[SpeedRacer]

Founds some really great prices on PC133-based RAM (which i understand will "speed-down" to PC100 speeds in older Macs.

My question:

Does it matter if memory is labelled explicitly as "generic" vs. a known brand if the warrantees and speeds (2-2-2) are the same?

A good answer is worth the link!

Speed

As demonstrated by the recent firmware debacle, there are differences (albeit subtle ones) between RAM. Prices tend to be good everywhere and a warranty is only as good as the vendor. There's little reason to go with less reliable vendors for what is likely less than a 10% difference (if not less).

[zigzag]

My advice is to not worry about name-brand memory (or 2-2-2) as long as you buy from an established vendor who unconditionally guarantees the RAM. You can compare prices at www.ramseeker.com.

The recent firmware controversy really had nothing to do with price or vendor. In fact, it was generally the higher-priced RAM that was configured to run only at 2-2-2 that caused the problem, because the Apple firmware update requires RAM to run at 3-2-2 as well as 2-2-2. Unfortunately, people were demanding 2-2-2 RAM (and paying more for it) under the mistaken belief that it was significantly better, so some manufacturers were configuring it accordingly.

The speed advantages of 2-2-2 RAM are insignificant - measured in nanoseconds, or billionths of a second. The only people who might benefit from it are NASA engineers. The reason Apple is requiring 3-2-2 as well as 2-2-2 is because it appears to offer more stability. I wouldn't spend more for 2-2-2 RAM.

[mkincaid]

Don't pay more. My advice is to go to a local electronics store with good prices and a fairly generous refund policy (example: Fry's Electronics in CA Bay Area). Run the firmware update first (then if the RAM doesn't work, it's the RAM's fault, not yours ) Get the cheapest RAM that meets the specs you want (such as 2-2-2) and if it doesn't work, just return it and say it didn't work in your machine. Then try the next price level up.

Just make sure you go to a store that does returns within the 30 days even if opened.

[This message has been edited by mkincaid (edited 04-12-2001).]