Ram for Power Mac G5 dual 2.0

[Christopher11]

Hi all. I have a little issue with the ram in my Power Mac G5. My Power Mac is a G5 dual 2.0 ghz Power PC, PCI version. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2GB-KIT-2X1GB-PC3200-DDR-400Mhz-FOR-DELL-DIMENSION-3000-RAM-MEMORY-LIFETIME-WARR-/151615696297? It came with 1.5 gigs of ram: two 512 sticks and two 256. Right now, it shows only the two 512 sticks working; the other two slots say "empty". I'm not sure why.

I bought some ram and tried it. I think it was the wrong kind: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151583031871?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I'm going to return it and order some more ram, and make sure it is a kind that works for Mac. I believe it should take a total of 4 gigs. I'm just going to try two new sticks, 1GB each. That will give me quite a lot. Any thoughts on why it's not seeing the 256 slots? One thing I should note: when I installed the ram that doesn't work, the Mac did not like it. Red light came on, and it wouldn't even start up. I had quite a time getting things configured in a way that would even let me start up again, with the original ram. I understand they need to be 1, 1, 2, 2 as matched pairs. Even knowing that, it seemed fussy.

If two slots are bad or something, I should still be able to install two new 1GB sticks in the current good slots, right?


Thanks so much for all the help at this forum. You guys are great.

 

[Surrat]

Hi all. I have a little issue with the ram in my Power Mac G5. My Power Mac is a G5 dual 2.0 ghz Power PC, PCI version. http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g5/specs/powermac_g5_2.0_dp_pci.html It came with 1.5 gigs of ram: two 512 sticks and two 256. Right now, it shows only the two 512 sticks working; the other two slots say "empty". I'm not sure why.

I bought some ram and tried it. I think it was the wrong kind: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151583031871?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I'm going to return it and order some more ram, and make sure it is a kind that works for Mac. I believe it should take a total of 4 gigs. I'm just going to try two new sticks, 1GB each. That will give me quite a lot. Any thoughts on why it's not seeing the 256 slots? One thing I should note: when I installed the ram that doesn't work, the Mac did not like it. Red light came on, and it wouldn't even start up. I had quite a time getting things configured in a way that would even let me start up again, with the original ram. I understand they need to be 1, 1, 2, 2 as matched pairs. Even knowing that, it seemed fussy.

If two slots are bad or something, I should still be able to install two new 1GB sticks in the current good slots, right?


Thanks so much for all the help at this forum. You guys are great.

Actually, that ram you bought should work fine in your G5. If its not showing up, its possible your ram slots have gone bad. Try the ram you got in the other slots. Check to see they are clean. If they are, maybe your having problems with your G5's memory controller, those run really hot and their heatsink is on the back of the motherboard, so a major pain to clean it if its dusted up.

 

[ctmpkmlec4]

It is possible to have bad RAM slots. If only two slots are good, you will be limited to a maximum of 2 GB of memory.

 

[DeltaMac]

...
... Red light came on, and it wouldn't even start up. I had quite a time getting things configured in a way that would even let me start up again, with the original ram. I understand they need to be 1, 1, 2, 2 as matched pairs. Even knowing that, it seemed fussy.

If two slots are bad or something, I should still be able to install two new 1GB sticks in the current good slots, right?
...

You have four memory slots. The memory should be installed in pairs, from the center slots out - meaning, one pair in slots 2 and 3, and a second pair would go in slots 1 and 4. 1,2 and 3,4 won't work - unless all 4 are the same size and speed.
The red light simply means that your side panel/Air Deflector is not in place, and does not, by itself, indicate a problem with memory. The main indicator for a memory problem is the front panel power LED, which will flash in several different sequences, depending on the memory problem that exists.

If it turns out that one pair of your slots is not working, then - yes, you should be OK with the maximum in just one pair of slots, which will be 2 x 1GB PC3200

 

[Christopher11]

Actually, that ram you bought should work fine in your G5. If its not showing up, its possible your ram slots have gone bad. Try the ram you got in the other slots. Check to see they are clean. If they are, maybe your having problems with your G5's memory controller, those run really hot and their heatsink is on the back of the motherboard, so a major pain to clean it if its dusted up.

Do you really think this ram should work? I am happy to try it again rather than sending it back. It seemed like my machine did not like it, and wouldn't even start up. I think it's good ram and everything, just wondered if it didn't work for this machine. I can try to plug it into the two current slots I know work.

 

[Christopher11]

Hey hey it worked! It's showing 3 gigs of ram, all four slots showing up. Two 512, and two 1GB. I'm glad I don't have to return that ram, it was only 11. dollars, and it's Kingston ram which I believe is good. I may even buy two more and max it out, at that price.

Thanks for all the help.