Supercheap 1GB RAM p'book

[BakedBeans]

they are selling 1gb sticks of ram for powerbooks for 149dollars

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4158153

it seems to be good ram... alot of guys from Macnn brought it and no problems
i thought i would let you know.. it doesnt look like they deliver to the uk... would anyone be willing to get it for me and then ship it to me??? all paid first of course

[JRam]

Wow that does seem like a good deal. A really good deal. What are some peoples opinions on the performance of that? I live near a Fry's (outpost.com's brick and mortar side of biz) and will try to drop by and see if the deal extends in the store too, if it does ill pick some up there.

[paxtonandrew]

This may sound like a good deal, but the Ram is generic. I would much rather get my ram from Crucial, or at-least somewhere reputable. If you do buy it, tell us what you think.

[BakedBeans]

Wow that does seem like a good deal. A really good deal. What are some peoples opinions on the performance of that? I live near a Fry's (outpost.com's brick and mortar side of biz) and will try to drop by and see if the deal extends in the store too, if it does ill pick some up there.

nice one thanks for the pm ;)
let us know how it goes..

[amyhre]

I was looking on MacMall for RAM for the 15" AlumiBook and found this:
Memory Upgrades 512MB PC2700 DDR-SDRAM SODIMM for $90. Is Memory Upgrades good RAM or should I pay a little more and get some Kingston or Viking RAM?

[vraxtus]

This may sound like a good deal, but the Ram is generic. I would much rather get my ram from Crucial, or at-least somewhere reputable. If you do buy it, tell us what you think.


I've never had a problem with generic RAM in over 5 computers.

[panphage]

Well, it might be generic, and it might not be as dirt-cheap as the one above, but OWC has some decently priced 1GB sticks as well:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=6576&Item=OWC27KTISO1GB

For $250 you can buy two in case one breaks for about the same as one stick from Crucial. And anyway, OWC has a lifetime warranty, they are a reputable, mac-specific company.

[yippy]

I have been thinking of getting a 512 stick for my mac but at that price i might go for the gig. Tell us if it works please.

I would really like to know.

Thanks

[scottwat]

Well I just placed an order for a stick of the 150 ram. I live in Ohio so I had to pay TAX. That really sucks, but I still came out for under 170$. Problem is I'm waiting till after Paris to order my 12" powerbook. Maybe I'll place the order in the next couple days and then packages will start coming in for a week or so. I also ordered a zeroshock sleeve but its on back order.

[Purgatory]

Does it only work in PowerBooks, or is it also compatible with the latest iBook revision?

[DTG]

http://shop4.outpost.com/template/help/index/FE30/Service3/Assistance/Middle_Topics/A3InternationalShipping

See here. It appears that they do in fact ship internationally so this may be a worthwhile venture for us UK dwellers! :)

As for the above poster, in theory the RAM should work fine in your iBook provided it will work at all (considering it is generic RAM). The fact that it is PC2700 and not PC2100 specified would not prevent it from working in an iBook (G4) however the opposite (PC2100 in a Powerbook) would not work.

[t300]

Wow, my housemate totally flipped when I told him this... Will this work in his 12'' new Powerbook?

[musicpyrite]

Wow, my housemate totally flipped when I told him this... Will this work in his 12'' new Powerbook?

It will work in G4 iMacs, G4 PowerBooks, G4 iBooks, G3 iBooks, but I don't know about G3 PowerBooks.

I don't have $150 to spend at the moment, but does anybody know how long this sale will last?

[t300]

I say this is a hot deal and if it has a one year warranty, who wouldn't take a chance?

[scottwat]

I say this is a hot deal and if it has a one year warranty, who wouldn't take a chance?

Let's make a list of all the reasons to go with say crucial or Samsung(what apple uses) or another name brand as opposed to say this sweetheart of a deal or the cheaper stick from OWC.
You say this one has a one year warranty, I say this one ONLY has a one year warranty, the more expensive ones have a lifetime warranty. Does this matter? I would say if its going to break it should be either broke when you get it or will break soon after it. Of course this one is about half the price of the Samsung one at OWC and what like a 4th the price at apple. So I guess if it is a lemon you can warranty replace it and maybe at some point get a samsung or generic from OWC if necessary. I don't know.

