Who knows about RAM? (for a new 2GHz iMac)

[dman8950]

I think I finally decided to buy a new iMac, but I don't like the prices Apple charges for RAM. I really don't know much about RAM manufacturers, other than that "you get what you pay for". Is this true for Apple's RAM? Are they over charging? I'd like to put the iMac up to the 2 gigs right away, but was wondering if someone knew of a economical substitute for Apple. I naturally want the best quality per dollar ratio I can find, so if anyone has bought non-Apple ram, can you let me know? Maybe some "do's & don'ts" about 3rd party RAM upgrades, or who to buy from / who NOT to buy from...

Thanks! (Going to the apple store tomorrow to get the 20" iMac!!)

[agentbob]

check out crucial.com

[BlizzardBomb]

A 2Ghz iMac will accept RAM from any iMac G5. So 1.6Ghz and 1.8Ghz iMac RAM will work. I've also managed to successfully use 2x256MB Power Mac G5 modules at one point but I'm not too sure if all Power Mac RAM works in an iMac.

And as the other guy said, Crucial is the most reliable third-party RAM manufacturer.

[Angelus520]

I just bought a 20" iMac and it's waiting at the UPS Store for me to pick it up tonight. There's also a stick of 1GB RAM waiting there for me, too, and I ordered it from Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com ). They are always a good place to check out for RAM and other Mac needs.

[Verto]

I think I finally decided to buy a new iMac, but I don't like the prices Apple charges for RAM. I really don't know much about RAM manufacturers, other than that "you get what you pay for". Is this true for Apple's RAM? Are they over charging? I'd like to put the iMac up to the 2 gigs right away, but was wondering if someone knew of a economical substitute for Apple. I naturally want the best quality per dollar ratio I can find, so if anyone has bought non-Apple ram, can you let me know? Maybe some "do's & don'ts" about 3rd party RAM upgrades, or who to buy from / who NOT to buy from...

Thanks! (Going to the apple store tomorrow to get the 20" iMac!!)

I ordered a 1GB stick of RAM off of New Egg for 120$ w/ shipping incl..it'll be here Monday, so I'll see how it works.

[CanadaRAM]

In the US I like Data Memory Systems (http://www.datamem.com) - they have been around 18 years, they know and use Macs, and they are honest.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[Verto]

I just got this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146545) stick of 1GB RAM from Newegg for ~106 dollars, it works fine.

[Artful Dodger]

Verto
I just got this stick of 1GB RAM from Newegg for ~106 dollars, it works fine.

I got that one about 4 wks. ago and it's time for another to max my baby out :p First one works great and got here quick :)

[rickvanr]

All you need to know is DDR RAM, PC3200, 184pin, Non-ECC, CL3 is the best type I think, but CL2 will work fine too. Size is up to you.

[Verto]

Size is up to you.

True, but there is no point IMO in buying anything but a 1GB stick. With only two slots, you are just throwing your money away by buying, say, a 256 or another 512 since down the road you will have to replace it if you want more memory. Now some may argue that not everyone needs 1.5 or 2GB of RAM. This is of course gibberish and should be ignored. Everyone needs to max out their RAM; they aren't a complete person until they have.

[rickvanr]

Do iMacs not need paired RAM or is that only the PMs? If they don't, 1GB is better then 512MB x 2.

[Verto]

Do iMacs not need paired RAM or is that only the PMs? If they don't, 1GB is better then 512MB x 2.

The whole paired RAM is open to considerable debate. Suffice it to say, having a 512 and a 1GB stick is going to give you much more power than a 512 and a 512, simply because they are "paired".

[eva01]

Do iMacs not need paired RAM or is that only the PMs? If they don't, 1GB is better then 512MB x 2.

I do not believe they Need paired RAM, because if you go to the customization you can get 1.5GB of RAM put in which would mean 1GB in one slot and 512 in the other.

[CanadaRAM]

All you need to know is DDR RAM, PC3200, 184pin, Non-ECC, CL3 is the best type I think, but CL2 will work fine too. Size is up to you.
Gotta disagree with you here.

The iMac G5 is the most finicky G5 machine made on RAM compatibility. If the Serial Presence Detect settings are not right, it will fail. Some RAM that is tolerated by PowerMac G5s will fail in the iMac G5. CL3 or CL2.5 or CL3 are irrelevent - according to Apple it will take all of them - and there is no indication that the motherboard is able to exploit tighter latencies.

Buy your RAM for a reputable seller that tests and guarantees the RAM in your specific model.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[EricNau]

check out crucial.com
They have a product compatibility checker, and if it says it will work they guarantee it. As for myself I haven't tried putting RAM in my iMac G5, but I've looked into it a bit and from what I've heard it isn't that hard.
Also, I've seen crucial advertized on other MAC sites, so I imagine they would work well.

[Beta]

Can i install 2 * 2Gb Sticks? Will it run PC4200?

http://www.gamedude.com.au/prod_show.php?art_no=memOCtw_d2_4g_value

[KittenKrusher]

I thought the only type of memory that required an identical pair was rambus RD ram. I only know cause I still got a PC that uses RDRAM.

[Verto]

Can i install 2 * 2Gb Sticks? Will it run PC4200?

http://www.gamedude.com.au/prod_show.php?art_no=memOCtw_d2_4g_value

You can only have a maximum of 2GB total.

