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OWC vs Amazon for iMac RAM
- Thread starter -y0-
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I recommend OWC for SSD and RAM as I have made purchases with them in the past and even recently for my Mercury Electra SSD, but there prices are higher and you can get a better deal on Amazon. I recently upgraded both my MacBook Pro and Mac Mini to 8gb ram and the price difference was pretty significant and it works great. Just make sure you get the right one for your model.
I've bought lots of RAM from OWC (6 Macs of various flavors). OWC is pleasant to work with, has good prices, knows their stuff, and supports the Mac community. Sometimes others have less expensive prices (these days, only a few dollars cheaper). But if there's a problem, who will you call at Amazon?
Rock Solid point about OWC standing behind what they sell. They do have great tech support and customer service.
Generally with RAM or SSD's once you are beyond your 30 days, you have to go to the manufacturer for support and we all know how fun that can be. LOL
I agree I just recently ordered RAM for my MacBook and iMac. Shipped and got to the house in 3 days. I debated the same issue and chose OWC for the lifetime warranty. That was the real deal breaker
I go with the cheapest.
16GB for $99 ($79 after MIR) at Amazon or $145 + Shipping at OWC
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YUF8ZG
I like OWC, but in this case the markup isn't worth it.
There's only a few RAM factories in the world. So, it all comes from the same place. The only difference is the testing and included warranty.
16GB for $99 ($79 after MIR) at Amazon or $145 + Shipping at OWC
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YUF8ZG
I like OWC, but in this case the markup isn't worth it.
There's only a few RAM factories in the world. So, it all comes from the same place. The only difference is the testing and included warranty.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I buy all my memory from Newegg.com. Just ordered this yesterday...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231342
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231342
Newegg
I ended up getting 16 gigs of memory for my iMac at NewEgg for just about $102 with shipping. Great deal, works fantastic.
I ended up getting 16 gigs of memory for my iMac at NewEgg for just about $102 with shipping. Great deal, works fantastic.
Although this is an iMac discussion, I bought RAM for my MBP from Amazon. Kingston was the brand.
I would've bought from Newegg, but they required a bunch of extra information like the number to verify my Credit Card and something else I deemed unnecessary. Not to mention, I also have Amazon (Student) Prime for another 6 months, so I'm using it.
I would've bought from Newegg, but they required a bunch of extra information like the number to verify my Credit Card and something else I deemed unnecessary. Not to mention, I also have Amazon (Student) Prime for another 6 months, so I'm using it.
Having bought Mac memory from many sources since 1987 (US$1,400 for 4 MB back then, was used in a Mac Plus), I have stayed with OWC for the better part of the last decade. Good customer service, prompt shipping, and they actively support the Mac community. Indeed, Apple themselves could learn from them.
I'll never buy from Newegg again, bad mobo out of the box and had to pay for return shipping.
I buy things from OWC, Amazon, Crucial, and Newegg, but I only buy RAM from OWC and Crucial, probably a dozen purchases over the years and they have always worked and never failed.
Major reason is OWC specializes in Macs and Crucial specializes in RAMs and with either you are extremely unlikely to order the wrong thing. MacRumors (and other sites) are littered with posts from people who have ordered the wrong type of ram from Newegg. It's too easy to do.
Just yesterday I received 8GB of RAM for my aluminum Macbook from OWC ($70 including shipping). Only OWC claimed it was possible and listed the prerequisites (firmware and OS versions).
Major reason is OWC specializes in Macs and Crucial specializes in RAMs and with either you are extremely unlikely to order the wrong thing. MacRumors (and other sites) are littered with posts from people who have ordered the wrong type of ram from Newegg. It's too easy to do.
Just yesterday I received 8GB of RAM for my aluminum Macbook from OWC ($70 including shipping). Only OWC claimed it was possible and listed the prerequisites (firmware and OS versions).
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So I ordered 8gb of RAM from OWC for around $73, woo!
Sorry, but that is outrageous unless it is an actual 8gb card.
Even though the majority of this thread recommend OWC, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Amazon, and I personally prefer them.
They ship fast. They are generally one of the cheapest (got my recent 16GB [4x4] for $70 - free shipping), and have outstanding customer service (any rare time I have to deal with their CS, they are polite, super nice and ALWAYS accommodating - not to mention their "one time exception" rule which if you search this forum, you'll get a bunch of hilarious replies on).
I know this is late as you have already went OWC, but I am putting my vote in for Amazon regardless
For what its worth, I agree that Amazon is great with products and service. Plus, I had a gift card. So even though I have always bought Crucial for my pc's and macs, I ordered this:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-DDR3-...F8ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315453924&sr=8-1
for my brand new iMac 27" mid 2011. The first boot with the new Corsair memory and I got the dreaded beeps. Which usually means at least one of the new memory cards is bad. Reseated, and still no go. So sent them back to Amazon, ordered from Crucial, and the Crucial ram installed quickly and worked perfectly.
I know it is just one example of a bad stick. But I have NEVER had a bad Crucial ram stick through many years of pc's and macs.
And of course Amazon makes returns easy in a situation like this.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-DDR3-...F8ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315453924&sr=8-1
for my brand new iMac 27" mid 2011. The first boot with the new Corsair memory and I got the dreaded beeps. Which usually means at least one of the new memory cards is bad. Reseated, and still no go. So sent them back to Amazon, ordered from Crucial, and the Crucial ram installed quickly and worked perfectly.
I know it is just one example of a bad stick. But I have NEVER had a bad Crucial ram stick through many years of pc's and macs.
And of course Amazon makes returns easy in a situation like this.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Amazon is actually pretty good for RAM. They carry good brands, ship fast, have good prices and are easy to work with for exchanges.
That said, no matter where you order your RAM; run memtest as soon as you can. Detecting errors early will make it easier to return.
That said, no matter where you order your RAM; run memtest as soon as you can. Detecting errors early will make it easier to return.
Amazon, NewEgg and OWC are all great for buying memory. OWC deals mainly with Mac products, so you know that the memory will work. Amazon and NewEgg typically have better prices.
If you buy from Amazon or NewEgg, just check the reviews that users have written. Most of the time there are Mac users who will report how well the memory works in their systems. I have bought memory numerous times from NewEgg and have had no issues.
If you buy from Amazon or NewEgg, just check the reviews that users have written. Most of the time there are Mac users who will report how well the memory works in their systems. I have bought memory numerous times from NewEgg and have had no issues.
Just got my RAM from OWC
I ordered 8GB for $70 bucks not bad.
system seems noticeably faster.
Took a little bit longer to boot up LOL.
Anyway arrived on time.
Would buy from again.
Hopefully I will get my money out of it in the future
I ordered 8GB for $70 bucks not bad.
system seems noticeably faster.
Took a little bit longer to boot up LOL.
Anyway arrived on time.
Would buy from again.
Hopefully I will get my money out of it in the future
That's caused by the memory test when the power is turned on. More memory = more time. Time to "safe sleep" and entering/leaving "hibernation" are also increased because RAM has to be saved/restored to disk. You lose some disk capacity in the process as well.