Is there any speed or reliability issues? the specs all seem the same. Any benchmark evidence? Any horror stories about generic ram?

[djkny]

Let's make a list of all the reasons to go with say crucial or Samsung(what apple uses) or another name brand as opposed to say this sweetheart of a deal or the cheaper stick from OWC.
You say this one has a one year warranty, I say this one ONLY has a one year warranty, the more expensive ones have a lifetime warranty. Does this matter? I would say if its going to break it should be either broke when you get it or will break soon after it. Of course this one is about half the price of the Samsung one at OWC and what like a 4th the price at apple. So I guess if it is a lemon you can warranty replace it and maybe at some point get a samsung or generic from OWC if necessary. I don't know.

Is there any speed or reliability issues? the specs all seem the same. Any benchmark evidence? Any horror stories about generic ram?

I would hesitate to be so enthusiastic about Apple's clearly overpriced RAM. $300 for one SO-DIMM 512MB? Pls. Apple brand doesn't necessarily prove anything, just great salesmanship. If RAM works, it works. Who cares if it's Crucial, Apple, GAP, or Starbucks RAM....

[scottwat]

I went and ordered mine yesterday, to my absolute shock it was waiting on my doorstep this morning. Granted it was an instate delivery in ohio and I ordered ground shipping, would have felt real stupid if I opted for say overnight. But my god most places take a day or two just to process the order then another day or two for boxing it up. These guys were quick.

[BornAgainMac]

If DDR PC2700 memory from Crucial for the Powerbook cost $479.99 then why do they have memory at the same spec for $149? It would be nice if there was some scientific tests published that compare battery life, performance, and reliability between both chips so the consumer isn't confused. Crucial should at least put some effort to show why you should pay Apple's prices for memory. I thought Crucial was suppose to be cheaper. Was Crucial's memory signed by Steve Jobs or something?

149 is too much for memory if it doesn't work or fails and you have to deal with returning it within the 1 year warranty. $479 is too much for memory period. If someone sells memory for $1,300, does it mean it's better than Crucial's memory?

[yippy]

Scottwat, does it work? If it does I think I will order one two.

[Darbydoggy]

I bought the OWC brand (not the samsung) 1 gig a week ago and it works great! OWC has a good rep and I have had no problem with the ram being recognized by the computer, and it has made a noticable difference in my PB (now at 1.5 gig total ram).

They must have just dropped the price as this ram was ~267.95 a week ago ( with lifetime replacement warranty).

[LiveForPhysics]

Have any of you had bad experiences with the use of generic RAM sticks? I'm considering purchasing the 1 gig RAM stick from the link listed above since I have a local Fryz Electronics (a.k.a. outpost.com) in my vicinity. It sure looks tempting...

[Abstract]

149 is too much for memory if it doesn't work or fails and you have to deal with returning it within the 1 year warranty. $479 is too much for memory period. If someone sells memory for $1,300, does it mean it's better than Crucial's memory?
You're right. :) I've always wondered the same thing, but wasn't knowledgeable enough to question the people who told me to buy Crucial when I switched. I had generic RAM in my PC, and never had a problem. I didn't even know it mattered until people here made a big huff and puff about it. Most people don't even know why they're telling you to buy from Crucial, but since they read other posts here that always recommend Crucial, they'll tell you that "you need to get Crucial because they're great!!" Its a snowball effect.

Quality differences: will cheap RAM break on contact? No. Will it work? Yes. Crucial makes faulty RAM sometimes, so if cheap RAM doesn't work, exchange it. Will Crucial offer better performance and avoid kernel panics? Wait, but how much better will the performance be? A 1GB stick from Crucial may be 8% better than one from OWC, but surely two 1GB sticks of OWC RAM will offer wicked performance when compared to 1 stick of 1GB Crucial RAM. They cost the same. ;)

Although I still recommend it to N00bs, I'm buying my 1GB stick of PB RAM at OWC. I'm never buying from Crucial again. There's not enough of a difference in performance and reliability to pay an extra $200 on top of the $260 you're already paying. :o

[t300]

My housemate picked this up at Midnight, and it came they next day a little before noon. AMAZING. It works so well and his PB is now scccccrreeeeeaaaammmiiinnnnggggg....

