth as when only osx is running.

So if you will be doing serious Photoshop work often, and are thinking about using a virtual machine, get 2gb, or even 3gb if you have a lot of money, in most cases it isn't a big improvement, but it sure would be nice to have xp set at 1gb while osx is running with 2gb of ram.

 

I thought that the macbook is maxed at 2gigs of ram???

 

The Core 2 Duo MacBook can actually support up to 3 GB of RAM; however, it is not recommended by Apple as you will not be able to pair the RAM for dual channel then.

 

not that dual channel gives as much a boost as they say. it helps, but the extra ram will give better performance over the dual channel.

 

I've played with Leopard on a MacBook with 1GB of memory. No, not mine.

To me, doing the usual stuff like having multiple IM clients open, listening to music, browsing the web, messing with things in iPhoto or iMovie.. it all ran every bit as good as the same system running Tiger.

I think everyone freaking out about needing 2GB to run Leopard is blowing the situation WAY out of proportion.

Realistically, Leopard will run just fine on 1GB of memory, unless you plan to do some intense Photoshop work beyond typical photo editing of your digital pics... or even some stuff for a Fark photoshop thread But even if you're doing "heavy" work, it will run fine as long as you keep your multi-tasking down. But, really, are you going to do that kind of stuff in Photoshop while browsing the web, watching a DVD, etc? No. Then Photoshop + IMs + iTunes will run just fine. I know from experience 1GB of RAM will also be fine for your regular run of the mill video editing, as long as you keep your multi-tasking realistic. Like iMovie + IM clients and a web page or 2. Even iMovie and GarageBand will play nicely together while open in Leopard on 1GB.

Obviously it will run better on 2GB, but it certainly won't be "slow" by any means on "only" 1GB.

I think people are forgetting just how large a gigabyte of memory is, and how good OS X is at memory management.

 

You can throw 4GB in. The MacBook will only "recognize" 3GB, but you'll get dual channel back.

 

I found that on Apple insider.

So technically Leopard dosent need more RAM than Tiger but a better processor.

 

Yeah... I'm thinking too much in terms of Vista..

 

While i don't have a macbook or macbook pro, we do run mac pros at work with 1gb and it's doable. Usually my tasks involve photoshop + firefox simultaneously, and i can open up another program ok (illustrator / imageready / word). Be nice to have more ram though.

Edit: whoops i'm on tiger don't know how much it would apply.