16Gb RAM - UK supplier? (Bad Corsair RAM)

[elliotn]

Etsi - thanks for the link to the Intel specs.

Jim - I've always used Crucial RAM in the past, with no complaints. I plan to email them to see if they will support the use of 16Gb in the mini. I suspect that it's only OWC who offer this support. Their RAM is quite expensive here in the UK (from their EU supplier) - £255 compared to £105 for the Corsair. But the Corsair doesn't work!

One thing is obvious after looking at RAM prices over the last couple of weeks - the price for 16Gb is still tumbling.

I'll try to get a refund for the Corsair, go back to using 8Gb Crucial RAM for now, and wait till I can buy the OWC RAM for less then £150.

 

[jimboutilier]

Etsi - thanks for the link to the Intel specs.

Jim - I've always used Crucial RAM in the past, with no complaints. I plan to email them to see if they will support the use of 16Gb in the mini. I suspect that it's only OWC who offer this support. Their RAM is quite expensive here in the UK (from their EU supplier) - £255 compared to £105 for the Corsair. But the Corsair doesn't work!

One thing is obvious after looking at RAM prices over the last couple of weeks - the price for 16Gb is still tumbling.

I'll try to get a refund for the Corsair, go back to using 8Gb Crucial RAM for now, and wait till I can buy the OWC RAM for less then £150.

Crucial is definitely one of those brands I'd trust. I've used them in the past, never had an issue and they stand behind thier products. In this case I went with OWC because they specialize in Mac stuff and pricing was similar but quality memory is quality memory.

As you mentioned, prices will continue to drop. Maybe get by with 8gb for now and upgrade to 16 when you can get a brand you like at a good price.

 

[elliotn]

Jim (or anyone else running 16gb of ram in a mini) - did you ever run the Rember ram testing app? - http://kelleycomputing.net/rember/

I ask because apart from failing Rember (and possibly causing one kernel panic), this ram seems to be doing what it should - speeding everything up. OSX recognises it, and the Apple Hardware Test (extended) doesn't detect anything wrong.

Are failures highlighted by Rember always indicative of defective ram?

 

[theSeb]

Jim (or anyone else running 16gb of ram in a mini) - did you ever run the Rember ram testing app? - http://kelleycomputing.net/rember/

I ask because apart from failing Rember (and possibly causing one kernel panic), this ram seems to be doing what it should - speeding everything up. OSX recognises it, and the Apple Hardware Test (extended) doesn't detect anything wrong.

Are failures highlighted by Rember always indicative of defective ram?

I've recently seen posts about rember failing for some other folks even though the ram is working ok.

 

[elliotn]

I've recently seen posts about rember failing for some other folks even though the ram is working ok.

Yeah, me too. That's why I'm asking.

(I'm currently testing the same 16Gb of Corsair RAM in a mini Server (I was previously testing it in a mini i7 2.7). Rember is throwing up similar errors.)

 

[etsi]

Any other brand that you trust and is located in Europe?

I am worried about taxes if I order from owc.

 

[elliotn]

Any other brand that you trust and is located in Europe?

I am worried about taxes if I order from owc.

You can order 16Gb of OWC ram from within Europe here:

http://macupgrade.eu/catalog/memory-16gb-2x8gb-sodimm-pc10600-1333mhz-p-763.html

But at 310 Euros it's not cheap.

(And that's ex 21% VAT... so actually 375 Euro + postage... probably cheaper to buy for $295 from the US, even with import duty and vat)

 

[jimboutilier]

Jim (or anyone else running 16gb of ram in a mini) - did you ever run the Rember ram testing app? - http://kelleycomputing.net/rember/

I ask because apart from failing Rember (and possibly causing one kernel panic), this ram seems to be doing what it should - speeding everything up. OSX recognises it, and the Apple Hardware Test (extended) doesn't detect anything wrong.

Are failures highlighted by Rember always indicative of defective ram?

Quality in semiconductor products is often not absolute. A product is made at a given cost with an expected yield. A batch is tested and graded. Various vendors are interested at various grades at various price points.

