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What kind of RAM to upgrade a 1.25GHz eMac (USB 2)?

M

madmaxmedia

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Dec 17, 2003
2,938
46
Los Angeles, CA
Hi all,

I currently have 2 x 512MB RAM in my 1.25GHz USB 2 eMac, and Leopard is kinda laggy on it. I want to get 2 x 1 GB, but am not sure what RAM to buy.

I know I can look for PC2700 333MHz SDRAM, but was wondering if newer RAM (DDR2, etc.) is compatible. Sometimes older slower RAM is more expensive since it's no longer made. I just want to find the cheapest upgrade path, if I can get additional performance gains that would be icing on the cake.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT- I just found on Wikipedia that DDR2 is not backwards compatible with DDR, and they also have a different pin configuration. So I assume I need to search for DDR desktop RAM?
 
Apple's max RAM spec is often low, I think they are based on the maximum available RAM sticks at the time. I'll look into it more though, thanks.

The other thing I noticed is that it is important to buy 'low density' instead of 'high density' RAM. There are a ton of eBay auctions with really cheap prices, turns out they are for 'high density' which doesn't seem to be compatible with the eMac (and many other desktop computers.)
 
Hmmm...I think you may be right, unfortunately. But thanks for the heads up!

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/You_have_...for_that_matter_1gig_in_each_of_the_two_slots

If you have the first, second or third revion then the maximum RAM that you can fit is 1 Gigabyte. However you need SDRAM in the first and second, but DDR SDRAM in the third.

If you have the last model (ie: the 1.42Ghz version) then you can upgrade to 2 Gigabytes, through the two expansion slots. The memory modules do not have to be installed in pairs, so you can have 512Mb in one slot and 256Mb in the second to give a total of 768MB, or 512Mb and 1Gb to give a total of 1.5Gb and so on... BUT you have to make sure that the memory module is correct to the eMac. For the 1.42Ghz is: "PC-2700: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 166 MHz using DDR-333 chips".
Click to expand...

Too bad. I guess it saves me some money... ;)
 
Arrrgh... so many wrong answers, so little time ;)

Floptical: It ain't a Core2Duo machine

The answers are in the MR Guide to Buying RAM

EveryMac is wrong, all USB 2.0 (DDR RAM) versions of the eMac G4 can go to 2 Gb RAM with 2 x 1 Gb DIMMs.

I would not go eBay on these, I recommend you stick with a reputable seller who guarantees compatibility.
If you are in the USA, Data Memory Systems has them for $49 each
 
Great, I'm back in the game!

I was wondering why the last eMac rev. would be different in this regard, since it seems practically identical to the USB2 model that I own. The only difference was an upgrade in graphics chip.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll do a bit more research to try to confirm that I can upgrade, will post back if I find anything else.

EDIT- Here's another post that seems to confirm my eMac can take 2GB-
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64631

EDIT 2- And here's one more thread at Apple.com that seems to seal the deal-
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5500245
 
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