[scottwat]

Scottwat, does it work? If it does I think I will order one two.
It works just fine sitting on the shelf waiting for my new powerbook that I ordered yesterday to get here. I should know sometime next week. But down in the thread it seems to.

[scottwat]

I think alot of the reason mac users especially get (I don't know tricked) into buy these special ram from crucial or kingston or god forbid apple, is that most of the hardware for apples have been so "special" you had alot of times in the past to make sure that something worked in your super premium computer. Also in the past I would imagine the generic ram did get a pretty poor reputation. But now I don't think they could sell it if it didnt live up to expectations. Alot of devices still need special attention to make sure they will work with the mac. Things like video cards, TV tuners, sound cards, things like these all work on drivers, and most companies wither want to play on the mac or dont. Ram is pretty standard now. I don't remember way back when if it had always been compatible with PC ram or not.

[BakedBeans]

ive just brought some guys....
im a bit worried but... ill give it a go and tell you what its like

[porovaara]

Jet: Can you have your friend load up system profiler and see what it says?

I called the website and they couldn't tell me the CL speed of the memory. If it isn't 2.5 or better than this memory won't work in powerbooks.

[BakedBeans]

Jet: Can you have your friend load up system profiler and see what it says?

I called the website and they couldn't tell me the CL speed of the memory. If it isn't 2.5 or better than this memory won't work in powerbooks.

it should be fine... its a one gig stick

im hoping its ok anyway

btw its dropped to 139dollars...

[porovaara]

Just because it is one gig doesn't mean anything. Not only do the chips need to meet the required CL speeds but they also need to be low power as well to work (correctly for extended periods).

[yippy]

Man this is driving me crazy waiting to find out it this ram works. I am a college student who doesn't have much money to spend on anything but "Do I Need Memory" keeps telling me I need more ram and if I can get a gig stick for nearly the price of a 512 I justify buying it.

[BakedBeans]

Man this is driving me crazy waiting to find out it this ram works. I am a college student who doesn't have much money to spend on anything but "Do I Need Memory" keeps telling me I need more ram and if I can get a gig stick for nearly the price of a 512 I justify buying it.

it works great, if you look here ( http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?threadid=225715&perpage=50&pagenumber=2)

there are loads of macnn users that have got it and say it works great... really helps

[BakedBeans]

http://shop4.outpost.com/template/help/index/FE30/Service3/Assistance/Middle_Topics/A3InternationalShipping

See here. It appears that they do in fact ship internationally so this may be a worthwhile venture for us UK dwellers! :)

As for the above poster, in theory the RAM should work fine in your iBook provided it will work at all (considering it is generic RAM). The fact that it is PC2700 and not PC2100 specified would not prevent it from working in an iBook (G4) however the opposite (PC2100 in a Powerbook) would not work.

nope.. bad news .... they just emailed me and said that its not available for export!

damn

ohwell....

[jrv3034]

Just to be clear... This works on a 12" Rev C Powerbook?

$139 is very tempting...

EDIT: Ok, just broke down and ordered it. With ground shipping to NYC it comes out to $146.42.

Wish me luck!

[yippy]

I ordered it to.

Dang, for me with ground shipping and tax it came out to be $155.26. I feel ripped off :( (not really, it is still very cheap ram).

[porovaara]

Saw another post that mentioned it was CL 2.5 sooooOoooo I went ahead and ordered 2 chips.

[scottwat]

It is cas 2.5 or atleast thats what the sticker says.
Also on the stickers:
on the Front(might be the back but I dont know) is one that says "Legacy Electronics Inc."
then on the back(again maybe its the front) - a serial number then 1gb 128x64 PC2700 CL 2.5 DDR then a bar code and then the warranty void if removed.
My 12" rev C should be shipped before the 7th So I will let you know benchmarks and all that when I get it.

