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Is this quality Ram?

sjpetry

sjpetry

macrumors 65816
Original poster
I am getting a 1GB stick of Ram. I have been looking around and 1-800-4-MEMORY is the cheapest at 165 USD. It is 102.79USD cheaper than Crucial Technology Ram. Is it the same? Will it be as fast if it is not the same?

The links are below so you can compare:

Main page:

http://www.ramseeker.com/scripts/modelDetails.php


1-800-4-MEMORY:

http://www.18004memory.com/cart/addcart.asp?itemID=502574&itemTYPE=cat


Crucial Technology:

http://www.crucial.com/store/MPartspecs.Asp?mtbpoid=F8645FDDA5CA7304



Thanks for helping me out,
Spencer 🙂
 
I'm not sure if they are the same... That being said... I wouldn't try to go too cheap on RAM... Go ahead and buy it direct from Crucial... That way you know for sure it'll work... (Of course I bought my RAM direct from Apple, so I might not be the one to listen to) 😉
 
Has anyone had any experience with 1-800-4-MEMORY I could use the extra 100 dollars. 🙂
 
Sorry, can't help you with the 1-800 memory, but I have, and a few others have ordered this ram from outpost and my machine has been working great. It's about $20 more than the price you listed, but atleast you have a few people who can say it works 🙂
 
my powerbook has problems, I have no idea if its the logic board or my memory, but the memory I was using was from 18004memory, if I could do it all over I would go back and buy crucial or another top brand ... RAM is like a suit, you can go buy a really cheap one, and it'll get you by, but something classic and well made goes much longer.
 
Kwyjibo said:
my powerbook has problems, I have no idea if its the logic board or my memory, but the memory I was using was from 18004memory, if I could do it all over I would go back and buy crucial or another top brand ... RAM is like a suit, you can go buy a really cheap one, and it'll get you by, but something classic and well made goes much longer.
Click to expand...

RAM doesn't go bad... It either initially works or it breaks after a short time. After that it's fine pretty much forever. That being said, I'd run your hardware test using your restore CD's. If they pass, the ram probablly is fine. If it fails you'll have your answer.
 
i've had many discussions about this topic in my own threads but essentially the current crop of hardware tests cds do not work in my computer, right now its at apple, they're fixing it. I didn't tell him it was the RAM, but I said in retrospect I would buy a more reliable brand just because I am not sure. He asked for opinions, and having done business with the company I feel quite qualified to offer mine.
 
I'm not sure if I'm adding anything here, but one of the differences between low-quality and high-quality RAM (among many other things and assuming speed is the same) is the thickness of the gold that's plated on the contacts. You have to imagine that every time a piece of memory is inserted or removed it gets lightly scratched by the pins in the slot. It's very easy for a low-quality memory mfgs to not apply enough gold to the pins, so that if you were to two insert and remove your memory module 2 or 3 times you would literally remove all of the gold contact... thus your memory module would no longer have contact with the pins (I think it's something like copper below the gold... you have to remember we are talking about microinches). It would certainly be a lot cheaper for the mfg, especially if they are making a ton of them. That's probably one of the reasons why these guys may only offer a 1 year warranty. They are hoping that you wont change machines within the first year of owning the memory (which most people don't).
 
The discussion so far has been very helpful but I am still undecided. Any other suggestions would be great. 🙂

Thanks for posting. 🙂
 
sjpetry said:
Has anyone had any experience with 1-800-4-MEMORY I could use the extra 100 dollars. 🙂
Click to expand...

I have and am using their RAM. I have had their RAM in at least one of my systems since March of 2002 (when I bought the original iMac G4.....or at least when it arrived b/c I ordered it and it took 2 months🙂

15" iMac G4 800MHz SuperDrive - bought their 512MB stick for it and it worked flawlessly for 1 year (then I sold the iMac)
17" iMac G4 1GHz SuperDrive - bought their 512MB stick for it and it worked flawlessly for 1.5 years (then I sold the iMac)
12" iBook G4 800MHz ComboDrive - bought their 512MB stick for it and it worked flawlessly for 3 months (then I sold the iBook)
17" iMac G5 1.8GHz SuperDrive - bought their 1GB stick for it after this Christmas and it has worked flawlessly since

A friend of mine just bought the new 14" iBook w/SuperDrive and he ordered a 512MB stick from them to go with it (since I have been using them he decided to) and he has had NO problems with it. I think he's had the iBook for a month-and-a-half-or-so.

So I have had lots of experience with them and it is all good.
 
The only RAM recommended primarily by Apple according to their website is Crucial, RamJet,and OWC. If you get any others, then you are risking having issues with your system.

