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Whats the best RAM to buy right now?

D

dailydoseofk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 28, 2008
10
0
Hey guys I just got a new MBP 2.4ghz with 2gb ram and wanted to upgrade to 4gb ram. Whats the best deal going on for ram?
 
id check out bensbargains.net, newegg.com or fatwallet.com's forums to look around... I bought some from newegg.com 9 months ago when the previous iteration of mbps came out, they have people who comment on there about compatibility with different laptops. i think mine was patriot, it was about $200 for 2 x 2gb, its alot cheaper now but i didnt want to be thinking.. "can she[my mbp] be running faster?" gl!
 
I just bought 4GB direct from crucial.com the other day for barely $100 (seems too cheap). A couple members of this forum indicated some complaints about their biz practices, but I personally don't have any less recent experience than last weekend with buying RAM to agree/disagree with that. I don't have the RAM or the MBP to put it in yet, so I can't talk about the quality/compatibility. I just installed 3GB in a late '06 iMac and that RAM was Corsair from Newegg. It seems to be working fine, but it's only been a few hours. As an aside, the late '06 iMac will only see 3GB.
 
Just bought G.skill 4gb RAM from Newegg. I bought the latency 4 as opposed to the slightly cheaper latency 5. Not sure if the Macbooks take advantage of this, but xtra few bucks was minimal.

Working wel, Windows XP on Boot camp is alot quicker than my 5 year old desktop PC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154

$79.00 for 4GB. lifetime warranty and latency 4 thrown in for good measure...hard to beat.

Was looking at the Apple specific Corsair "high-performance" 4gb RAM (also latency 4), too much for me to justify the expense especially with similar G.skill for much less.

sb
MacBook (white), 2.4Ghz, 320gb HD (Western Digital), 4GB RAM (G.Skill)
 
macsean said:
I bought the latency 4 as opposed to the slightly cheaper latency 5. Not sure if the Macbooks take advantage of this, but xtra few bucks was minimal.



$79.00 for 4GB. lifetime warranty and latency 4 thrown in for good measure...hard to beat.

Was looking at the Apple specific Corsair "high-performance" 4gb RAM (also latency 4), too much for me to justify the expense especially with similar G.skill for much less.
Click to expand...

I have a Blackbook 2.2 and I am in the market for some new ram. The 2x512 it came with is not doing it for me. What is the difference b/w CL4 and CL5 ram? I was thinking about buying some from Crucial's website for $97 shipped but then I read macsean's post. Does CL4/CL5 make any difference on a macbook 2.2?? Please advise. :confused:

-Ed
 
I don't know too much about the Latency. What I do know is that Latency 4 can potentially yield better performance than Latency 5. With that being said, I have not been able to read anything definitive that the Macbooks or Macbook Pros can take advantage of Latency 4.

In PCs it possible to set-up the BIOS to recognize Latency 4. But not sure if there is an option on the Mac to do this or if any of that sort of thing is done automatically.

I do know that Corsair has come out with an Apple Performance Ram that uses Latency 4 along with some other tweaks to increase performance over regular 4GB Ram. But I know of nobody that has tested this to be true...its a new product, so may have to wait and see.

For me, the $9 difference between the Latency 5 and 4 made it no brainer. They both work and who knows, maybe performance is a little better. Right now I have no reason to complain.

sb
MacBook (white), 2.4Ghz, 320gb HD (Western Digital), 4GB RAM (G.Skill)
 
Personally, I love OWC (www.macsales.com).

But as far as the BEST place, it's any place that guarantees their RAM. There are many reports of the macbook pro being finnicky about what memory it likes and doesn't like. Do yourself a favor and get a place with a nice guarantee just in case you get bum RAM. Avoid eBay.
 
edcoche said:
I have a Blackbook 2.2 and I am in the market for some new ram. The 2x512 it came with is not doing it for me. What is the difference b/w CL4 and CL5 ram? I was thinking about buying some from Crucial's website for $97 shipped but then I read macsean's post. Does CL4/CL5 make any difference on a macbook 2.2?? Please advise. :confused:

-Ed
Click to expand...

Latency 4 is faster than 5,but you won't notice it,shows only on benchmark, I used it in my 2.2 Blk MB,came with 1Gb, now has 4Gb-Flies!!!!!
Mine was Kingston w/ lifetime warranty,$119 shipped. Lastly your MB will recognise and use CL4,4.5 or 5:apple::apple:forever
 
macsean said:
Just bought G.skill 4gb RAM from Newegg. I bought the latency 4 as opposed to the slightly cheaper latency 5. Not sure if the Macbooks take advantage of this, but xtra few bucks was minimal.

Working wel, Windows XP on Boot camp is alot quicker than my 5 year old desktop PC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231154

$79.00 for 4GB. lifetime warranty and latency 4 thrown in for good measure...hard to beat.

Was looking at the Apple specific Corsair "high-performance" 4gb RAM (also latency 4), too much for me to justify the expense especially with similar G.skill for much less.

sb
MacBook (white), 2.4Ghz, 320gb HD (Western Digital), 4GB RAM (G.Skill)
Click to expand...

I did the same thing. for having latency of 4, newegg's g.skill memory is worth the extra few bucks to buy over the Corsair.
 
I just bought the 4GB kit from crucial and it was around $115 after shipping. I installed them a couple weeks ago and so far so good.
 
spaceballl said:
Personally, I love OWC (www.macsales.com).

But as far as the BEST place, it's any place that guarantees their RAM. There are many reports of the macbook pro being finnicky about what memory it likes and doesn't like. Do yourself a favor and get a place with a nice guarantee just in case you get bum RAM. Avoid eBay.
Click to expand...

How on these sites such as OWC, Crucial, etc. do you find the latency of the RAM? On Newegg I clicked on the link to the G.Skill site and was able to find the latency there. However, for OWC I searched at their page for MBP 4GB RAM and couldn't find any info on latency. Anyone have any suggestions?
Also I've heard people like DMS.
 
You can take it for granted, today anyway, that ALL 667 MHz SODIMMs are CL5 unless they are specifically the Corsair or G.Skill low latency modules.

The effects of CL4 seem to be minimal, based on Corsair's own testing (which is neither unbiased or scientifically rigorous). The improvement using 4 GB - 4 GB comparisons were 0.5% - 9%, with one result coming in at 19%. I have yet to be convinced of the real world benefit, but its an option for those who want to eke out every last advantage.
 
spaceballl said:
Personally, I love OWC (www.macsales.com).

But as far as the BEST place, it's any place that guarantees their RAM. There are many reports of the macbook pro being finnicky about what memory it likes and doesn't like. Do yourself a favor and get a place with a nice guarantee just in case you get bum RAM. Avoid eBay.
Click to expand...

+2. I am a big proponent of OWC. Their customer service and knowledge of the Mac is second to none in my opinion.
 
I recommend either Crucial or OWC. Go with which ever one is cheapest on that day. Both sites let you find the right memory by computer model, so it is guaranteed to be the same specs as the memory Apple puts in the machine.
 
pinktank said:
ermm frys ram is not oem I think it's crucial or corsair, at least the one on sale is
Click to expand...

I bought two of the 2gb sticks from Frys. They are Crucial brand and a samsung sticker is on the sticks. I am going to install them later today.

4gb for under $50 :D
 
BikeSDP said:
I just bought 4GB direct from crucial.com the other day for barely $100 (seems too cheap). A couple members of this forum indicated some complaints about their biz practices, but I personally don't have any less recent experience than last weekend with buying RAM to agree/disagree with that. I don't have the RAM or the MBP to put it in yet, so I can't talk about the quality/compatibility. I just installed 3GB in a late '06 iMac and that RAM was Corsair from Newegg. It seems to be working fine, but it's only been a few hours. As an aside, the late '06 iMac will only see 3GB.
Click to expand...

I purchased 4gb direct from Crucial last week. Had no problem at all. 4gb with tax was $99. Shipped in four days with free shipping. Installed it in my new Penryn MBP 2.4 and works great.
 
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