[scottwat]

nope.. bad news .... they just emailed me and said that its not available for export!

damn

ohwell....

Maybe its cause foreigners can't be trusted with that much american ram, they might try to multitask while plotting terrorist activities and we can't have that!

[musicpyrite]

I think I'll try to order some for my G4 iMac, hope it works. :)



Wonder how my computer will be after going from 256 to 1.25 GB of RAM?

[scottwat]

Wonder how my computer will be after going from 256 to 1.25 GB of RAM?

VRRrrrrrrrrroooooooommm VRRRRRRrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmmm
LOL should be amazing!
BTW one complaint they did ship the tiny little stick of ram packed in a big ram box. Wasn't too crazy about its ability to slide around but it was fine I guess.

[crookedcharlie]

I just ordered the Outpost 1 Gig stick for my Rev C 12". I'll post results when I get it. I chose 2 day shipping, so I should have it by the weekend.

[t300]

I think this RAM is far past the point of not being good. I mean, tons of people have gotten it with no problems. If someone gets it and it doesn't work than that it is just because it is a consumer product, like an iPod, or action figure, or dust buster...Point being, It works, it's good, don't buy anything more expensive, get it while it's hot.

[jrv3034]

Maybe its cause foreigners can't be trusted with that much american ram, they might try to multitask while plotting terrorist activities and we can't have that!

Open...

Can...

Worms...

Not going there...

[reykjavik]

Do any of you know if this ram would work with any other mac? like the new iMac G5?

[musicpyrite]

Do any of you know if this ram would work with any other mac? like the new iMac G5?

No, the new iMac uses regular DDR SDRAM stick, they are long and rectangular.

But they will work with G4 iMacs.

The sticks outpost.com is selling are called SO-DIMM RAM sticks, they are exactly the same as DDR SDRAM sticks, except they are more fat and square shaped, making them smaller, for use in laptops (hence they are slightly more expensive).

As to why Apple decided to use notebook RAM in a desktop is beyond me....

[reykjavik]

No, the new iMac uses regular DDR SDRAM stick, they are long and rectangular.

But they will work with G4 iMacs.

The sticks outpost.com is selling are called SO-DIMM RAM sticks, they are exactly the same as DDR SDRAM sticks, except they are more fat and square shaped, making them smaller, for use in laptops (hence they are slightly more expensive).

As to why Apple decided to use notebook RAM in a desktop is beyond me....



So if its regular DDR SDRAM ram, then technically cant I just go out to Best Buy and get ram from them? or does it still have to be apple specific?

[jxyama]

So if its regular DDR SDRAM ram, then technically cant I just go out to Best Buy and get ram from them? or does it still have to be apple specific?

there's nothing apple specific about the RAMs. if you find them, ones at best buy are fine... ones i've seen at best buy, etc. have always been either over-priced or lower in capacity, though. i'm yet to see a 1 GB modules (notebook or desktop) at a best buy. best deals have always been found online... the only time i bought RAM at a retail store is when i needed the RAM quickly.

apple used notebook RAM in G4 iMac presumably because of space concerns. that dome shape didn't leave much room for anything else and i imagine apple tried to save every little space they could, even by including slightly smaller profile RAMs...

[jtgotsjets]

so this would work in a g4 iBook?

i might get me some, if i can pull together the money

[herrmill]

Bought mine earlier today at $139.00. I live in Shanghai & am having shipped to my US address for reshipment here next week. I priced ram here recently & found the cost for 512 stick to be $250-300 for my PB. Go figure!

[porovaara]

My two 1G chips came and are in my powerbook, so far so good, hopefully this weekend I can give the machine a real workout and see if the memory hold up.

[musicpyrite]

Darn.... they raised the price to $160 :mad:

[Crikey]

Yep, the RAM at Fry's has always been cheap, and I won't touch it with a ten foot pole. Hopefully it's gotten better over the years.

