Planning for The Ocho - 3rd Party RAM?

[brooker]

Hey everyone, thanks for the great advice given here. I'm looking for a little help.

I really want to get an 8-core set up (gotta rock the virtualization), but i don't want to pay Apple's prices for RAM (even with the recent drop). I've been shopping around and reading what i can, but i'm a little stumped.

What's the problem with buying cheap chips like these from NewEgg or similar? Would there be a performance difference? The price difference is HUGE, and worth the risk, no?

Thanks for the help.

 

[rdowns]

There are 7,432 threads on cheap RAM in Macs. Here's the summary of them. Don't buy it unless the manufacturer guarantees Mac compatibility. A lifetime warranty should also be provided. Some places to shop...


www.crucial.com

http://www.datamemorysystems.com

Cheap RAM often leads to this...

 

[iW00t]

If you can afford Ocho you can afford Apple original(tm) ram.

 

[Frankf300]

I was one of those many people who started one of these threads when I upgraded the RAM on my iBook . I was also looking at going with some cheap generic RAM, but after getting some replies here I decided against it. Based on reccomendatons given here I went with Data Memory Systems (DMS). They guarantee all their RAM and promise Mac compatability, plus I got 2nd Day Air for like $2 extra than standard lol. I'd say go with either DMS or Crucial though I don't like Crucial's pricing practices, so I'd say just go with DMS. It'll be worth it in the long run.

 

[shecky]

i just wanted to add that i am extremely pleased people are referring to it as "The Ocho"

 

[diamond3]

What would be nice is if everyone would list where they got there ram and then we compile it together into two big lists. Working and Non-working. Then if we could somehow include this in the buying guide for the mac pro. I think that would help a lot of people out. It's just an idea I have been hoping for that I think should be on every "buyers guide."

 

[TheMasin9]

Agreed

i just wanted to add that i am extremely pleased people are referring to it as "The Ocho"

its almost as good as ESPN 8....

 

[brooker]

What would be nice is if everyone would list where they got there ram and then we compile it together into two big lists. Working and Non-working. Then if we could somehow include this in the buying guide for the mac pro. I think that would help a lot of people out. It's just an idea I have been hoping for that I think should be on every "buyers guide."

Yeah, i totally second that. I had done a lot of searching for thru the forums looking for people's experience with Mac Pro RAM in particular. I have fairly cheap RAM in my PB, and it works great. But i thought it might be different in the Mac Pro.

If you can afford Ocho you can afford Apple original(tm) ram.

Not so! Just becuase i want to invest in a powerful machine doesn't mean that i have tons of bling to blow. After the 8-cores, i won't have much left, so i need to keep it super slim. Gotta limit my debt! Why pay more anyway? same goes for the hard drives.

i just wanted to add that i am extremely pleased people are referring to it as "The Ocho"

As if we had an option!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. What do we have to do to get a sticky good v. bad ram thread?

And has anyone out there thrown caution to the wind and put some discounted ram in their Mac Pro?

 

[CanadaRAM]

What's the problem with buying cheap chips like these from NewEgg or similar? Would there be a performance difference? The price difference is HUGE, and worth the risk, no?

Do you mean -- apart from it being completely the wrong type of RAM?

Listen to rdowns. Buy from a reputable dealer who tests and guarantees compatibility with your model Mac, offers a lifetime warranty, and a no-cost return or replacement if it is DOA.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

 

[brooker]

Do you mean -- apart from it being completely the wrong type of RAM?

Listen to rdowns. Buy from a reputable dealer who tests and guarantees compatibility with your model Mac, offers a lifetime warranty, and a no-cost return or replacement if it is DOA.

Ha ha! I was just realizing that. Good looking out. Doing more research, i found a few sources that talk about the importance of the larger heatsinks when the system is under load. There is also discussion about the differences between the 512 and 1GB modules...

So, my conclusion is to go with the 4GB kit from OWC, and either use their cool rebate policy to pull down the price a bit, or sell the stock RAM on ebay (unless someone here wants it). That's a ~$300 savings over BTO 4GB. AND I get the "Advanced Replacement" warranty. Sounds good to me!

Thanks again for all your help, folks. And if anyone has stories of using cheap 3rd party modules, i'd still be interested in hearing them...

Now i just gotta figure out the disk drive situation...

 

[Father Jack]

What would be nice is if everyone would list where they got there ram and then we compile it together into two big lists. Working and Non-working. Then if we could somehow include this in the buying guide for the mac pro. I think that would help a lot of people out. It's just an idea I have been hoping for that I think should be on every "buyers guide."

2 Gb Apple installed + 4 Gb Crucial ram I installed.

All working fine