Can you put 1GB RAM in a Powerbook G4 12" 867MHZ?

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Can you put 1GB RAM in a Powerbook G4 12" 867MHZ?

I want to add more RAM to a Powerbook G4 12 inch 867MHz, which only has the 256 MB RAM it was shipped with in it.

I know Apple officially say you can only max out your RAM to 640MB by upgrading to a 512 MB but I've read elsewhere online that you can actually put a 1GB worth of RAM in.

Obviously it's the latter I'd like to do. Can anyone tell me the specs of the RAM I should buy?

Specifically, could I put 1GB 200Pin PC2700 DDR SO-DIMM RAM in my 12" PB G4?

I'm going to buy it online so want to be sure it will work.

Thanks in advance.
MK

PB G4 12in. 867MHz, Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on Sep 10, 2007 1:41 PM

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Answer 1

Pismo 900

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Sep 10, 2007 8:13 PM in response to mistresskim

The official specs as stated by Apple is just that. 640 MB of RAM. But as with their Pismo model, the maximum RAM that I was able to put in was 1 GB, way past (double?) Apple's official specifications.

I have also recently heard the same within these forums from someone who commented on a posting I made about such. (12-inch PowerBook's maximum RAM).

MaxUpgrades, who I have not done business with, seems to corroborate this theory. Here's their page on it:

http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category _id=231

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Answer 2

Pismo 900

Level 4

1,242 points

Sep 10, 2007 8:37 PM in response to mistresskim

Here are some additional RAM resellers that corroborate the fact that you can put 1 GB of RAM in an 867 MHz PowerBook G4 12-inch:

http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=941&RequestTimeOut=500

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/2100DDRSO1GB/

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=PowerBook%20G4%20867MHz%20%281 2-inch%20Display%29&pl=Apple&cat=RAM

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Answer 3

mistresskim Author

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Sep 12, 2007 1:04 PM in response to mistresskim

I bought a 1GB RAM module from Crucial yesterday, installed it today and everything is running fine. So, I think I have answered my own question.

Thanks to those who got back.
MK

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Answer 4

Sep 29, 2007 11:14 AM in response to mistresskim

I have had no problems either
bw
Andrew Platt

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Answer 5

pichirre

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Oct 16, 2007 9:17 PM in response to mistresskim

Just wanted to know if you have seen any significant improvement in the speed of your laptop after upgrading the RAM

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Answer 6

mistresskim Author

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Oct 26, 2007 8:13 AM in response to pichirre

Yeah. It's definitely not hanging as much. Before I could only have four apps max at a time but it hasn't been hanging with six or seven including RAM-hogger Photoshop. Definitely much better.

MK

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Answer 7

Oct 27, 2007 1:39 AM in response to pichirre

Nothing amazing, just in general more responsive and able to deal with more apps open
bw
Andrew Platt

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Answer 8

Nov 1, 2007 2:54 PM in response to mistresskim

You may be able to exceed the spec memory capacity, but remember the soldered memory in the 867 is PC2100. I don't think you can mix in a PC2700 memory module and expect them to play nice together. Get a pc2100 replacement.

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Answer 9

Nov 23, 2007 8:59 AM in response to mistresskim

just to throw it out there i just got 1gb for my PB G4 12" 867mhz and it works great!

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Answer 10

Jan 4, 2008 9:50 PM in response to mistresskim

This is good to know - and thanks especially for the vendor links. I just put Leopard on my trusty PB 12/867 (which has 640 MB) and can definitely feel the need for more RAM.

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Answer 11

Jan 10, 2008 7:35 PM in response to Bernard Cawley

My own update: I got a 1 GB SIMM from macsales.com (one of the vendors listed above) for $70 plus shipping. It arrived yesterday and after a three minute session on my workbench I now have a 1.12GB G4/867. No issues booting up, and some things, notably Safari, are definitely faster. On overall performance I'm at least back to where I was with Panther and 640 MB in things like Word. Leopard Mail is now smooth. Overall it feels more like my daughter's 1 GHz/768 MB 12 inch PB that we also took to Leopard this past weekend.

So far, so good.

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