For me, it's worth the increment in price to get RAM from Crucial. I've bought a lot of RAM from them over the years for both Macs and PCs, and never had to hassle with it. Unlike my (and mostly my friends') experiences with Fry's RAM.


Crikey

[crookedcharlie]

I just got my RAM, installed it, and so far, no problems at all. Pbook 12" Rev. C booted up without issue, and has been running perfectly for the past few hours. The performance increase is amazing. Word '04 boots up in about 2 seconds, compared to the 10 or 15 it used to. Photoshop CS used to take a good 30 seconds. Now, we're more into the 10 second range. I only use the computer for work, so I don't have any games on there, but if I don't have any issues in the next week, I'm going to order a gig for my FP iMac 1Ghz.

Good luck everyone!

[Abstract]

Word used to take 10-15 seconds to start up on your Rev C 12" PB? On my rev B, it takes around 2 to 3 seconds with only 512MB or RAM total. Yeah, I only got a 256MB stick of RAM from Crucial, and was thinking of buying this RAM. I can't believe that it would take THAT long for Word to start up. How much RAM did you have before? I would have bought this RAM if I was in Canada, but I'm not. I'll probably just get OWC RAM once I get back from Oz.

[BornAgainMac]

That is an amazing improvement in performance. My PB 1.5 Ghz takes about 5 seconds to startup Word 2004 with 512 MB with nothing else running except for Safari and Mail. I have a 80 GB 5400 rpm drive. I originally needed more memory to run Virtual PC and Photoshop but it's nice to know that the performance will be better for basic needs.

[Bobcat37]

Well, I've read enough positive reports on this site and the other one to say that I am definitely going to get this. At first I was thinking of just getting an extra 256MB for my PB for about $50, but heck, if I can get 1GB for only 3 times the cost, I might as well go for it!

(The sad part of all of this is my G5 only has 512MB RAM... it's gonna be jealous :p)

[scottwat]

Well guys, the 12" powerbook finally came in yesterday. I spent all evening working with it. I did XBench tests for both before and after installing the 1 gig stick from frys. I got around a 96 without the ram and about a 98 with the ram. I figure this is pretty good. Also it seems everything is loading like a champ. I'm loading 98se on virtual pc as I'm typing this and have mail and ichat av and Romeo (which is really really awesome since I have a nokia 3650), and I could probably load a ton more. But I am very very happy!

[yippy]

I put the stick in my 15" AL book and works great. Apple hardware test says everything is fine. Unfortunatly I haven't gotten a chance to really use it yet, but it is nice having it there, knowing I don't need to worry about running out of ram ever :D .

[eklektro]

I just upped my pb17/1.3 RAM from 1 gig to 1.5 via the Fry's $139 stick. the mac recognizes it. it passed the diagnosis disk test twice, however, Xbench shows no improvement in performance. in fact in some parts of the memory tests it was lower, some a bit quicker. levels off to same as before. don't know if real world use will show a difference, or if it matters which slot it goes into, or???? i'm using the latest Xbench, and i'm on Panther 10.34... with 7200rpm hitachi drive...
interested to hear if anybody else got such lackluster results
thanks all,
-EKG

PS: 10.35 sucks on my Pismo500/1gig/60... USB, sleep and battery problems... beware!

[blackpeter]

All RAM is not equal.

That being said, if someone is happy with less expensive hardware and seeing "1GB RAM" in the System Profiler is satisfaction enough to justify the expense, then so be it. However, just because RAM is recognized by the OS dosen't mean that it's working up to spec.

I will never buy Samsung RAM from Apple when I can get it elsewhere for 50% off. But at the same time, I have seen cheap memory cause more problems than anything else - Kernal Panics, OS upgrade issues, and the like.

My question to this company is this: Why is your RAM covered only for 1 year when the industry standard for memory is lifetime? Seems like the company knows that it's RAM is sub-standard and my time's not worth dealing with the hassle of returning memory (that is, if it decides to fail before the brief 1 year period).

