Random RAM Question

[GoCubsGo]

So I goofed, I personally believed that it was me who goofed and not NewEgg. I ordered 4GB of Crucial RAM. Interestingly enough the RAM didn't fit despite my search string on NewEgg included "Mac" and "Apple" as far as RAM goes.

My question is when I went to stick the RAM in that little gap (for lack of better words) didn't line up. Clearly I had the wrong RAM. Does the placement of that gap change when RAM is buffered or unbuffered? The reason I ask is I was given unbuffered RAM. This is more my curiosity as I'm fully aware of how to rectify the issue. I think I just wanted to see if there was any other way to tell if the RAM is unbuffered.

Second to that I find it odd that I would have ordered unbuffered RAM and considering I was reading the specs out over the phone to someone who probably would have caught my error, it is odd. I searched NewEgg, went through my browser's history and found the page where I found the RAM. Turns out the RAM is no longer available. Interesting at best. The other RAM, which appears to be the same RAM (which I saw that night) is still there, still only $10 more. I recall comparing the two pages side by side and saw the only difference on the pages was the price and the CS, the RAM I have is 5 the RAM I didn't buy is 6.

 

[JeffDM]

I suggest returning the memory. A better way to be sure you get what you need is to order through Macsales.com and use their selector based on what computer you have. That way you know that the memory is designed for your Mac.

 

[Guiyon]

I searched NewEgg, went through my browser's history and found the page where I found the RAM. Turns out the RAM is no longer available. Interesting at best. The other RAM, which appears to be the same RAM (which I saw that night) is still there, still only $10 more. I recall comparing the two pages side by side and saw the only difference on the pages was the price and the CS, the RAM I have is 5 the RAM I didn't buy is 6.

Could you post a link to the RAM you were looking at so we have a bit more information to work with?

 

[CanadaRAM]

All RAM for Macs other than MacPros is unbuffered.

Regarding the slot not matching the key in the socket --- did you try the RAM label side down?

Really difficult to help further unless you tell us the model of your Mac and the model of the RAM you bought.

 

[velocityg4]

On newegg.com it is best to browse through categories rather than to use the search function. If you want to be safe they have a section specifically for Mac memory. But in the standard section you can usually find memory slightly cheaper just read through the customer reviews to find if the memory was found to be compatible with their Mac.

Try looking in Computer Hardware : Memory : Server Memory "For Mac Pro"
or Computer Hardware : Memory : Desktop Memory "Powermac G5"

Then do an Advanced Search for the memory you want "DDR2 FB-DIMM" in the capacity and size you want. For G5 their is "240 Pin DDR2 (Dual Core G5's)" and "184pin DDR (older G5's)"

Alternatively look under Apple : Mac Memory then do the advanced search as above

 

[Mackilroy]

Unbuffered RAM and buffered RAM look quite different... were you ordering for a Mac Pro or for your laptop?