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Apple RAM vs. others

I

ianr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2008
1
0
Hey everyone,

I'm about to buy a MBP and I would like to get 4gb RAM. I've read a lot about how most people buy the lowest amount of RAM from apple and then upgrade elsewhere after they receive the computer. This sounds fine, but I'm just a little confused as to why the apple RAM costs so much more. Sure, it should cost a little more, but for this price, it makes me think that it is in some way better (other people have told me to go with apple RAM).
So my question is has anyone experienced both and can compare their performance? Or are there any benchmarks or tests somewhere that show how RAM from different places compares?

Thanks!
 
They do it because they can and a lot of people don't look at MacRumors Forums. ;)

It got my 4G from OWC for about $100 shipped.

It is getting cheaper everyday.
 
A lot of investigation shows that buying memory and hard drives from OWC is absolutely safe and is much less expensive than buying from Apple.

They are Apple experts.
 
Its psychology, rip people off and make them feel good. lol

Apple does not produce RAMs, they just re-package others.
 
It's really not as deep as "psychology, rip people off and make them feel good"...lol.. It's as simple as they don't want to sell you the RAM- they don't want to be in the RAM business..

RAM is one of those items that requires a lot of effort and produces little profits.. There's always going to be a significant failure rate with an item like this- it's just the nature of the item, and really no-ones fault.. That means that a significant amount of time and effort goes into tracking exchanges and returns- this can come for many reasons- especially user error.. Either ordered wrong or installed wrong- doesn't matter though, you still need a dedicated staff for it and Apple probably feels there just isn't the profit potential to meet their allowable minimums to deal with this so they just price it so outrageous that you really have no choice but to buy it elsewhere..

They make it so doggone easy to install yourself, complete with very detailed instructions, provided by Apple, that anyone can do it.. If they could get away with it I'm sure they wouldn't even offer upgrades.. Just a standard configuration and if you want anything else you're on your own..

We all know they couldn't do that though because then people would be on forums complaining about how terrible they are for not even offering upgrades..

This is just my theory on it, but it seems obvious to me.. I have a business, and I have an item like this- it's basically a value added service for customers who insist on the convenience of getting this item from me.. I tell them upfront that I don't get good prices on it, it's a major hassle for me to even offer, but if they really want the convenience of one stop shopping I'll get it for them.. I don't consider it ripping them off at all.. I'd prefer not to sell it at all, I don't really make any money on it and when you add up all of the fees associated with it it might be a loss item for me.. But I'm still higher than people who specialize in that item specifically..

You can't win em all, and it looks like Apple just can't do a highly specialized item such as RAM as well as smaller companies can.. So they offer it, and hope you elect to buy it elsewhere.. It's actually a pretty normal occurrence for most businesses..
 
Apple isn't in the ram business...the price of ram changes very rapidly and continually is getting cheaper. Apple doesn't need to continually lower its prices and "compete" with other companies because it does not want nor does it have to. When I got my iMac, I got 2 Gb ram from Apple - it cost slightly more to get 2 GB ram - but I don't feel like opening up my computer and "experimenting". But if I needed 4 GB ram, no way what I pay the exorbitant price Apple is asking and I'd take a shot at "experimenting" - on the OWC websites there are simple videos that make it look easy. But for $50 or so extra, I'd prefer to get my 2GB ram extra from Apple but going for 4 from apple is a rip IMO.
It's kind of like when you go to the gas station to pick up some milk -- the gas station isn't in the milk business so they don't sell it as cheap as a grocery store would! But the milk is the same anywhere you buy it (generally speaking...)
 
Bought 3rd party ram several times for 2 different Macs. Bought Corsair for my Mini and OWC for my iMac. No problems with either.
 
jemeinc - - Right on!

It's refreshing to hear informed rationality instead of biased opinion.
 
funny "personal theory" is so much more "true" when fits your own view...which is quite reasonable.

"rip off" is "rip off", no matter what reason is behind it. dispute "psychology"? not a problem, that a theory too. "rip off", on the other hand, can't be disputed.

why did OP felt there is something special about quality of RAM apple sells? becuase apple doesn't want to sell RAM?....who knows, maybe thats right! :)
 
What is the difference? I wouldnt buy something to last me two days and then have to replace it or risk damaging my MBP, unlikely but possibility exists?

How much difference performance-wise can there be in RAM? is there any?
 
zainjetha said:
What is the difference? I wouldnt buy something to last me two days and then have to replace it or risk damaging my MBP, unlikely but possibility exists?