[scottwat]

I had questioned the one year warranty myself. But at half the price of all the other options it seems to be an ok risk. Even if this unit fails after that one year period you had a years use of it and could still by a stick from crucial at less than what apple charges. It isnt a bad gamble in my estimation.

[Abstract]

All RAM is not equal.

That being said, if someone is happy with less expensive hardware and seeing "1GB RAM" in the System Profiler is satisfaction enough to justify the expense, then so be it. However, just because RAM is recognized by the OS dosen't mean that it's working up to spec.


Well even if the RAM isn't working up to spec, its still cheaper price/performance wise than more expensive RAM, as long as it works. Even if a 1GB stick only gives you improvement equivalent to adding 717MB of RAM to your system, its still better than the other deals out there, so even if its not working to a 1GB spec, its still cool. :) However, I'm worried about some of the performance improvements being posted here after installing that RAM. :o

@Scottwatt: 2 points isn't "fine." That's nothing.....could even be statistical fluctuation. My rev B 1GHz 12" Powerbook (slower CPU and system bus than your new 12" PB) scores around a 99 in XBench, and my system has a total of 512MB of RAM. With my 256MB stick replaced with a 1GB stick, I'd expect my system to perform above 109+. Your system should get a higher score than 110 with 1.25GB of RAM.

And make sure you guys are testing the RAM with the CPU performance turned to HIGHEST rather than AUTOMATIC. ;)

[Dr. Dastardly]

I'm kinda agreeing with most of the posts on this. For this amount you can afford to take the risk. Besides Frys has a great exchange policy, if the performance is not $160 worth (they rose it to $159) then just take it back.

[Datazoid]

FWIW: I have had two experiences with RAM from Fry's. The first was in an el-cheapo eMachines PC 5 years ago, and the other was this year in my eMac. In the first case, the 64MB chip refused to show up as more than 32MB. In the second, we bought Corsair RAM, without realizing that, even though "all RAM is equal", Corsair clearly states (not on their webSITE, but on their FORUMS) that they DO NOT SUPPORT Macs, and if the RAM "goes bad" in a Mac, their warranty DOES NOT COVER IT! Of course, we had Kernel Panics galore, and the AHT showed that there was a flaw in one of the sticks we had bought, so we just returned them. So, even though "all RAM is equal", I would still be cautious about RAM lacking a one year warranty, or even RAM that is not specifically indicated for Macs. Even in that case, I ordered RAM from 4AllMemory for an iMac G3 333Mhz, and they sent the wrong density sticks. Granted, this does not mean the RAM was faulty, and they did eventually replace them with the right one. There is, however, something to be said for reputation. I have even seen differences in the PC world, where RAM chips are indicated either for Intel or AMD systems (and I am not sure of the reasons for this, if somebody else is, please inform...without flaming). Anyways, just my 2 cents.

EDIT: And yes, I am aware that my experiences are in no way scientific tests, nor are they even necessarily indicative of the quality of Fry's/other companies products. I merely offer them as anecdotes.

[scottwat]

@Scottwatt: 2 points isn't "fine." That's nothing.....could even be statistical fluctuation. My rev B 1GHz 12" Powerbook (slower CPU and system bus than your new 12" PB) scores around a 99 in XBench, and my system has a total of 512MB of RAM. With my 256MB stick replaced with a 1GB stick, I'd expect my system to perform above 109+. Your system should get a higher score than 110 with 1.25GB of RAM.

And make sure you guys are testing the RAM with the CPU performance turned to HIGHEST rather than AUTOMATIC. ;)

Das ist the PROBLEM!! LOL I managed a 120 point this time at high performance cpu setting. It seems the 4500 rpm HD is the main cause for a lower score, but I intend to wait for a real fast and real big (80gig X 7200rpm) but really thats what I say so I can kill time till I can afford an upgrade like that. I totally forgot that setting was even there. I figured with the power plugged in apple would have set automatic to "balls to the walls" Oh well!

