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iMac G5- uh oh
- Thread starter rdowns
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rdowns said:
Just an FYI for those interested in RAM: Crucial does not make RAM. PNY does not make RAM. CompUSA's house-branded RAM sticks and DIMM's are also not made by them. They're probably made by a no-name Taiwanese, Malaysian, Thai, Korean or Chinese manufacturer. That's not to say there's anything wrong with DIMM's made in those countries--most electronics are made there these days.
Companies like Crucial get theirs from many of the same suppliers as the others, but add value (and cost) by attaching better warranties or service to the product. They may also hold the manufacturer to higher standards in terms of yield or require more thorough testing. That's a good thing. They might require burn-in testing at elevated temperatures where others might skip that step, and that will make a difference in the likelihood that you'll receive good memory. It costs you a few bucks more, but you get piece of mind and less hassle (well, usually).
Apple does not manufacture its own RAM sticks. It also sources from some of the same manufacturers, but definitely requires higher standards and testing before they receive it. You pay more for it, and my opinion is that it's usually worth it. I've fixed more than just a few computers by pulling bad no-name RAM sticks bought at the lowest prices. Mac's are just a likely to be rendered useless by crummy RAM as any other PC's are.
RAM chips are made by companies like Hynix (which is a very well-known company in the RAM semi business), Samsung, Micron, Infineon, etc. Since we consumers don't buy stuff directly from them, we might not be as familiar with the names. Micron is the only home-grown US manufacturer left (Boise, Idaho). Names people might expect--TI, Intel, Motorola--have all left the heavily commoditized DRAM business.
Cheers,
WCat
Yes, with a 250 MB HD and 2 GB of RAM, that test took just over 1 hr 50 min on my iMac. And I agree, the fans were surprisingly loud - made me appreciate how quietly they normally run. For a while, though, I was wondering if my iMac thought the presence of an AirPort card meant it was supposed to fly!Elan0204 said:Try contacting Crucial directly to see what they say when you tell them you have defective RAM. Since you just want to exchange it, you may be able to go through them instead of NewEgg. Also contact NewEgg to see how you can get a replacement chip. I've never had to return or replace anything with them, so I don't know how the process goes.
By the way, when you boot off the Apple Hardware Test CD, the fans always run at full speed. The CD does not contain the drivers necessary to regulate the fans, so a a precaution they run at full speed. Loud, isn't it?
Also, the extended test takes a very long time, and gets longer with added memory. I think mine took nearly an hour for 1GB of RAM, and reports on the Apple Discussion Board say that it takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes if you have a full 2GB.
Update
Newegg sent replacement Crucial stick a few days ago. Popped it in about half hour ago and all is well. New stick had 8 chips on one side just like the stock stick. The earlier stick had chips on both sides, maybe that was the problem. System seems a bit peppier but who knows. The testbusG5us Applescript reports 64 bit but I really don't care. I will still try to swap sticks when my assistant gets his iMac to achieve 128 bit.
Newegg sent replacement Crucial stick a few days ago. Popped it in about half hour ago and all is well. New stick had 8 chips on one side just like the stock stick. The earlier stick had chips on both sides, maybe that was the problem. System seems a bit peppier but who knows. The testbusG5us Applescript reports 64 bit but I really don't care. I will still try to swap sticks when my assistant gets his iMac to achieve 128 bit.