Good RAM brand?

[mobydick01]

I have a gift card to Newegg and want to get 2x 8GB RAM for my late 2012 Mac Mini. They are out of stock of Crucial. Does anyone (who isn't 14 years old) have any thoughts on the following brands (these are the ones in my price range)?

iRam
G.Skill
Mushkin

Also, does it matter if I get the memory labeled "for Apple." Some charge a premium for this, some do not.

Thanks.

 

[Donoban]

I have a gift card to Newegg and want to get 2x 8GB RAM for my late 2012 Mac Mini. They are out of stock of Crucial. Does anyone (who isn't 14 years old) have any thoughts on the following brands (these are the ones in my price range)?

iRam
G.Skill
Mushkin

Also, does it matter if I get the memory labeled "for Apple." Some charge a premium for this, some do not.

Thanks.

I'm 14 so soz. But I'd get the g.skill. Most ram comes with a life time warranty ( whatever that means) but I'd assume you could return it if it ever fails.

Good luck.

 

[mojolicious]

iRam
G.Skill
Mushkin

All are equally good.

There's always an outside chance that RAM from any source will be DOA; there's the *very* slim possibility that it will be 'problematic' rather than simply non-functioning but this should be very quick apparent; the chances of RAM turning bad beyond the NewEgg 30 day return policy are vanishingly small.

It's only when you hit the 'vanishingly small' zone that you'll see find a difference between manufacturers. They all give lifetime guarantees but it's the RMA policies / turnarounds / shipping costs etc that will distinguish between them.

 

[crzyhanko]

FWIW, I've purchased G.Skill before and it didn't give me problems.

Buying the "for Apple" memory probably isn't worth the premium. I've installed RAM in an iMac and a couple of Mac Minis and never purchased the certified memory.

One thing I have noticed is that if the memory comes with a heat spreader, it is sometimes very hard to get it installed, so you might want to avoid that.

 

[SoCalReviews]

I've purchased GSkill brand before for a PC and it worked fine. GSkill notebook memory would probably be good to go. Just make sure it's the right type or at least 1600Mhz PC3-12800. For Macs usually means that it has been officially tested for use with Macs and they are allowed to use the Apple Mac marketing symbol on the packaging but that doesn't mean that other notebook memory of the same type and rating won't work.

I have only used Crucial and Kingston. Those two have been my preferences. I lean towards Crucial brand for the Macs but I have Kingston HyperX Plug N Play Notebook memory running in my Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz 2012 and it is working very well. While it's a little more expensive it's also is a bit higher performance since it has a slightly lower latency (CL9 instead of CL11). Here is a Newegg link for the dual memory kit I am using.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104317

 

[Weaselboy]

I have a gift card to Newegg and want to get 2x 8GB RAM for my late 2012 Mac Mini. They are out of stock of Crucial. Does anyone (who isn't 14 years old) have any thoughts on the following brands (these are the ones in my price range)?

iRam
G.Skill
Mushkin

Also, does it matter if I get the memory labeled "for Apple." Some charge a premium for this, some do not.

Thanks.

RAM is a commodity. Just get the cheapest from a good vendor like Newegg that will be there if you have a problem.

 

[Cubytus]

Always used Mushkin in my machines as well as friend's. No problem whatsoever. This is a reasonably priced brand (unlike Kingston, official Apple choice)

Some cheap RAM may not come with lifetime warranty, but this is becoming rare. I stuck with the "certified" memory, or at least including "for Mac" in its title, as I was always told Macs are more finicky about RAM quality. This may not be true anymore, but definitely was in the PowerPC days.

 

[mobydick01]

Thanks for the replies. I went with the Mushkin since it was the best priced of the the three. I also read on their website that they design and manufacture their products in the USA-- not sure how this speaks to the quality, but for some reason it made me feel a little better when I purchased it. With this brand, the "for Apple" premium was negligible, so I went with that in some off chance that such a thing might ever affect a warranty claim.

Can't believe how the prices on RAM have skyrocketed... Glad I had a gift card...

 

[Cubytus]

Thanks for the replies. I went with the Mushkin since it was the best priced of the the three. I also read on their website that they design and manufacture their products in the USA-- not sure how this speaks to the quality, but for some reason it made me feel a little better when I purchased it. With this brand, the "for Apple" premium was negligible, so I went with that in some off chance that such a thing might ever affect a warranty claim.

Can't believe how the prices on RAM have skyrocketed... Glad I had a gift card...

At the very least it means their support isn't sourced somewhere you can't be understood by non-native speakers.

I think that was one of my very first positive impressions for buying Mushkin.

Are RAM prices significantly above what they were two years ago?

 

[mobydick01]

Are RAM prices significantly above what they were two years ago?

I seem to recall that about a year ago, when I got my Mac Minis, that 16GB of RAM for these computers was about half of the current prices. (I paid ~150 for the Mushkin.)

 

[mmomega]

I have a gift card to Newegg and want to get 2x 8GB RAM for my late 2012 Mac Mini. They are out of stock of Crucial. Does anyone (who isn't 14 years old) have any thoughts on the following brands (these are the ones in my price range)?

iRam
G.Skill
Mushkin

Also, does it matter if I get the memory labeled "for Apple." Some charge a premium for this, some do not.

Thanks.

Personal opinion; buy DDR3 204-Pin 1600MHz RAM, any of the major names brands and you're going to be good.
I have over a dozen, 2012 Mac Minis that are used as workstations Mon-Thurs 8am-7pm and some of them have OEM RAM, some have Crucial, some have Crucial Ballistix, some have Kingston, some have Samsung.
The latest i7 model I put in has 16GB 1.5v Crucial Ballistix and it is our new clinic office file server, app server.
Ask how many of these machines have gone down for any problems let alone RAM problems. Zero.

 

[Cubytus]

I seem to recall that about a year ago, when I got my Mac Minis, that 16GB of RAM for these computers was about half of the current prices. (I paid ~150 for the Mushkin.)

I never seen a $75 for a 16GB kit for the MBP (or Mini, they take the same sticks). Paid about $120 for 16GB in 2012.