[scottwat]

Memory Test 135.17
System 145.56
Allocate 867.72 566.01 Kalloc/sec
Fill 139.88 1113.44 MB/sec
Copy 81.25 406.23 MB/sec
Stream 126.16
Copy 128.36 938.28 MB/sec [altivec]
Scale 127.87 943.70 MB/sec [altivec]
Add 126.09 806.99 MB/sec [altivec]
Triad 122.48 748.34 MB/sec [altivec]

that doesnt look very readable but the first number is the score and the second would be the speed results.

[Bobcat37]

Looks like the RAM is back in stock, so I think I will order it. I was a little concerned after the benchmarks scott originally posted, but now that he fixed them, I'm not too worried.

BTW, what are you using to get those numbers? I want to test my machine benchmarks...

Edit: Nevermind, I found the XBench program at versiontracker.

[scottwat]

Just so you all know, I have used the ram for about a week or so and I'm very happy with it. I've done some pretty intensive stuff, alot of photoshop and some virtual PC work. I haven't gotten things like Final cut yet, but I hope to soon. I think it will handle it very well. I also temper my review by saying that I don't know how the computer would feel with say 349$ ram or 600$ apple ram. But for me and my current needs, unless this stick somehow breaks I think I will keep it the way it is. :D

[earthtoandy]

yeah macsolutions has a stick for around 260 and seems more reliable with a lifetime replacement warranty...thats what i am gonna buy


they dont list many stats on this ram listed on the thread :(

[Abstract]

Das ist the PROBLEM!! LOL I managed a 120 point this time at high performance cpu setting. It seems the 4500 rpm HD is the main cause for a lower score, but I intend to wait for a real fast and real big (80gig X 7200rpm) but really thats what I say so I can kill time till I can afford an upgrade like that. I totally forgot that setting was even there. I figured with the power plugged in apple would have set automatic to "balls to the walls" Oh well!

*smacks forehead*

Geez, guys. :p

[BornAgainMac]

I got my memory from http://eshop.macsales.com for my 15' PB.
(2) 1 GB with that CL 2.5 rating and lifetime warranty. $500 for both.
No Crucial memory for me. They would have been tempting if the price was 30% more money but they lost my sale for being greedy.

I ordered it after 5:00pm and it came the next day just before 10:00am.
So far it's working and it makes iPhoto scream. I maxed my Linux and Windows 2000 Virtual PC settings to 512 so those run faster. The screen refresh is still slow but hopefully VPC 7 fixes that. VPC is basically free from the money I saved from not buying from Crucial.

[kant]

Has anyone tried this with the G4/800 iBook. Apple says it maxes at 640 but these folks have one they claim works:

http://www.transintl.com/store/cate...uestTimeOut=500

and this backs it up:

http://www.lowendmac.com/bookrev/03/1114.html#4

And OWC makes the same claim for their 1gb stick:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=6114&Item=OWC2100DDRSO1GB

At $159 I can justify it; $229/$269 is harder to rationalize

[neut]

i just bought this the other week... "1GB Module for PowerBook G4 AL 12/15/17"; iMac G4/1.0GHz+, iBook G4s $199.00 Get a 1GB from OWC vs. what Apple charges to add just 512MB!"

it works pretty good... wish i saw Outpost's deal when it was @ 139. i might get it at 160 anyways.


peace.

[noel4r]

Not sure if this has been asked before: Does it work w/ a 12" iBook 1Ghz?

[vga4life]

I just upped my pb17/1.3 RAM from 1 gig to 1.5 via the Fry's $139 stick. the mac recognizes it. it passed the diagnosis disk test twice, however, Xbench shows no improvement in performance.

Xbench won't show improvement based on adding more RAM. You're not speeding up the memory subsystem or anything. You're just adding memory.

The performance improvement comes from less swapping to disk and more memory available for caching the OS and contents of the disk - Xbench is not designed to measure this.

-vga4life

[imbriumink]

ordered it Sunday. It's now backordered apparently :(

[jrv3034]

Well, folks, it seems the RAM is making my wife's brand-new 12" Rev C Powerbook freeze up after about 20 minutes of usage. :(

I installed it the minute I bought the PB (refurbished) from Apple online. So I haven't tried it without the RAM. I guess it's still possible it's the PB that's faulty...

