is all computer memory equal?
Posted by: Joe Petrik on 04 October 2004
Got one for the IT pros here...
Is all computer memory created equal if the type, amount and speed match? Specifically, is 2x512 MB DDR400 (PC 3200) DIMMs from, say, Kingston equal to the same-spec DIMMs from PNY or from Centron or any other manufacturer for that matter?
Certainly not all hi-fi watts are created equal – Nait watts being more powerful than, say, Sony watts -- so I'm curious if some manufacturer's memory is better than another's, all other things being equal.
Joe
Posted on: 05 October 2004 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
For Mac heads, it's all about the {style}
I just ordered a new iMac for my desk at work... 20" display, 1.8 GHz G5, and a gig of RAM.
Style
and substance. Well, in a geek-chic way.
Posted on: 05 October 2004 by Bob Edwards
Joe--
I've ordered my Mac memory from OWC and from Crucial. Not the cheapest, but I just don't want any possible issue to come up....
Both have worked perfectly and were quite good to deal with....
Bob
Posted on: 05 October 2004 by Jez Quigley
Posted on: 11 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
Well, I took Roy's advice -- "You read all the reviews, you ask your friends and then buy something that looks fast.
This is how the transaction went...
*
Big-box store A had a sale on Kingston Hyper X DIMMs (reduced price plus mail-in rebate offer).
*
Big-box store B has a policy to match
big-box store A's price, plus a percentage of the difference.
* But
Big-box store B doesn't have Kington's rebate offer, so they further reduce the street price by
big-box store A's rebate amount.
-------------------------------------------------------
The upshot -- I got 2x512 MB of
Kingston Hyper X PC3200 DIMMs for $210 US. I haven't done a lot of comparisons, but that seems like a good price for 1 GB of RAM with a blue heat sink.
Thanks to all for the advice... and fingers crossed that these DIMMs will work just fine in a G5 tower.
Joe
Posted on: 11 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
I've never installed RAM before, so please excuse my ignorance and obsessiveness over whether I've done it right. This is what I just did/observed...
The Kingston DIMMs installed OK, as in they fit the slots.
The computer booted OK -- no difference from usual.
When I run About This Mac it says I have 2 GB DDR SDRAM. I had 1 GB before and I just installed another GB, so it should be 2.
When I run the System Profiler it shows that four RAM slots are full -- the original two DIMMs come up as "PC3200U-30330" and the two new Kingston DIMMS come up as "PC3200U-30440". Note that the type is slightly different. Is this a problem?
The Activity Monitor shows that I have 2 GB of RAM, and if I open enough applications I used more than 1 GB, so the new RAM must be in use.
So, given the above, is it fair to say that the RAM is installed and working correctly?
Joe
Posted on: 11 October 2004 by Jim Lawson
no.
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
quote:
no
D'oh, who would have thought so?
The reason I asked -- despite all signs pointing to success -- is that I checked Kingston's site (embarrassingly
after I bought the RAM) and it says the Hyper X DIMMS are for PC only. Other DIMMs on their site say for PC/Mac or for Mac only, suggesting that PC3200 RAM is not full compatible across platforms. But the Hyper X DIMMS obviously work in a Mac -- mine -- so can I assume that the "for PC only" warning is really more a comment that these DIMMs are designed with overclockers in mind, presumably the purview of PC users, not that, sometime down the road, my Mac will 'xplode because I installed the wrong RAM?
Joe
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by Roy T
Joe you can check at
Crucial as they will let you know what will fit in your apple flavoured box.
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
Roy,
quote:
you can check at Crucial as they will let you know what will fit in your apple flavoured box.
Cheers. I checked Crucial as you suggested and Kingston HyperX didn't come up amongst the RAM listed as compatible with a G5. But the computer obviously recognizes the Kingston DIMMs and everything works OK as far as I can tell, so I suppose I shouldn't lose any sleep over this.
Thanks to everyone for the advice and help. This is what I value about this forum... that blokes half way around the world will take time to help another bloke. I'd like to return the favour, but I'm an expert on but one thing -- Buffy. So, if anyone needs advice on which of the DVDs to buy feel free to ask.
Joe
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by pingu
Joe said
"but I'm an expert on but one thing -- Buffy."
Ok, so why is Willow called Willow then?
Cliff ^B^B^B^B^B^B Chris
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by Martin Payne
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
the computer obviously recognizes the Kingston DIMMs and everything works OK as far as I can tell, so I suppose I shouldn't lose any sleep over this.
Joe,
an Apple expert may like to comment on this before you try it, but if this was a PC I would try to remove the old RAM, and ensure the machine runs OK with ONLY the new RAM in place.
You can get some quite subtle (and very occaisional) corruption errors from RAM problems, and these are most likely to show up when the OS is loaded into that RAM. The OS may be loading into the old RAM, so you might not notice a problem for months.
As I say, have this vetted by someone who knows something about Macs before you try it.
cheers, Martin
E-mail:- MartinPayne (at) Dial.Pipex.com. Put "Naim" in the title.
Posted on: 12 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
pingu,
quote:
Ok, so why is Willow called Willow then?
Ummm... because that's what her parents, Ira and Shelia Rosenberg, named her?
______________________________________
Martin,
quote:
You can get some quite subtle (and very occaisional) corruption errors from RAM problems, and these are most likely to show up when the OS is loaded into that RAM. The OS may be loading into the old RAM, so you might not notice a problem for months.
I give that a try. So, if the OS loads fine into the new Kingston RAM alone, does that mean that the new RAM is likely to be fully compatible?
Joe
Posted on: 19 October 2004 by Joe Petrik
Martin,
quote:
...if this was a PC I would try to remove the old RAM, and ensure the machine runs OK with ONLY the new RAM in place.
Sorry, forgot to get back to you. I did as you suggested -- removed the old RAM and put the new Kingston RAM in its place -- and the machine booted OK and recognized the memory.
Although maybe not the definitive test, I'll take this as a sign that the Kingston RAM is fully compatible with my Mac, despite the DIMMs being labelled "for PC only."
Thanks to all for the advice and help.
Best,
Joe
Posted on: 19 October 2004 by Martin Payne
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Petrik:
Although maybe not the definitive test, I'll take this as a sign that the Kingston RAM is fully compatible with my Mac, despite the DIMMs being labelled "for PC only."
Joe,
yup, that was the point of the test.
cheers, Martin
E-mail:- MartinPayne (at) Dial.Pipex.com. Put "Naim" in the title.
