RAM questions

[RCBH928]

Hello

There are several questions in this topic
1) I use my macbook for your regular browsing, but flash video is exhausting for the mac, if I would upgrade the RAM would it be faster for the day to day uses?
I know it helps a lot with the heavy duty apps, but what about your regular use?

2)When searching for the macbook RAM I can't find my model, because there are multiple macbook 13.3 2 GHZ models, it is followed by a serial like: ma255 lla , I am not sure what is this number or how to find it on my macbook, can any one help?

3)Why does everyone loves newegg? Shall I order from them?

4)I am upgrading from 2GB ram to 4GB, what price should I pay for a 2x2GB kit?

[Hobie-wan]

I'm not familiar with Macs, but anyway... More ram means that virtual memory doesn't spend as much time paging things to and from the hard drive. However, if you've had the machine for a while, perhaps a defrag is in order.

Newegg has great prices and excellent customer service.

[fastbilly1]

1. It should. Think of tasks/apps as balls that a juggler uses, and ram as the amount of hands the juggler has. Now there is a breaking point, but you have a 2ghz processor so that should not be a problem.

3. In the US, Newegg offers fast shipping, good prices, and fairly good customer service. TigerDirect offers similar services, but Newegg has pretty much become the standard for most people.

However I do not think your issue is the ram. You have a 2ghz processor and 2 gigs of ram and flash is wonky, that may be a software issue. I watch flash on a 1.7ghz with 512megs of ram XP box and it plays standard definition stuff quite well.

[RCBH928]

it is a software problem
I am not sure how does a great OS in every way has a problem with flash. It is really exhausting to the hardware, fans turn on and hardware runs hot.

No use RAM will solve/ease such issue?

[Hobie-wan]

Maybe nuke and reinstall flash? I'm not sure how Macs handle codecs, but maybe those need updating and or cleaning out too?

[lordofduct]

What version of flash are you using? There are several versions floating around today, some of which are in alpha stages and the sort (not sure how or what you use to update or upgrade flash). Try updating it, or downgrading it if it's at the most current, or what not. You should have some version of FP10 though, no lower as Adobe is pushing more with the FP10 standards.

Is this slow down consistent across ALL flash apps, or just specific heavy duty ones (something have on Papervision or other 3D effects, or games).

2 gigs of RAM and a 2ghz processor on a Mac is good enough for just about anything. What version of OSX are you using though?

Lastly for which browser are you using the flash plug-in. I know the Safari plug-in sucks fat hairy testicles and I wish Mac's had a physical object that represented Safari so I could rip it off and eat it.


oh and @Hobie-wan - Mac uses the HFS+ file system which is a journaled file system that doesn't need defragging. Oh and Flash really isn't a 'codec'... it's an RIA platform that runs a JIT compiler in it's runtime. Or more simply a "multimedia platform". It comes as a browser plug-in OR as a standalone player.

[Hobie-wan]

oh and @Hobie-wan - Mac uses the HFS+ file system which is a journaled file system that doesn't need defragging. Oh and Flash really isn't a 'codec'... it's a RIA that runs in a JIT compiler and runtime.

I remembered the old Mac OS used HFS, but I didn't really know what that entailed at the time.

As for codecs, its still going to be using some for the sound. I know its not handling it like a movie format for the visuals. But anyway, as I said, I don't know Macs, was just trying to provide some general possible advice.

[lordofduct]

oh and @Hobie-wan - Mac uses the HFS+ file system which is a journaled file system that doesn't need defragging. Oh and Flash really isn't a 'codec'... it's a RIA that runs in a JIT compiler and runtime.

I remembered the old Mac OS used HFS, but I didn't really know what that entailed at the time.

As for codecs, its still going to be using some for the sound. I know its not handling it like a movie format for the visuals. But anyway, as I said, I don't know Macs, was just trying to provide some general possible advice.

True, but Window's Media Player may use some codecs to play music and movies... it doesn't make Window's Media Player a codec itself. Furthermore codec's aren't necessary to play them, for instance VLC isn't considered to have codecs because it comes precompiled with all the libraries inside it's binaries... no need for a 'codec' that is associated or linked to the applicaiton.

'codec's are a slang word that usually refers to a separate dependency to a group of applications that facilitates the simple task of decompressing or compressing (hence co - dec) or encoding or decoding (endec for short, but it never caught on). It can be shared because it stands separately... in windows usually as a .dll or something. Like the Lame.dll is the Lame codec. (more generically a codec acts like a dll in that it's exactly that, a dynamic link library... this does not mean all dll's are codecs though. DirectX dlls are not codecs.)

[Hobie-wan]

Yes yes, I know. Just like we don't really use modems anymore unless you're hooked up to POTS.

Anyway, semantics. Enough thread derailment. I shall endeavor to not muddy up Mac threads of which I know little.

[RCBH928]

Thanx for everyone's participation and advice

I am using mac 10.5.8
Running latest software of Flash , and yes I use Safari...is it the problem?

Usually fans turn on and heat goes up running video flash, like stuff video on websites , movie trailer(in flash format), mini episodes, justin.tv...
anything to do with video and Flash.

I think it happens when playing through the browser only(safari) because I did try it playing FLV files over VLC and it ran fine.