[RobOnTheCape]

I went online to buy a 512 piece, but the site advertises a generic piece at 41 bucks, but has another 512 piece and says "*HYPERFORMANCE* OMNI TECHNOLOGIES BRAND iBook G4 PC2100 512MB DDR SO DIMM RAM *SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE ! *REGISTERED APPLE DEVELOPER! *CERTIFIED MEMORY MANUFACTURE". This for 54 dollars or so.

Anyone tell me if they think the extra few bucks is worth it, or is ram just ram. I'm putting it into an 800 mhz ibook with 256 presently.

Thanks

[rickey939]

Omni Technologies has always been big on eBay with the use of catch-phrases and words...

http://omnitechnologies.biz/

Is Omni memory better over Generic? Probably not. Is Omni better at marketing? Hell yes.

[Chuckit]

RAM is not just RAM, as you'll see if you read around here. Some vendors tend to produce slightly defective RAM that will send your OS X into an insane tizzy. It's probably the No. 1 cause of kernel panics.

That said, I don't know jack about these companies, so hey.

[RobOnTheCape]

Then I guess I'm still wondering is it worth it to buy one ram type over another? I see Crucial selling 512 pieces for 112, while most others are at 50 or so.

[rickey939]

Make sure whatever you buy comes with a "Lifetime Warranty" as well!

[residentEvil]

As with the other dozen or so threads; stick with Ramjet (ramjet.com). Free shipping, lifetime warranty, 100% compat with Apple products.

[ghporter]

I'd go with Crucial. You get a great warranty, high quality parts, and a guarantee that if you say "I want RAM for computer X" that it WILL WORK or they'll replace it with a part that does free of charge. those "$50 RAM" vendors may not be selling top of the line parts, there's usually a pretty big "gotcha" in their warranty, and they most certainly won't make things right without a hassle if the part doesn't work.

Crucial, Kingston, and few others are good enough to go with without any worry. If you don't know whether "RAM is RAM," then you need to go with a company that guarantees they'll get you the part you need.

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by RobOnTheCape

Then I guess I'm still wondering is it worth it to buy one ram type over another? I see Crucial selling 512 pieces for 112, while most others are at 50 or so.

Never buy name brand RAM direct from the manufacturer. Go to a reseller like NewEgg or ZZF. It's usually a great deal cheaper.

[chabig]

RAM is RAM if the specs match. Go for the cheap stuff, but make sure you can return it if it doesn't work. If you put it in and it works, then it'll probably be good forever.

Chris

[Millennium]

Ideally, RAM should be just RAM; the specs are pretty clear on this. Unfortunately, some vendors -the cheap, relatively fly-by-night shops in particular- don't quite follow the specs. Many PCs can tolerate some degree of deviance from the specs, but Macs are notoriously sensitive to this sort of thing.

As long as you buy from a reputable manufacturer, there shouldn't be much need to worry, though. Most of the reputable manufacturers take care to completely follow the specs.

[Kenneth]

I bought RAMs from Crucial, OWC, and transintl.com.

[macaddict0001]

funny, I just bought a 512 chip for the same machine.
I got this...
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...asp?EdpNo=6992
in a week or two when it arrives, I'll tell you how well it works...

[baw]

ramjet.com is great as well.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by chabig

RAM is RAM if the specs match. Go for the cheap stuff, but make sure you can return it if it doesn't work. If you put it in and it works, then it'll probably be good forever.

Chris

Yes, the specs need to match, but cheap RAM is often marginal and will function with errors under many conditions.

Mac OS X puts high demands on its RAM, and needs error-free RAM to work reliably.

tooki

[tooki]

P.S. Note that the specs do not include error rates. If they did, then maybe specs alone would do.

[ReggieX]

As always: when you buy cheap crap, you get cheap crap.

[sek929]

I've got two generic 256s and one generic 512 in my Mac. Flawless for about a year...

I say go cheap.

[stevesnj]

I bought Ram for my PowerBook (Kingston ValueRam 1GB) and worked flawless under Panther. Once I installed Tiger (HAd to remove it to install Tiger) I get Browser and Program crashes and kernel panics. I took out the RAM and all is well so far. I thought it was the HD...I have a new HD on the way but it may be just RAM. Im gonna buy a matching Samsung thats in there. But don't be surprised if Tiger goes nuts on you.

[The Windozer]

[removed oversize image -- tooki]

*Chuckles*

...What?

[Kenneth]

Image is too big, bro.

[CanadaRAM]

Originally Posted by chabig

RAM is RAM if the specs match.

Erm... no. The problem is, you NEVER get to see all the specs. It's like saying: This is a Chevy piston, it'll fit any Chevy motor.

Macs require that the Serial Presence Detect settings be correctly set. Most PC's don't. so the cheapest vendors don't bother setting them properly for Macs. The SPD settings and the internal chip organization will make or break Mac compatibility. You cannot tell this by the specs you see. The only way to know is to test.

Cricual for example has a generic PC2700 SODIMM CL2.5 128x64 yadda yadda for about $130 and a Powerbook PC2700 SODIMM CL2.5 same yadda for $193. Why? Because their generic build doesn't work in some Powerbooks and they have to sell a different build of chip. Now if you get a Crucial generic piece, or a Kingston ValueRAM module either direct from them or from NewBestTigerEggFryBuy.com, you have no guarantee of compatibility with Macs, because it's not their Mac-tested module. If it doesn't work, you will be out time and trouble, shipping costs and perhaps restocking charges. Worst case scenario - it works for a while and then fails outside of your return for refund window, and perhaps corrupts your data in the process.

A word about companies who advertise "Hyperformance" and "Superior speed" - Absolute frippin' codswallop. Even if the RAM WERE faster speed and lower latency (it's not) it doesn't make a blind bit of difference in a Mac. Avoid such hucksters.

Your best bet is to buy from a reputable seller who tests and guarantees compatibility with your model Mac, who offers a lifetime warranty, and a no-cost return if it doesn't work.

RAMJet, OWC and Crucial all have their fans, I like Data Memory Systems if you are in the USA.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[MacNStein]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I'd go with Crucial. You get a great warranty, high quality parts, and a guarantee that if you say "I want RAM for computer X" that it WILL WORK or they'll replace it with a part that does free of charge. those "$50 RAM" vendors may not be selling top of the line parts, there's usually a pretty big "gotcha" in their warranty, and they most certainly won't make things right without a hassle if the part doesn't work.

Seconded.

[chabig]

Originally Posted by CanadaRAM

I like Data Memory Systems if you are in the USA.

I like MemoryX too.

Chris

[macaddict0001]

It works fine so far, just got it and installed it, had one hard freeze that I can't link to memory.

[olePigeon]

I buy it as long as it has a lifetime warranty.

You can check out Pricewatch.com.

[RobOnTheCape]

Mine came in from Ramjet the other day. I paid quite a bit more than the cheapest price I found online, however, the genius at the Apple store(Braintree), said he heard good things about that company, and the lifetime warranty should be a clincher. He smirked and said go for reputation and warranty and don't worry about exact specs geared towards Macs.

The 512 piece transformed the performance on this thing from quite sluggish to quite zippy.

Question. Will adding more ram make this ibook mored zippy running single apps, or will it be overkill, unless I want to run multiple apps.

[macaddict0001]

512 is the maximum for the 800 ibook(not including the 128 soldered to the mobo) it would only recognize 512 megs of a bigger chip anyway.