Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Weird RAM issues

krash91

krash91

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 30, 2012
4
0
Hola guys! Been having some strange RAM issues with my macbook pro. I just got this macbook, 15" pro (mid 2012 model) with 4GB ram. I'm doing some CAD stuff so I decided to upgrade the RAM. I bought 8GB of Samsung ram (2 4 gig sticks) from Microcenter, here's a link to the exact RAM:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/380715/8GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL11_SO-DIMM_Dual_Channel_Laptop_Memory_Kit_(Two_4GB_Memory_Modules)

Installed it and everything was fine and dandy. Then a few days ago my macbook froze so I had to hard reset it. When I turned it back on, it gave me the 3 beeps. So I took the RAM out and re-installed it, worked, sweet. The next day, same thing happened, I did the same thing again, and it worked again. It was also running rather warmer than usual. Today I ran the Rember application and let it run while I went out for lunch. I came back home and my mac was giving the three beeps. Took the ram out and re-installed it, 3 beeps. Took it out again and re-installed 1 stick, worked. shut it down and installed the second stick, worked. Its running fine now, not even warm either, but removing and re-installing the RAM every day is getting to be a real pain in the neck. Any ideas on what could be going wrong? I made sure the ram was inserted properly and everything. I'm temped to return this ram and buy some Crucial ram:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148614

I've read success stories about that RAM. Anyway thanks for any input!

P.S. - Does the latency really matter?
 
The only issue I have with that is that its 1.5v rather than 1.35v. G.Skill is a great brand and I wouldn't hesitate buying it if it weren't for that.
 
krash91 said:
The only issue I have with that is that its 1.5v rather than 1.35v. G.Skill is a great brand and I wouldn't hesitate buying it if it weren't for that.
Click to expand...

That shouldn't matter though. Your Mac will run 1.5v RAM. Some 2012 model owners have even reported that their macs shipped with 1.5v RAM.
 
michial said:
www.macsales.com OWC is a good option with over 20 years of positive rep.
Click to expand...

Corsair has been around nearly as long and as far as I'm concerned they've got a good reputation as well. I can't see paying the prices OWC asks for their components. You can find better prices elsewhere on comparable quality parts.
 
T5BRICK said:
Corsair has been around nearly as long and as far as I'm concerned they've got a good reputation as well. I can't see paying the prices OWC asks for their components. You can find better prices elsewhere on comparable quality parts.
Click to expand...

Then don't. Buy corsair :) Just offering another option. I figure if I can get 16gb of RAM for under $100.00 with free 2nd day air shipping from OWC, a lifetime warranty, 24/7 customer service and one of the best reputations working with Apple, its worth it to me.
 
Wow, thanks for all the input guys! OWC would be ideal, but I'm a student, so the extra cash makes a huge difference. My parents really did me a HUGE favor by getting me this thing, I'm still in shock.

I got the idea of 16gb in my head after cruising newegg and seeing the prices, but I don't really NEED it. 8GB is actually more than enough for me, so I might just get the 8GB OWC set for $50. I just don't like paying a premium for ignorance on my part. Knowing that I could get 16GB for $15 more from crucial is gonna eat at me haha

I'm guessing OWC has a latency of 9?
 
krash91 said:
Wow, thanks for all the input guys! OWC would be ideal, but I'm a student, so the extra cash makes a huge difference. My parents really did me a HUGE favor by getting me this thing, I'm still in shock.

I got the idea of 16gb in my head after cruising newegg and seeing the prices, but I don't really NEED it. 8GB is actually more than enough for me, so I might just get the 8GB OWC set for $50. I just don't like paying a premium for ignorance on my part. Knowing that I could get 16GB for $15 more from crucial is gonna eat at me haha

I'm guessing OWC has a latency of 9?
Click to expand...

OWC is CL11. You can get better deals on 2 x 4GB or 2 x 8GB elsewhere.
 
AppleMacFinder said:
Of course it matters! Apple stock RAM is CL9.
CL9 RAM - more speed and compatibility, compared to CL11.
Click to expand...

Not always. My wife's Micron set was 1.5 V CL 11.

OP, I recommend you wait and keep checking Newegg for a good deal. I got my wife's RAM when it was $45.99 for the same G. Skill CL 10 1.5 V set that was listed earlier. It will happen again for a decent price.

If you want to go for 1.35V RAM there is a Mushkin set and Crucial set for sale on Newegg. At the moment the Crucial set is sold out and the Mushkin set didn't work for me and I had to RMA it. The G. Skill is a good bet and there is a Corsair set for $79.99 that is CL 10. The only CL 9 is a Corsair set for more than $140.
 
krash91 said:
Hola guys! Been having some strange RAM issues with my macbook pro.
Click to expand...

Then a few days ago my macbook froze so I had to hard reset it. When I turned it back on, it gave me the 3 beeps. So I took the RAM out and re-installed it, worked, sweet. The next day, same thing happened, I did the same thing again, and it worked again. It was also running rather warmer than usual. Today I ran the Rember application and let it run while I went out for lunch. I came back home and my mac was giving the three beeps. Took the ram out and re-installed it, 3 beeps. Took it out again and re-installed 1 stick, worked. shut it down and installed the second stick, worked. Its running fine now, not even warm either, but removing and re-installing the RAM every day is getting to be a real pain in the neck. Any ideas on what could be going wrong? I made sure the ram was inserted properly and everything.
Click to expand...

Any chance I can bring this discussion back to the main point of krash91's original post?

I've been having this very same issue on a 2011 MBP with (2)4GB sticks of Crucial memory. I've narrowed down the RAM crashes (three beeps) to when I physically move the laptop. I've had it to the genius bar but came away with nothing outside of a work order to replace the logic board and hard drive.

I've run Rember numerous times with nominal results always.

I don't have the original RAM from the MBP with me (in a different location being used in a different computer). I have taken a stick out and run with one and swapped and etc... but the memory crashes are so sporadic it turned up nothing.

I'm going to order 16GB of RAM from Crucial and see if it still crashes. If so, into Apple it goes for the once over.

BUT! I'm still very vexed as to the cause of the crashes. I've saved a few crash reports if anyone is that interested in lending a helping hand.

Cheers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back