How much difference performance-wise can there be in RAM? is there any?
Click to expand...


The only difference is apple RAM is supported in there machines plus it's a rip off,just buy it from a
third party such as crucial. Most RAM manufactures offer a warranty. As for performance there all
pretty much the same
 
I know this sounds stupid but i wuld buy from apple just to get support for the RAM aswell. Imagine how embarrassing if you send your machine for repair and the RAM goes down and the RAM wasnt supplied by apple..\

Id rather have complete support for my machine by apple, and willing to pay the price for it... if im willing to buy applecare then im equally willing to by apple ram....
 
You want a rip off? The Mac store here is charging $117 for 1GB of RAM - I went to a local shop and got 2 X 1GB for a fraction of that.
 
zainjetha said:
I know this sounds stupid but i wuld buy from apple just to get support for the RAM aswell. Imagine how embarrassing if you send your machine for repair and the RAM goes down and the RAM wasnt supplied by apple..\

Id rather have complete support for my machine by apple, and willing to pay the price for it... if im willing to buy applecare then im equally willing to by apple ram....
Click to expand...

You use your head and replace it with the original RAM before taking it for repair same goes for the
HD if you replace that yourself
 
Might consider it... Does it void warranty in any way whatsoever? I would only use RAM in free slots in MB/MBP not in slots that apple have used....
 
zainjetha said:
Might consider it... Does it void warranty in any way whatsoever? I would only use RAM in free slots in MB/MBP not in slots that apple have used....
Click to expand...

No,like i said if you screw something up,you replace it with the original. If you are gonna up
your RAM it's best you get a matched pair so you will need to take out the apple RAM ie
2x2 ( crucial do kits for this )
 
I already have two sticks of 1GB RAM each in my MBP from Apple that came with the machine. I have two empty slots so will buy 2x 1GB from a third party RAM retailer..
 
i think so... its the mbp before penryn... 15.4 inch 2.4ghz 256mb graphics..

they wouldnt be dumb enough to put 4x 512 would they?
 
zainjetha said:
i think so... its the mbp before penryn... 15.4 inch 2.4ghz 256mb graphics..

they wouldnt be dumb enough to put 4x 512 would they?
Click to expand...
There are only 2 slots. If you already have 2GB in there, ie 2x 1GB sticks, you should buy 2x 2GB sticks. I had the same in mine and replaced them with a 4GB (2x 2GB) kit from a good brand I bought from Newegg for less than a $100.

Yes, it is a ripoff. As it is from most OEMs. Though Apple has it down to a science. Guessing they paid in bulk before prices dropped and haven't updated pricing since then, even though I'm sure it costs them less now. There is a surcharge from the extra cost of having to actually do the install. Apple should just put 4GB in everything if they can get it at an even lower cost than we do and there wouldn't be any need to upgrade anything. Though that could piss off retailers.
 
Apple RAM costs more for the single reason that Apple charges more for it. Same thing if you buy RAM from Dell, you will pay over the odds just the same.

You have to make sure that you buy from a reputable company (Crucial, OWC, Kingston etc. etc. ), and they will be selling you exactly the same RAM that Apple sells for a lot less.

zainjetha said:
Might consider it... Does it void warranty in any way whatsoever? I would only use RAM in free slots in MB/MBP not in slots that apple have used....
Click to expand...

You void the warranty if you damage the MacBook or MacBook Pro while replacing the RAM. And obviously Apple won't fix any problems caused by the RAM, because it isn't their fault.

But I think damaging the MacBook while replacing the RAM is actually quite difficult as long as you use a little bit of common sense. You need to get a size 0 Phillips screw driver to remove some screws; if you use the wrong tool and brute force you can damage the screws you'll need to get help from someone with experience (and they will swear at you for your stupidity); obviously it won't stop your computer from working. When you put the new RAM in, you have to press it in _very_ hard; if you don't press hard enough it just won't work, but it won't damage the computer - you just have to open it up again, and press harder.

zainjetha said:
I already have two sticks of 1GB RAM each in my MBP from Apple that came with the machine. I have two empty slots so will buy 2x 1GB from a third party RAM retailer..
Click to expand...

I am about 100 percent sure that you don't have to RAM sticks inside and two empty slots. Click "About This Mac", "More info", "Memory". It will show all the slots, including empty ones, and the MacBooks and MacBook Pros have two.
 
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