Non Apple RAM? What does this mean?

[stoid]

I'm looking at upgrading the RAM in my PowerBook from the stock 2x256MB chips to 1.25 by purchasing a 1GB chip. I looked on dealram.com and the cheapest 1GB chip is $265 but it says that it is not compatible with Apple laptops The cheapest RAM that is list as compatible with Apple laptops is $319. Why do I have to spend $55 more for the Apple chip?!? I am a poor college student having to work a few part time jobs over the summer so that I can afford college next year and so this $55 DOES make a difference to me.

What is it about RAM chips that determine compatibility with an Apple laptop, because I can't see any difference in the technical specifications?

Thanks for the help,

stoid

 

[mikeyredk]

they just want to milk* you its perfectly fine use buy the cheaper $265

 

[reaper]

I think it's just another way for them to get you to pay more money. I put more ram into my G4 tower and it wasn't from Apple and it works great. I bought mine from crucial so I would use their compatibility database and see what they can offer you. Hope that helps.

- reaper

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

make sure they are Small Outline DIMMS.

 

[stoid]

I called 1-800-4MEMORY and the operator told me that the internal prgramming on the chips is what made one chip incompatible while the Samsung chip has more compatible on chip programming.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

i was purchasing ram for an emac last summer, and i (obviously) ran into the same issue. apple systems use standard ram. period. HOWEVER, make EXTRA sure that it is compatible with your system. I purchased several hundered dollars of ram for a few systems, only to find that none of it worked. why? it was the wrong density. high vs. low density ram DOES make a difference and i at the time couldnt' find it in apples documentation anywhere. That was frustrating, but the issue came up when the place I bought the ram from charged me a restocking fee. That sucked. All the places will do this, and the only way for them to "guarantee" that it will work with your system is to use a memory configurator. that configurator will give you the higher priced ram.

moral of the story: yes, you can buy the cheaper ram, and it will work just fine, but watch out so you dont' get burned

PS I have purchased the "cheaper" ram for other systems with no problem.

good luck

 

[26139]

Memory...

You certainly don't have to buy apple's ram, but I would really suggest staying with a dealer such as kingston or crucial. Ram is an important part of a computer, and any irregularities caused by malfunctioning ram could be quite damaging and/or time consuming.
Ask your self this, would you rather pay extra for something you KNOW will work, or less for something that SHOULD work?
I mean, come on, you got a mac instead of a pc, that answer should be obvious.