Memory - does it matter?

Of the companies you listed I personally have had nothing but good experiences with OWC. Normally I would recommend Newegg but their prices are not spectacular for this type of RAM.

Both DMS and Transintl are long time resellers that I can remember when reading MacWorld magazine in the early to mid 90's. But I never used either so can not recommend them.

However any of the memory should be fine. If it is listed for a Mac Pro and the specs appear to match then it should work.

Since a Mac Pro is likely to last you for many, many years, I personally would stick with OWC. $40 is a small price to pay (literally, compared to what a Mac Pro runs) to buy memory that a significant number of people report has been working for them.

Mac-HD said:

I am not questioning your statement, but that is not what I wanted to ask. $40 is not much, neither is $65, nor $68. I agree. But, wouldn't it be nice to get 2 or 3 OWC like companies so that we have a choice. I wouldn't mind giving my business to memoryamerica or DMS if they can save me 10% with everything else being equal. Wouldn't you?

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Sure. But when in doubt, I prefer to go with a source I know will work and work well. And most everyone on this board has been using OWC memory.

I bought my RAM using dealram.com's search, and as long as the memory has a lifetime warranty, I'd recommend getting it. Mine was the cheapest when I got it (2x1GB) and it's been working great since day 1.

I'm in the UK, I find OWC's customer service excellent, had no problems at all, and when there are ever any quieries or questions I have they are only too happy to answer them, Nice people

I am running 8GB of transintl RAM in my Mac Pro and I'm having no issues.

The system passed an extended hardware diagnostic test.

If RAM works the first time you use the computer, the odds of it ever going bad are slim to none. RAM has no moving parts, of course, so not much can really happen to it, unless you introduce it to a magnet.

I'd really just go with the cheapest you can find; if it doesn't work, by all means, return it. Otherwise, there's no reason to go with a more expensive brand/retailer. The performance increase is negligible even if the cheaper RAM is CAS 5 vs. 4.

Apparently SuperTalent just released new cheap PC6400 FBDIMMs

As for OWC being the best.. is that some kind of joke? They don't make memory. Or hard drives. Or ANYTHING, other than a few odds and ends. They just sell things. Please don't ever, ever say that again, lol..

The measure of a memory reseller (yes firefly, we know that none of these companies actually make the chips and the modules )
is
1) whether they test and guarantee the RAM will work in your specific model Mac,

2) whether they give good presales and post sales service (typically, a bigbox or discount reseller doesn't provide any support, it's up to you)

3) whether they have a reputation of standing behind their products (a lifetime warranty isn't worth much if the company isn't there when you need them. Many RAM manufacturers will not deal directly with you, you have to go through the reseller)

OWC and Data Memory Systems have both been in business for more than 17 years and have a good track record. MemoryAmerica looks like they were started one year ago. I would put my money with a firm with the longer track record.

Pick up the phone and call them. Find out how long it takes to talk to a knowledgeable Mac person. See what kind of feeling you get from their willingness to help.

OWC designs and contracts the manufacture of quite a few products. Like Apple, we don't own the plants our products are manufactured within - but we control the design/specifications and in many cases the post production handling.

There is a lot more to memory than just the DRAM devices that go on a PCB. That PCB is in fact a critical component itself and subject to a quality variations. In the case of memory we maintain the highest quality components to ensure the best reliability. When you are talking Mac Pro memory - we use ONLY true 800MHz memory devices for the 2008 Mac Pro Models whereas a lot of builders have and still use 667MHz which has been clocked up to 800. Some that only resell memory aren't likely even to be aware they've been sold this. You can only tell this if you remove the heatsink and check the memory parts. Something else, we only use the Apple spec required and recommended IDT AMB - while Qimondo and some others seem to work, only the IDT AMB has been qualified and approved by Apple and thus it is the only one that gets used on our Mac Pro memory modules.

We sell literally tens of thousands of memory modules a month. We have sold over 100K Mac Pro modules since the Mac Pro first began shipping. We were the very first to ship 667MHz Mac Pro Memory in August of 2006 - in fact, we were shipping the correct Apple Heat-Spreader equipped modules while just about everyone else was telling customers standard JEDEC spreader equipped was fine. We were the first to ship 800MHz Mac Pro memory back in January. We had a good partner for the 667MHz Mac PRo introduction to be in place back in 2006. For the 2008 Mac Pro, we had our lines stocked and ready to build prior to the system being released - we started shipping 2 days after the new 2008 Mac Pro came out - but that was because we'd started the lines to be ready for what we thought was going to be a Macworld release of that new line and in which case we'd have had that new memory out the day of release.

OWC further maintains a lab for the full testing of memory in machines for every Mac we offer memory for. To ensure spec verification in more than just a simulation, we also system test modules from each batch as well.

While our Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty makes it easy when there is a module that needs replacement - the obvious goal is to prevent that warranty from ever being needed.

Firefly2002 said:

If RAM works the first time you use the computer, the odds of it ever going bad are slim to none. RAM has no moving parts, of course, so not much can really happen to it, unless you introduce it to a magnet.

I'd really just go with the cheapest you can find; if it doesn't work, by all means, return it. Otherwise, there's no reason to go with a more expensive brand/retailer. The performance increase is negligible even if the cheaper RAM is CAS 5 vs. 4.

Apparently SuperTalent just released new cheap PC6400 FBDIMMs

As for OWC being the best.. is that some kind of joke? They don't make memory. Or hard drives. Or ANYTHING, other than a few odds and ends. They just sell things. Please don't ever, ever say that again, lol..

Click to expand...

CanadaRAM said:

The measure of a memory reseller (yes firefly, we know that none of these companies actually make the chips and the modules )
is
1) whether they test and guarantee the RAM will work in your specific model Mac,

2) whether they give good presales and post sales service (typically, a bigbox or discount reseller doesn't provide any support, it's up to you)

3) whether they have a reputation of standing behind their products (a lifetime warranty isn't worth much if the company isn't there when you need them. Many RAM manufacturers will not deal directly with you, you have to go through the reseller)

OWC and Data Memory Systems have both been in business for more than 17 years and have a good track record. MemoryAmerica looks like they were started one year ago. I would put my money with a firm with the longer track record.

Pick up the phone and call them. Find out how long it takes to talk to a knowledgeable Mac person. See what kind of feeling you get from their willingness to help.

Click to expand...

I've actually had issues with things I bought from OWC before, so I'm quick to tell people they're not necessarily "the best," or squeaky clean etc, though I don't tell them not to buy there.

Who cares if you have had problems with a product from OWC. Like you said, they "don't make memory". You can have a problem with ANY product. The quality seller would fix this problem quickly with a replacement that (likely) works. After all, anyone can have a bad product in the lineup, but the chances of getting 2 bad sticks of RAM from OWC is probably quite low.

Firefly2002 said:

As for OWC being the best.. is that some kind of joke? They don't make memory. Or hard drives. Or ANYTHING, other than a few odds and ends. They just sell things. Please don't ever, ever say that again, lol..

Click to expand...

Really?

Refer to OWC Larry's post for an education on what OWC makes. Saying OWC doesn't make anything is like saying Apple doesn't make anything.

Mac-HD said:

Why can't we, for a change, stick to the issue?..

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OK. I use OWC RAM in my Mac Pro. How's that?

Lighten up... you'll live longer.