Another iMac RAM question

agrats84 said:

I'm looking to upgrade my 20" 2.0GHz and have been searching the internet for RAM and have a few questions:

1. I would like to upgrade to 4GB but someone told me the comp will only recognize 3GB.

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Yes, the current iMac line (aluminum/Santa Rosa Chipset) are the only ones that will address a full 4GB. You could still buy 2x2GB sticks for future use in another machine. It would just recognize 3GB of it on your current one.

2. Is there a difference between PC5300 and PC2-5300. I found 2 X 2GB sticks that I would like to buy but they are PC5300 and the comp. specificiations says it needs PC2-5300...whats the difference?

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Different pins, different voltage and totally incompatible. PC5300 is DDR while PC2-5300 is the newer DDR2 RAM.

3. I will probably buy from OWC...any complaints?

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It seems to be one of the most popular options according to posters in these forums. You can find many comments about it by searching for OWC.

I ordered 2 x 2GB sticks of inexpensive Taiwanese DIMMs for my aluminum 24" iMac here in Japan and it worked perfectly.

OWC rocks!

I just bought the 4GB kit from OWC. I hope it goes well. i went with recommendations from this site. That coupled with a potential bad of memory from Crucial caused me to go with OWC. I'm concerned becasue their site isn't very secure, but I guess we'll see what happens.

Omni Technologies...

I dig this RAM, good price and from my home state of Florida... http://www.omnitechnologies.biz/cgi-bin/store/cp-app.cgi

OWC cheap and simple

Bought new 2.4gHx 20" on 2/4 and OWC 4 MB upgrade 2 days later. Simple to install and dramatic difference in performance, especially with movies.

Different pins, different voltage and totally incompatible. PC5300 is DDR while PC2-5300 is the newer DDR2 RAM.

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PC5300 in this case almost certainly means DDR2. It is a non-standard but commonly used designation.

I have never seen a 667 MHz (PC5300) DDR SODIMM.

MR Guide to Buying RAM

CanadaRAM said:

PC5300 in this case almost certainly means DDR2. It is a non-standard but commonly used designation.

I have never seen a 667 MHz (PC5300) DDR SODIMM.

MR Guide to Buying RAM

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Thank very much for correcting me on this! Indeed it is the "2" after DDR that makes all the difference.

Just make sure that what you buy is DDR2 SO-DIMM 667MHz. I see that sometimes some manufacturers call it PC2-5300 but that's just their own naming convention. It's most commonly called PC-5300.

That was a major brain lapse. Not two feet away as I wrote my last post are the packages of 2GB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz RAM I am using in my own machine!

I like crucial myself. I have never had any problems with them. However, this is my first Mac. I do have one question. I currently have an iMac 2.0Ghz Core Duo. I have one stick of 1 GB RAM as opposed to 2x512MB. If I add another 1GB stick would I have any issues. I thought I read somewhere that it is better to have both sticks from the same manufacturer.

There was a heck of a deal from Frys (Outpost) on Slickdeals earlier but its sold out online now. (2) 2gb sticks (4gb total) of crucial ram for $74.99 + $20 mail in rebate. I bought OWC the other day and it cost me $98 after shipping.

Might want to check the site in a day or 2 to see if its in stock again. Also, Ive found that their in store prices are typically higher than their online price, so you likely wont get it for $74.99 in store.


http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5503990

Call your local, neighborhood 3rd party mac shops (resellers) and ask them for price quotes. Chances are they've found a good 3rd party ram that will work for the mac, and may not charge apple prices.

Promac computers in OKC sold me a 2 gig stick for my imac for 77 plus tax. Considering that even effing best buy wanted 190 or more for 2 gigs, i'm delirious. And unlike best buy, you can be assured that the local shop will know what they're talking about when they hand you a stick and tell you that it will work.

A few of the guys there at promac have been selling and fixing macs for over 15 years, so I'd just about trust them over someone at even the apple store.