One grade in the batch may show no issues under the heaviest testing and be marketed under an expensive name brand. Another grade that shows occasional issues under heavy use may be marketed as an off brand at a lower price or labeled for a lower speed or whatever.

Many folks would never stress the cheap ram enough to uncover the issue and those that occasionally did might attribute the issue to software.

I tested my upgrade with Apples hardware utility and Techtool. No issues were reported and I've encountered no hangs, glitches, kernel panics etc so my OWC ram works for me.

I haven't used rembr so I can't comment on it other than to say unless it's buggy, any issue it picks up is likely a real issue. But it may stress your system well beyond regular use and just because you know your ram has an issue doesn't mean it's significant. If you are in your return period it's likely a good idea to do that but if not and you are not having problems you can trace to the ram it may not require replacement for your purposes.

 

[elliotn]

I've recently seen posts about rember failing for some other folks even though the ram is working ok.

In this thread, Philipma suggests that Rember can detect errors in perfectly good ram. But he retracts this in his final comment, realising that his problem is with the mini's fan.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1285503/

I have three other ram pairs for my mini, 4Gb (2x2Gb), 4Gb (2x2Gb), and 8Gb (2x4Gb), and all of these past Rember's tests.

I'm fairly sure my 16Gb (2x8Gb) of Corsair ram is defective.

 

[shortcut3d]

I currently have 48GB of Corsair 1333MHz memory installed across a 2010 27" iMac (32GB) and a 2011 15" MacBook Pro (16GB). I also had an additional 48GB installed in three (3) 2011 Mac mini's. All sticks in all systems passed four (4) loops of Rember with no errors. I also looped the systems with Geekbench stress test.

 

[theSeb]

In this thread, Philipma suggests that Rember can detect errors in perfectly good ram. But he retracts this in his final comment, realising that his problem is with the mini's fan.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1285503/

I have three other ram pairs for my mini, 4Gb (2x2Gb), 4Gb (2x2Gb), and 8Gb (2x4Gb), and all of these past Rember's tests.

I'm fairly sure my 16Gb (2x8Gb) of Corsair ram is defective.

I would send it back to be safe.

 

[elliotn]

I also had an additional 48GB installed in three (3) 2011 Mac mini's. All sticks in all systems passed four (4) loops of Rember with no errors.

Thanks for the info. That's what I wanted to know (that a mini with 16Gb of Corsair ram can pass Rember's tests).

I've now tried my 16Gb Corsair ram in two minis and Rember flags up errors with both.

I'm sending it back. If I can get a refund instead of a replacement, I'll try Crucial's offering.

 

[philipma1957]

In this thread, Philipma suggests that Rember can detect errors in perfectly good ram. But he retracts this in his final comment, realising that his problem is with the mini's fan.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1285503/

I have three other ram pairs for my mini, 4Gb (2x2Gb), 4Gb (2x2Gb), and 8Gb (2x4Gb), and all of these past Rember's tests.

I'm fairly sure my 16Gb (2x8Gb) of Corsair ram is defective.

yes and to follow up on that.

I did a new mini put the "bad" ram inside checked the fan first with stats widget ran

remember 5 loop test and the ram worked fine.


I was a bit freaked with the ram gskill 4gb sticks since I have done so many minis and now with the "fan less" mini 3 pairs failed. After detecting the loose connection all was well.

It is interesting that my read out was the same as the 16gb corsair ram.

I wonder if the failure in the test can be triggered be excessive heat in my case to a good ram stick.

And normal heat to a weak or bad stick in the case of the corsair 8gb sticks. I thought it was a bug in remember since gskill ram was so good for me and the readouts read the same as the corsair 8gb sticks. I think the 8gb sticks are sensitive to heat.

If you want to run one more check download stats widget and clock ram stick heat. these test can push the stick to 70c. in my case with no fan i was up to 85 c. if your mini fails at 70c for the ram stick readouts I would return the ram.

BTW I ran 2 10 loop tests of corsair 8gb sticks a few months ago and they passed. i am thinking you have bad ram or a cooling issue.

 

[elliotn]

BTW I ran 2 10 loop tests of corsair 8gb sticks a few months ago and they passed. i am thinking you have bad ram or a cooling issue.

Thanks for your thoughts. My Corsair 16Gb has failed the Rember tests on two different Mac minis (an i7 2.7 and a Server - both new and never opened up) - so in my case I don't think fans are the issue.

 

[Heavertron]

Thanks for your thoughts. My Corsair 16Gb has failed the Rember tests on two different Mac minis (an i7 2.7 and a Server - both new and never opened up) - so in my case I don't think fans are the issue.

Sorry the Corsair didn't work for you. If you get the Crucial, use naughty7 coupon code for 7% off.

 

[elliotn]

Sorry the Corsair didn't work for you. If you get the Crucial, use naughty7 coupon code for 7% off.

Crucial UK have confirmed that they will support 16Gb in a Mac mini, and will give a full refund if there are any problems.

Thanks for the coupon, Heavertron. I just used it, bringing the price down to £172.

 

[etsi]

I received a different answer from crucial:

"I have checked our database against the specification of your system and it appears that this Mac Mini only supports up to 8GB in total over the two memory slots. As such, 16GB would not be supported unfortunately."


So 16GB might now work properly with mac mini? Are we limited to 8GB of RAM? It's a great risk to buy 16GB which is expensive and not work.

 

[eutexian]

Here in the uk.. we might be limited at present to 8gb. but probably not for long. where OWC in the states leads others will soon follow and at an ever falling price. just a matter of being patient.

if you have deep pockets order your 16gb from OWC. you'll need VERY deep pockets though.. currently the price is about the same as TWO mac mini's.

$1400

I wonder though.. do you have the 2.3 or 2.5. might crucial support one but not the other?

 

[etsi]

All mac minis 2011 are limited to 8GB by Apple and that's what they answered. They don't support it because officially Apple doesn't support more than 8GB.

Owc is too expensive.

 

[elliotn]

if you have deep pockets order your 16gb from OWC. you'll need VERY deep pockets though.. currently the price is about the same as TWO mac mini's.

$1400

huh?

OWC's 16Gb costs $280

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/1333DDR3S16P/

----------

I received a different answer from crucial:

"I have checked our database against the specification of your system and it appears that this Mac Mini only supports up to 8GB in total over the two memory slots. As such, 16GB would not be supported unfortunately."


So 16GB might now work properly with mac mini? Are we limited to 8GB of RAM? It's a great risk to buy 16GB which is expensive and not work.

Here's what Crucial UK Support told me yesterday:

"We recommend 8GB of memory for that system but in some cases users have got 16GB to work. I can't however guarantee compatibility with 16GB but I can guarantee that you will be fully supported if you do need to return the memory."

The Crucial 16Gb has just arrived, so I'll test it out now and report back later.

(Crucial have just dropped the price by another £13)

 

[etsi]

Thanks I will wait for your report. If possible try the apple hardware test which has a nice tool to test the memory.

 

[philipma1957]

I received a different answer from crucial:

"I have checked our database against the specification of your system and it appears that this Mac Mini only supports up to 8GB in total over the two memory slots. As such, 16GB would not be supported unfortunately."


So 16GB might now work properly with mac mini? Are we limited to 8GB of RAM? It's a great risk to buy 16GB which is expensive and not work.

not true i have run my server mini since sept on 16gb ram.

first samsung
then corsair
and now eplida.


never tried the crucial. but all three above worked fine

 

[elliotn]

I'm happy to say my 16Gb of Crucial RAM has tested fine in my mini (2.7, i7).

It has passed 4 loops of Rember tests and the Apple Hardware Test (extended).

 

[Riverrun]

Hi Eliot,

Glad the Crucial RAM is working for you. I want to buy the same. Can you confirm that this is the link you used:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/par...rue&AID=10273954&PID=4169666&SID=93tu7jrqfarz

Thanks

 

[elliotn]

Glad the Crucial RAM is working for you. I want to buy the same. Can you confirm that this is the link you used:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/par...rue&AID=10273954&PID=4169666&SID=93tu7jrqfarz

Yes, that's the exact link.