Apple Memory versus Crucial Memory?

[Apple!Freak]

Is there any performance differences between the two? Any at all? Do they perform exactly the same? And if so, why would anyone spend $150 for a 512MB chip from Apple, when they could spend $64 at Crucial.com?

Thanks in advance.

 

[killuminati]

Buy it from Crucial. I just got some RAM from Crucial for my iMac and it was delivered today. It only took 5 days from order to delivery. The only advantage for buying it from Apple is that it will come built in. Otherwise you will have to install it yourself which is not a big deal. Definitely not worth $75 to have it pre-installed.

 

[Apple!Freak]

Buy it from Crucial. I just got some RAM from Crucial for my iMac and it was delivered today. It only took 5 days from order to delivery. The only advantage for buying it from Apple is that it will come built in. Otherwise you will have to install it yourself which is not a big deal. Definitely not worth $75 to have it pre-installed.

Well, I can easily install it myself. In my question, I am inquiring as to the performance of each. Do they match exactly. Is Apple better? Is Crucial better? Are they the same?

 

[killuminati]

From what I'v heard they are completely the same.

 

[wkw]

crucial is very good memory. I have been using 3x512 sticks in my pm G4 for almost 2 years with zero problems. I have tried cheaper memory and my pm had problems waking from sleep.

bill

 

[Apple!Freak]

crucial is very good memory. I have been using 3x512 sticks in my pm G4 for almost 2 years with zero problems. I have tried cheaper memory and my pm had problems waking from sleep.

bill

Very good, but as good as Apple?

 

[wkw]

yes, I think its as good as apple oem ram. I wouldn't hesitate to use just the crucial memory I have.

 

[DJC17]

I have never tried Crucial in a Mac, simply cos I haven't got a Mac yet.

I've had Crucial in PC's since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I'm a very intensive user - no failures yet.

Crucial is one of the best names in the business. I'd think they were as good, if not better than Apple themselves.

Do Apple actually manufacture their own RAM, or is it done for them?

 

[Peterkro]

Quite often it is exactly the same ram,and always the same or higher spec.

 

[budaapple]

the same

Apple uses 4 suppliers for their ram and crucial is occasionally one of them. Straight from the Apple's mouth!

 

[wkw]

my pm G4 dual 1.25 came with samsung ram and my new iMac G5 came with Hynix ram

 

[mpopkin]

I just bought 1 gb for my g5 from crucial and it took 3 days and was great memory, the same speed just a 100 dollars less than apple charges.

 

[Macinbest]

Added those a couple days ago.. they're not Crucial though, but Corsair System Select.

Works great

 

[YS2003]

I got 2 X 500 MB sticks for my Ti PB and 1 GB stick for my 15" PB from Crucial (Micron). They are working well (no problem whatsoever). Crucial's pricing is a little high, though. So, I bought a 1 GB stick from OWC for my 12" PB (they were selling the OEM Samsung stick at a good price---I forgot the price; maybe it was around $300 to $400). OWC's Samsung is working well without any problem. Basically OEM memory (I think Apple uses Samsung, which is the #1 chip maker in terms of the market share/revenue) and high quality (albeit at a higher price) Crucial memory will serve you well. The key word is "life time warranty." Without it, you can question their quality as the lack of the life time warranty implies the company who is selling it is not confident enough to back it up with a warranty. My PCs are also have Crucial Ram with which I have no issue at all.

 

[hcuar]

I have 1.5 GB of Apple memory installed in my G5 (2x512 and 2x256)...

All four dimms are Micron (Crucial) memory.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Crucial RAM is not necessarily the same as the Micron OEM modules. Crucial sells some modules manufactured with other brands of chips, and even subcontracted to other manufacturers entirely. They beat the "Apple uses us" drum constantly, but in fact Apple has never, and will never, install Crucial brand RAM.

As far as performance goes, your Mac will run all RAM (as long as it is compatible) at the same exact speed. I have seen no evidence that Apple motherboards can take advantage of lower latencies in DDR RAM, and they certainly do not clock themselves higher.

There is nothing special about "Apple" RAM (other than you get a one year warranty instead of lifetime). Apple buys RAM in bulk from OEM suppliers such as Samsung, Hynix, IBM and Micron. You can buy the same modules from third party sellers. Just be sure that your seller guarantees the RAM for use in your model, because there are issues in chip configuration and SPD settings that can make a perfectly good module incompatible with a Mac.

 

[mpopkin]

that is not correct. Crucial Ram is always Micron Brand and is manufactured in Malaysia. the Ram used in G5's has been consistently Samsung memory(samsung provides a lot of the displays for the pbook,ibook,imac) and is quite reliable, but crucial memory is great and Crucial is owned by Micron and i have been a crucial customer for a while now and all the memory i have bought from them has worked great.

Crucial RAM is not necessarily the same as the Micron OEM modules. Crucial sells some modules manufactured with other brands of chips, and even subcontracted to other manufacturers entirely. They beat the "Apple uses us" drum constantly, but in fact Apple has never, and will never, install Crucial brand RAM.

As far as performance goes, your Mac will run all RAM (as long as it is compatible) at the same exact speed. I have seen no evidence that Apple motherboards can take advantage of lower latencies in DDR RAM, and they certainly do not clock themselves higher.

There is nothing special about "Apple" RAM (other than you get a one year warranty instead of lifetime). Apple buys RAM in bulk from OEM suppliers such as Samsung, Hynix, IBM and Micron. You can buy the same modules from third party sellers. Just be sure that your seller guarantees the RAM for use in your model, because there are issues in chip configuration and SPD settings that can make a perfectly good module incompatible with a Mac.

 

[CanadaRAM]

that is not correct. Crucial Ram is always Micron Brand and is manufactured in Malaysia. the Ram used in G5's has been consistently Samsung memory(samsung provides a lot of the displays for the pbook,ibook,imac) and is quite reliable, but crucial memory is great and Crucial is owned by Micron and i have been a crucial customer for a while now and all the memory i have bought from them has worked great.

Hmm. what is your source?
My source is a Crucial senior tech who told me that specific modules that Crucial sells were made under contract for them by Infineon using Infineon chips.

Edit: Also, from Anandtech.com, March 1 2005:
"Interestingly enough, despite their relationship with Micron, Crucial's SO-DIMMs use Samsung chips."

I don't know about PowerMac G5's in the past month or two, but the iMac G5's and Minis I have upgraded lately have all been Hynix (Hyundai).

 

[Apple!Freak]

Thanks, guys!

Now my next question is, I currently have an Apple 512mb chip in my PB. Would it be perfectly fine to add a Crucial 512mb chip alongside that? Meaning, there would be no compatability issues with two different brands of memory, correct?

 

[shadowmoses]

Thanks, guys!

Now my next question is, I currently have an Apple 512mb chip in my PB. Would it be perfectly fine to add a Crucial 512mb chip alongside that? Meaning, there would be no compatability issues with two different brands of memory, correct?

There are no compatibility issues with brands of memory, so go ahead and mix and match apple and crucial it will work no problems.

ShadoW

 

[Macinbest]

Mixing different brands of chips (and different models) will make your system fail to access them in 128 bits mode if you have a PowerMac G5 or Imac G5. It will still work but it should be slightly slower. As with other models, it shouldn't matter at all.

For the curious, this is the chip that shipped with my iMac G5 :

//edit: Its a Micron Technologies chip

 

[iBunny]

Crucial is probably the best ram company. Comming from someone whos knows alot of PC building and Overclock and I am an enthusiast always wanting the highest quality parts. I would even say that Crucial Ram is better than what apple gives as "generic"