[brent0saurus]

I recently bought a gig of crucial ram from newegg for $108 (so i couldn't let that offer go). This stick of ram has slightly different specifications than the last gig of ram i got which was kingmax. The crucial ram that i got meets the exact specifications that my powerbook needs (according to the Crucial website.)
So is there a good chance that this crucial ram will work better than my kingmax gig?

Here's the specs for the crucial ram: Specs: DDR PC2700 • CL=2.5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR333 • 2.5V • 128Meg x 64

I believe that the kingmax ram is the same except it's 2.6V instead of 2.5V... The only other thing i'm unsure about is the 128Meg x 64 but i think it's the same...

this is all the info that newegg has on the kingmax ram that i got a while back:
Brand KINGMAX
Model MSAD42D-KI
Type 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM
Tech Spec
Capacity 1GB
Speed DDR 333 (PC 2700)
Cas Latency 2.5
Voltage 2.6V
ECC No
Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered
Heat Spreader No

so will the Crucial RAM work better?
Also, will having 2 sticks of 1 gb work better than having one 1gig and one 512? (meaning is it better to have two of the same size)
and just to inform everyone, the Crucial ram is still on newegg but it's $116 instead. Still a pretty good deal in my opinion, though... especially for Crucial

thanks in advance for any information you can give me!

[ibook_steve]

You don't mention it, but I can assume you have a 15" or 17" prior to the current machines because you're using DDR instead of DDR2 with 2 slots. Those sticks are basically identical. The 128x64 simply refers to the organization of the RAM in the chips. This will be different depending on what stick you use, but they'll all work the same. As for 2.6 vs. 2.5, that must be a max voltage instead of regular operating voltage because all regular DDR runs at 2.5 or 1.8. Matching size between sticks will not matter with DDR in your Powerbook.

Steve

[mduell]

I'll agree with everything ibook_steve said.

[brent0saurus]

wow...wow, i couldn't have asked for a clearer explanation. Thank you so much! Hopefully there will be a difference between 1.5 gb of ram and 2 gb. thanks again!

[sxates]

The only part of those RAM specs that matter is the CAS latency. Lower is "better" but its arguable that it makes a tangible difference anyway. Since they're both the same, I wouldn't expect performace to be any different.

Having two identical sticks of ram is beneficial if your computer has "dual channel" capabilities, but to my knowledge the PBs do not.

[toconnor]

I too was in the market for 1GB chips for my 17" PowerBook 1GHz. In doing some research I see that a few manuf.'s offer two versions of RAM that would appear to both work in the PowerBook.

Patriot Memory (sold at Fry's)

1GB sold at Fry's for approx. $150.
http://www.patriotmem.com/products/s...sd1g33316s.pdf

Apple specific 1GB.
http://www.patriotmem.com/products/s...5121gg4pb2.pdf

Their product page shows a special column for Apple.
http://www.patriotmem.com/products/index.jsp?source=3

I contacted support and they said the PSA part number passes as Apple parts while the PSD version does not. The PSD should still work, though (that's what I'm using now and Apple Hardware Test clears it OK).



Looking at Ramjet I see that they too have Apple specific RAM sighting the importance of Bus Slewing for the early PowerBooks (1GHz-1.33 GHz).

http://www.ramjet.com/ItemDescription.asp?Item=G4AB1G



MemoryX lists the OEM Samsung brand for $199-219 depending on which page in their site you look at.

http://www.memoryx.net/17powtit1g.html



The Patriot RAM I'm using seems to be fine. I may get another 1GB to make 2GB total. I've been burned by bad RAM in my PowerBook before so I'm kind of once-bitten twice shy. The OEM Samsung memory from MemoryX is appealing for that reason - not the price, though it is still cheaper than buying it from Apple.

Todd

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by sxates

The only part of those RAM specs that matter is the CAS latency. Lower is "better" but its arguable that it makes a tangible difference anyway. Since they're both the same, I wouldn't expect performace to be any different.

Having two identical sticks of ram is beneficial if your computer has "dual channel" capabilities, but to my knowledge the PBs do not.

I believe CL is always 2.5 for DDR memory. You could have 2 or 3 with SDRAM, but I think all DDR is 2.5.

Steve

[mduell]

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

I believe CL is always 2.5 for DDR memory. You could have 2 or 3 with SDRAM, but I think all DDR is 2.5.

CL2 and CL3 are widely available for DDR.

[wuzup101]

Originally Posted by mduell

CL2 and CL3 are widely available for DDR.

Agreed.

You don't hear about them as much in the notebook market (especially the apple notebook market). If you were to build yourself a gaming PC (and start overclocking and such) you'd see that there are definitely both 2, 2.5, and 3 variants of DDR (just as there were for SDRAM).