[mullet]

All PowerMac G5s require RAM in matched pairs. Apples support website specifies this...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86414

According to barefeats.com CL2 memory is faster and better than CL3...

http://www.barefeats.com/quick.html

Regards,
mullet

[Artful Dodger]

mullet
All PowerMac G5s require RAM in matched pairs. Apples support website specifies this...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86414

According to barefeats.com CL2 memory is faster and better than CL3...

http://www.barefeats.com/quick.html

Regards,
mullet

if you go to the Apple web page for the iMac you don't need matched pairs ;)
Found it:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86814
Some more:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300082

[CanadaRAM]

Can i install 2 * 2Gb Sticks? Will it run PC4200?

http://www.gamedude.com.au/prod_show.php?art_no=memOCtw_d2_4g_value
No no No
That link is DDR-2 RAM, completely different stuff (gheeze... :( )
PC-4200 DDR-2 is only coincidentally similar in naming to PC3200 DDR. There are some companies that build faster DDR RAM, and call it PC4000 or PC4400 (not official nomenclature) however, these are of absolutely no benefit to a MAc because the MAc will run the RAM at a fixed 400 MHz (PC3200) speed no matter what.

I thought the only type of memory that required an identical pair was rambus RD ram. I only know cause I still got a PC that uses RDRAM.
It depends on the machine's memory controller, not the RAM. Some RAMBus motherboards take RAM singly. There have been a number of machines that require different types of RAM in pairs, including the PowerMac 6100/7100 series with 72 pin SIMMs and the Quadra 700 that required banks of 4 30 pin SIMMs.

iMac G5
------------
Maximum 2 Gb with 2 x 1 Gb PC3200 DIMMs
Can be installed singly
A theoretical improvement in speed with 128-bit access (not Dual Channel though) if you put in a matched pair. The real world improvement is arguably nil.
SPD settings are critical - many PC generic modules won't work because of improper SPDs.

> all PowerMac G5's need matched pairs
if you go to the Apple web page for the iMac you don't need matched pairs

iMac G5 does not equal PowerMac G5... :rolleyes: Completely different architecture.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[yenko]

True, but there is no point IMO in buying anything but a 1GB stick. With only two slots, you are just throwing your money away by buying, say, a 256 or another 512 since down the road you will have to replace it if you want more memory. Now some may argue that not everyone needs 1.5 or 2GB of RAM. This is of course gibberish and should be ignored. Everyone needs to max out their RAM; they aren't a complete person until they have.

Not necessarily true as per this (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300082) Apple article. :rolleyes:

[CanadaRAM]

Not necessarily true as per this (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300082) Apple article. :rolleyes:
Apple article not necessarily true, as per this article (http://www.barefeats.com/imacg5d.html)

[yenko]

if you go to the Apple web page for the iMac you don't need matched pairs ;)
Found it:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86814
Some more:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300082
Uh...sound like a contradiction.
True you don't need matched pairs but that's like buying cheap tires for a race car. :D

[yenko]

Apple article not necessarily true, as per this article (http://www.barefeats.com/imacg5d.html)


XBENCH SHOWS UP TO 29% GAIN WITH MATCHED PAIRS.
The classic STREAM tests (Copy, Scale, Add, Triad) in Xbench showed a consistent speed gain of up to 29% with matched pairs. The SYSTEM tests (Allocate, Fill, Copy) showed not only a 21% gain with matched pairs but a 12% gain with unmatched pairs (as opposed to single stick).
The above is memory thread related. :o

However, Xbench failed to show any gain in CPU, THREAD or GRAPHICS tests related to memory configuration. Ditto for Cinebech 2003 and AltiVec Fractal -- zero gains. So next we tried REAL WORLD application tests:
The above is not. :)

[CanadaRAM]

The above is memory thread related. :o


The above is not. :)
No - the point I am making is that a 12 - 29% increase in synthetic benchmark performance is great --- if you run benchmarks. The gains were made in specific areas of memory handling which make up just a tiny slice of a machine's actual memory performance. It's like saying that a car accelerates from 35 MPH to 38 MPH faster than another brand - the impact on overall driving is slim to none if all other areas are comparable.

When it came down to actual application testing, there was no net performance gain from 128-bit access.

XBench is simply a terrible predictor of actual performance.

In my experience, there is certainly more performance improvement from 1.5 Gb of unmatched RAM than 1 Gb of matched RAM.

When you choose the matching 512 Mb option, your opportunity cost is having to get rid of one or both 512's to upgrade later.

[yenko]

..............................In my experience, there is certainly more performance improvement from 1.5 Gb of unmatched RAM than 1 Gb of matched RAM.

When you choose the matching 512 Mb option, your opportunity cost is having to get rid of one or both 512's to upgrade later.

Point taken. ;)

IMHO, and my limited experience, when my clients come to me with their Mac problems, I try to make sure there are no weak links in the chain. That's why I reference the tech articles from Apple. After all, they designed this stuff. :rolleyes:

I agree with what you say as far as memory is concerned, but I tend to look at a larger picture. I find that some people, in an effort to keep costs down, will throw all kinds of crap into their Macs. :eek:

This is especially true with memory. Given the prices of memory, it's easy to see why they go that route. Bad RAM, in my limited experience is the #1 reason for Mac problems, so I have a tendency to make sure that memory is NEVER the culprit. One way is to buy good quality RAM and keep it in matched pairs. Creates no issues, not yet (knock wood). The other is crap software folks install on their machines, but that could be another thread.
:D

Not trying to entrench here, just expressing my opinion based on my experience.

I guess the bottom line here is; if it works and you're not having issues with it, that's all good. :)

[Artful Dodger]

yenko
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artful Dodger
if you go to the Apple web page for the iMac you don't need matched pairs
Found it:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86814
Some more:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300082

Uh...sound like a contradiction.
True you don't need matched pairs but that's like buying cheap tires for a race car.

It may but the PM comes with 2x256 sticks as the iMac only comes with 1x512 and yes I know a PM has that for a reason but there may also be a design difference for performance...well there is but in the real world if the ram works and works well why worry ;) Having matched ram or unmatched doesn't get me anywhere if I can't figure out what to design and input it in my iMac :cool: