G4 RAM upgrade

[ccross13126]

Will any PC133 Low Density Non-ECC RAM work in my G4?

 

[drewsof07]

Not just any. My buddy had a G4 and bought some cheap ram off e*bay that worked in an old PC but was not compatible with his Powermac. Best to check that it is Mac compatible.

 

[ccross13126]

Not just any. My buddy had a G4 and bought some cheap ram off e*bay that worked in an old PC but was not compatible with his Powermac. Best to check that it is Mac compatible.

I have a box of Kingston PC133, was hoping something in there was compatible

 

[Nameci]

Only thing you can do is put in there and try booting it. If it works it is good, if not then it is not.

 

[ccross13126]

Only thing you can do is put in there and try booting it. If it works it is good, if not then it is not.

It wont harm the system if its in compatible? Dont wanna destroy my $20 investment

 

[adcx64]

Agreed with Nameci. You can't hurt the computer with this method.

 

[ccross13126]

Agreed with Nameci. You can't hurt the computer with this method.

Great! I wanna get up to at least a gig or more. After that, I'll tackle the vid card and save the CPU upgrade for last

 

[Nameci]

Please take note that these machines are very picky about RAM. Low density, PC-100/133 SDRAM. I have the powermac G4 that precedes yours, the "Yikes" which is a PCI graphics.

 

[zen.state]

Please take note that these machines are very picky about RAM. Low density, PC-100/133 SDRAM. I have the powermac G4 that precedes yours, the "Yikes" which is a PCI graphics.

The B&W G3 and Yikes G4 (same logic board) are far more picky about RAM than the AGP towers. The memory controllers from the Sawtooth on are far more compatible with different timings.

 

[Nameci]

Thanks for the info Zen.

Not to hijack the thread, I have those two, the B&W G3 and Yikes. Both are still working, both running OS 9.2.2. And they are picky with RAM.

 

[ccross13126]

I found this while researching for the correct memory:

http://ask.metafilter.com/30018/Can-I-use-PC-ram-for-my-Mac-G4

According to them it shouldnt be that hard BUT, that was written in 2006 I believe

I have plenty of RAM to try. There should be something in there that will work. If not, PC100/133 is pretty cheap.

 

[Nameci]

I believe for PC-133 it should be CL3 3-2-2 or PC-100 CL2 2-2-2...

 

[ccross13126]

I believe for PC-133 it should be CL3 3-2-2 or PC-100 CL2 2-2-2...

Tossed 4 Kingston 512mb sticks in and it booted right up. Reading 2GB of Memory. I was planning on at least half a day to get even 512mb total working

 

[Nameci]

Congratulations! Now you are on the road to become a weekend tinkerer, or you are already?

 

[ccross13126]

Congratulations! Now you are on the road to become a weekend tinkerer, or you are already?

Mostly a PC tinkerer BUT, I'm broadening my horizons

 

[Intell]

Macs are Personal Computers. They use a lot of the same things in the same ways.

 

[ccross13126]

Macs are Personal Computers. They use a lot of the same things in the same ways.

They just cost 10x more

 

[Intell]

They just cost 10x more

Not always. In most cases when pricing out a Dell or HP with the same specs, Macs are usually cheaper.

 

[Nameci]

They just cost 10x more

Ah that would be a another discussion thread. Anyway, it is just a pity the machine is limited to 2GB max on the memory because of the firmware. I have seen 1GB sticks of PC-100 SDRAM. If it has 4 slots, 4 x 1GB sticks can be installed, would it still be read as 2GB or the mem controller would not read all?

 

[Intell]

Ah that would be a another discussion thread. Anyway, it is just a pity the machine is limited to 2GB max on the memory because of the firmware. I have seen 1GB sticks of PC-100 SDRAM. If it has 4 slots, 4 x 1GB sticks can be installed, would it still be read as 2GB or the mem controller would not read all?

Aren't the 1Gb PC100/PC133 ECC or high density ram?

 

[Nameci]

I have checked some from ebay and it doesn't state that it is of low density, but they are ECC's and server grade.