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lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
i have just bought my first mac. its an iMac G3 running @ 333Mhz with 32mb ram. i opened it the day i got it and it takes 144pin so dimms. is this any so-dimms? i found a place here in ireland selling pc 100 and pc 133 so dimms quite cheap (About 50EUR for 256MB). would this work? i have to find out the height of these. i found out that the external dimm socket will take memory up to 2" heigh and the internal one will only take 1.5" heigh memory. if this works, OSX here i come!
Thanks.
 

Lanbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 20, 2003
893
0
Some of the newer memory will not throttle down, so buying faster memory will not only provide nil benefits, it may not work at all. Your best bet is to buy memory that was specifically made/tested for the application. Try Kingston or Crucial. Lifetime warranty and guaranteed to work.

There is more to memory then just the speed it runs at.
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
what kind of ill benifits will there be? i think my mac runs @ 100Mhz FSB, i think. could be wrong. if i am tell me (333mhz G3, tray loading, and its pink!).
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
just looking at the specs of the crucial memory and the specs of the twinmos memory that is half the price and the difference is price. thats it. there are PC100 and PC133 memory in SO-Dimm format. they both run @ CL2 or 3, they are 144pin, and they are both 3.3v. i think ill chance getting a 256mb so-dimm. it will cost about 50 euro, and if it works its well worth it. have to do a system update first. but should work. unless someone has had problems with twinmos memory on an imac?
 

Lanbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 20, 2003
893
0
Just because the specs match doesn't mean it will work. Some problems could be that it won't boot, crashing, excessive heat, instability among others. Memory is not memory.

If it works, good, if not too bad.
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
so memory is not memory? hmmm. this is not making a lot of sence. this is why macs are so expencive. weird!
 

Lanbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 20, 2003
893
0
No, even in the peecee world. You can go and buy the generic memory from the local computer store, it can meet all of the specs and it may not work. It has nothing to do with the platform, but the quality of the memory. Lower cost typically means lower quality. There are only a few memory manufacturers and they do not make all of the memory perfect, much like processors. They have different grades and speeds. The cheapo generic memory will use the lower quality product and is more susceptible to the incompatibilities. Why do you think companies like Kingston and Crucial have specific part numbers for memory? Because they make sure it works with that given system, not just say on paper it will work so it will in the real world too.

Head over to a peecee board and look at the threads of memory incompatibilities. The generic memory is often the culprit, sometimes down the road or even a new OS.

Some companies are OEM to the manufacturer; the generic companies are not. Kingston or Crucial (Micron) among a few others supply the memory to the manufacturer. Why doesn't the manufacturer save money and use the cheaper stuff?

If you want to try the cheapo stuff, go ahead. If it works, good, if not, don't come here asking how to get it to work. As the problem is the memory and there is no way to make it compatible except buy compatible memory. So if you want to try it, make sure you can return it.
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
this stuff im looking at is not all that cheapo stuff. this stuff i have used on my workstation, which is usually up for a few weeks at a time, my server, which hasent been down since i got extra memory about 4 months ago and a few other systems i have lying around. im not going to start complaining to people if it doesent work. im asking a question of does this type of memory work. you have not answered my question, you just told me to buy other memory. its like you asking me is a nissan (probably not nissan in the US, but who cares) any good. me saying i dont know, try BMW. it may work but a BMW definatly will. the nissan would set you back about 16kEUR, the BMW may cost upwards of 40K! thanks for the info anyway. if there is a problem with the twinmos stuff, i know i can get crucial. im trying twinmos cause its cheaper at the moment and being a student im quite broke.
 

Lanbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 20, 2003
893
0
You have provided no information besides brand and speed. I said some of the newer memory will not throttle back. So if you buy PC133, it may only want to run at 133. Using an auto analogy, which would be like saying, will a Honda oil filter work in my NSX? That would depend as Honda has many different oil filters. You first post actually only mentioned speed and capacity and nothing more.
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
it wasent the first post i mentioned it on. it was the fourth one. i know i should have said it in the first one, but i did say it.
 

whocares

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2002
1,494
0
:noitаɔo˩
Originally posted by lotas
what kind of ill benifits will there be? i think my mac runs @ 100Mhz FSB, i think. could be wrong. if i am tell me (333mhz G3, tray loading, and its pink!).

Nope, it's a 66MHz front side bus. 100MHz came with the slot loading iMac's (350MHz proc and above)

Plan on cramming as much memory as possible. I have 192MB in my iMac (Strawberry - not pink;-) and Jag is a bit of a drag...

For specs of past and present Macs/Apple & compatible try http://www.everymac.com
Great resource!
 

lotas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2003
8
0
strawberry heay? yeah. i like the sound of that. so ill try the twinmos stuff, see how it goes, and then try crucial if it doesent work. Thanks for all the info!
 
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