You just spent major dollars on your system, why would you want to go cheaply on something as important as RAM? Spend the extra bucks and build a respectable machine... 😀
 
cmvsm said:
The only RAM recommended primarily by Apple according to their website is Crucial, RamJet,and OWC. If you get any others, then you are risking having issues with your system.

You just spent major dollars on your system, why would you want to go cheaply on something as important as RAM? Spend the extra bucks and build a respectable machine... 😀
Click to expand...

Sure there's some truth to that, but I'm not sure I fully agree... I agree with getting good quality RAM... as the old adage goes; you get what you pay for. But I certainly wouldn't limit myself to specific brands just because the computer manufacturer’s web site said so. It's not far fetched to think that (partly) the reason why these manufacturers are listed is because they (or their parents) provide Apple with their OEM memory, so as a favour, they list their memory as “recommended”. I mean Kingston is a very well respected memory manufacturer and they're not listed. If Kingston won a contract to make Apple OEM memory next year, don't you think they would get added to the list?

Another example is the memory that Maya found at oupost before. $129 for a 1 GB would certainly lead people to believe it was not high quality, but many members mentioned they purchased that specific memory and had nothing but good things to say about it.
Ultimately, it's like anything else... Companies are marketing machines and will always try and recommend products that benefit themselves. There is nothing wrong with that... it's why companies are in business. As a consumer you just have to be a little bit ahead and make your own educated decision.

sjpetry said:
Is their any special way to put in Ram ie Best way to get rid of static.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you'll get different opinions on this, but as long as you don't rub your feet on the carpet and then open your notebook on the floor (on the carpet) you should be okay. If you're really worried, you can always get something like this , but I think that's overkill unless your a tech doing this stuff on a regular basis. Just try and do it on a desk or something.
 
sjpetry said:
Is their any special way to put in Ram ie Best way to get rid of static.
Click to expand...

RTFM!

The manual tells you how to insert RAM in your computer, how not to fry your computer, etc.
 
Thanks I think I am going to go with 1-800-4-MEMORY because Jovian9 like it and so did others.

Thank to everyone who posted you guys and gals are great. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
 
nichos said:
Sorry, can't help you with the 1-800 memory, but I have, and a few others have ordered this ram from outpost and my machine has been working great. It's about $20 more than the price you listed, but atleast you have a few people who can say it works 🙂
Click to expand...

This ram DOES NOT work in an AlPowerBook 17" 1.5GHZ. I really wanted it to and tried purchasing it twice. It knocked out my airport connection, requiring restart and ultimately, uninstalling the stick. Too bad too.
 
gost8go said:
This ram DOES NOT work in an AlPowerBook 17" 1.5GHZ. I really wanted it to and tried purchasing it twice. It knocked out my airport connection, requiring restart and ultimately, uninstalling the stick. Too bad too.
Click to expand...

😕 I don't have a PB I have a iMac G5.
 
sjpetry said:
😕 I don't have a PB I have a iMac G5.
Click to expand...

the ram in nichos's post is notebook ram. I read about that deal here on macrumors. Unfortunately it was too good to be true.
 
The RAM you're getting from 1-800-4-MEMORY is rated to run in the iMac. I've heard good things about them. Personally, I like Newegg. They have some RAM that people have used in their iMacs (read the reviews) without issue. It's about the same price. Around ~$160+shipping last time I checked.
 
solvs said:
The RAM you're getting from 1-800-4-MEMORY is rated to run in the iMac. I've heard good things about them. Personally, I like Newegg. They have some RAM that people have used in their iMacs (read the reviews) without issue. It's about the same price. Around ~$160+shipping last time I checked.
Click to expand...

Thanks. 🙂
 
solvs said:
The RAM you're getting from 1-800-4-MEMORY is rated to run in the iMac. I've heard good things about them. Personally, I like Newegg. They have some RAM that people have used in their iMacs (read the reviews) without issue. It's about the same price. Around ~$160+shipping last time I checked.
Click to expand...


I like the suggestion of newegg. i was going to say go to www.newegg.com and just order some name brand ram. Kingston, Crucial, Corisar, Musisk (sp) are all pretty good. General rule with ram go name brand you dont have to go Crucial which for some odd reason Apple people seem to swear by. (personly I like kingston and Corisar for my ram)
 
Timelessblur said:
I like the suggestion of newegg. i was going to say go to www.newegg.com and just order some name brand ram. Kingston, Crucial, Corisar, Musisk (sp) are all pretty good. General rule with ram go name brand you dont have to go Crucial which for some odd reason Apple people seem to swear by. (personly I like kingston and Corisar for my ram)
Click to expand...
I bought Crucial simply because how they have there website set up so it's easy to choose the right RAM for my system. It also ended up being a lot cheaper than my local reseller who specializes in selling OEM products.
 
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