How can I make sure if it's the RAM? Should I remove it, and test it out? If, after removing it, the computer works fine, then can I assume it's the RAM at fault? Is there any other test I should perform? The refurbished PB didn't come with a Hardware Test CD, so I can't use that. I have a feeling if I take it to the Apple Store in SoHo, they'll just say it's the RAM, without really testing first... What should I do?

EDIT: Spelling

[neut]

What should I do?

sorry to hear that.

well, if it doesn't freeze with the RAM out, then freezes when you put it back in... then it's the RAM. :)


peace.

*the RAM from OWC is still working great :D.

[Applespider]

The refurbished PB didn't come with a Hardware Test CD, so I can't use that.

The Hardware Test isn't on a separate CD. It's on the Panther installation CD - I thought that was usually included on refurbs.

Try removing the RAM and see what happens. Also check to be sure that the RAM is seated properly. I bought some and thankfully mine works perfectly.

[jrv3034]

The Hardware Test isn't on a separate CD. It's on the Panther installation CD - I thought that was usually included on refurbs.

Good point... I thought it was a separate CD. D'Oh! Anyway, I took out the RAM, and it's running fine (albeit slow with only 256 megs). I''ll do the test without the RAM, then with it, and see what happens.

[dolphin842]

Well, folks, it seems the RAM is making my wife's brand-new 12" Rev C Powerbook freeze up after about 20 minutes of usage.

When I got my new 12" PowerBook in July, it had two kernel panics within the first week (this was with the standard 256MB). Since then, though, I haven't had a problem. So perhaps there is some weird 'breaking in' period for new 12" PBs? Or maybe we're just the two anomalies....

[live4ever]

I loaded my first gen. 1.25GHz 15" to the max 2GB with this ram a couple weeks ago and has been running like a champ ever since, I can now have everything open and just switch at will between them.

2GB is a huge difference over the stock 512MB that came with it. Overall it was a good ~$400 CDN well spent.

[Abstract]

Man, I really wish I was in Canada right now. :o

[BakedBeans]

Well, folks, it seems the RAM is making my wife's brand-new 12" Rev C Powerbook freeze up after about 20 minutes of usage. :(

I installed it the minute I bought the PB (refurbished) from Apple online. So I haven't tried it without the RAM. I guess it's still possible it's the PB that's faulty...

How can I make sure if it's the RAM? Should I remove it, and test it out? If, after removing it, the computer works fine, then can I assume it's the RAM at fault? Is there any other test I should perform? The refurbished PB didn't come with a Hardware Test CD, so I can't use that. I have a feeling if I take it to the Apple Store in SoHo, they'll just say it's the RAM, without really testing first... What should I do?

EDIT: Spelling

well firstly dont panic about if it is the ram.. if its faulty they will have to replace it...if it is the ram then its the first bad lot i have heard about... have you tried all the other suggestions on here?

[jrv3034]

well firstly dont panic about if it is the ram.. if its faulty they will have to replace it...if it is the ram then its the first bad lot i have heard about... have you tried all the other suggestions on here?

Yep, it's the RAM. I've been doing several tests over several days with the RAM and without. It only freezes when the RAM is installed. Dang! What's weird is that the Hardware Test showed it as being fine. I just realized that it's been over 30 days since I bought it (I ordered it before the PowerBook). It does have a 1 year warranty, though, so I should be able to get either a replacement or a refund, right?

I'll call them later today and see what they say.

EDIT: I just got a Return Authorization number. Very nice guy, too (Patrick, I think). Their RAM might not be the best, but their customer service is!

[herrmill]

I'd just have them send you a new stick. I've installed the same & have no problems on my PB.

:)

[scottwat]

Just a little nod to everyone on the thread, I've had this ram for what two months maybe, and its been stable as a brick. Knock on wood, but I'm happy with it! Definitely if you have trouble it seems easy as the previous post said to get a replacement.