Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

dav

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 29, 2004
495
10
Couple questions regarding RAM and such..

1) Does all RAM perform the same? Is it just a "Works" or "Broken" situation or does it vary in performance by vendor?

2) Is there any apps out there to test if I have received quality RAM that works to its potential? (If the performance varies)


Just curious :)

-Dav
 

iSaint

macrumors 603
After being told by a CIS major to buy the cheapest memory possible, I bought a 512k stick for my iBook from Kahlon only to have the iBook read 256k of the memory. Then friend in question goes out and buys from Crucial for a little higher price and a little higher quality.

Quality does matter, and you'll get what you pay for. I know the iBook switch I made a month ago was well worth it!
 

kronos2611

macrumors member
Jun 14, 2004
73
4
Has everyone had a good experience with Crucial memory? I know someone who recently purchased a couple of 512Mb sodimms only to have to return them twice!! before getting some decent memory.... (powerbook was crashing constantly)
 

grapes911

Moderator emeritus
Jul 28, 2003
6,995
10
Citizens Bank Park
kronos2611 said:
Has everyone had a good experience with Crucial memory? I know someone who recently purchased a couple of 512Mb sodimms only to have to return them twice!! before getting some decent memory.... (powerbook was crashing constantly)

Crucial is not the best quality memory out there, but they are one of the best for the money. And more over, they are very easy to deal with if you have a problem. A friend of mine had a stick of geil die on him. If you don't know of geil (and many don't) it is one of the best rams you can buy, but it is also fairly expensive. When he returned his ram it took over 3 months to get back. Another friend of mine had his crucial ram go, it took less than a week to get back.

When any "normal" or "average" user (both mac and pc) tell me they want more memory, I tell them to get crucial. For the "power" user, crucial is not always sufficient.
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
Mac's can be picky on the quality of the RAM, based on posts here. Generally Crucial and OWC are considered to be the best of the breed.

That being said, it has been pointed out that Crucial plays pricing games based on the browser used. There have a few threads here lately on the topic.
 

Daveman Deluxe

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2003
1,555
1
Corvallis, Oregon
Crucial doesn't actually change the price based on the browser used. It changes the price based on whether you have cookies in your browser from other online retailers.
 

grapes911

Moderator emeritus
Jul 28, 2003
6,995
10
Citizens Bank Park
Daveman Deluxe said:
Crucial doesn't actually change the price based on the browser used. It changes the price based on whether you have cookies in your browser from other online retailers.


Sorry to "take over" the thread, but how does this work? Do these cookies raise or lower the price?
 

Rabidjade

macrumors member
Mar 21, 2004
65
0
50% of the time when you have bad ram, the problem results from being nailed with static shock when you install it. Ram follows the rule of cheaper is not always better and most time cheaper will be bad after a short time.
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
Daveman Deluxe said:
Crucial doesn't actually change the price based on the browser used. It changes the price based on whether you have cookies in your browser from other online retailers.

Either way it is wrong IMO.


I'll never by from Crucial based on their antics.
 

FuzzyBallz

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2003
977
0
Home of Al-Qaida
What antics? And don't you people know how to clear cookies?

Just got my Crucial RAM from Newegg.com. Ordered Friday, came today. Damn, that's fast. Even though we're in the same state, that's still amazingly fast. Didn't do the rush order option, FedEx Saver.
 

dav

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 29, 2004
495
10
So I bought that cheap-as-ever gig stick off outpost.. Will it perform for how ridiculously cheap it was? ($140)
 

dav

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 29, 2004
495
10
FuzzyBallz said:
Since you ignored all the posts and suggestions, why don't you tell us how it performs?

Im not ignoring, I don't have a computer to test it yet. I am just wondering, specifically with this stick, if it will perform at an acceptable rate (?).

I understand that cheaper RAM does indeed have a lower performance (as per the comments), but I am just specifying this particular example.

Sorry if I come off as ignorant.
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
FuzzyBallz said:
What antics? And don't you people know how to clear cookies?

Just got my Crucial RAM from Newegg.com. Ordered Friday, came today. Damn, that's fast. Even though we're in the same state, that's still amazingly fast. Didn't do the rush order option, FedEx Saver.

One, I don't think I need too.

The other is the threads here mentioned going through Crucial directly. And some of those people mentioned clearing the cache and getting the same results using different browsers if I remember correctly.

I have worked retail for a number of years and I can not believe where the internet has led us. I am not saying that Crucial can't offer lower prices to those that are regular customers. But to make it matter of cookies or browsers is just plain wrong.
 

Chip NoVaMac

macrumors G3
Dec 25, 2003
8,888
31
Northern Virginia
dav said:
Im not ignoring, I don't have a computer to test it yet. I am just wondering, specifically with this stick, if it will perform at an acceptable rate (?).

I understand that cheaper RAM does indeed have a lower performance (as per the comments), but I am just specifying this particular example.

Sorry if I come off as ignorant.

the big question is what is the warranty. And will they guaranty that it will work with the Mac you are planning on buying? That is where Crucial and OWC excel at.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.