[danbrew]

I should know this, and do know that you generally want your memory speeds to match. I recently acquired a DPG5 and installed an extra 2 gigs of memory. I thought the speed was simply "3200" - but I happened to notice that the System Profiler says this:

DDR SDRAM PC3200U-30330 for the two stock 256m chips and
DDR SDRAM PC3200U-33440 for the four 512m chips

Big deal? Does the suffix simply indicate a different size chip? Or do I have mismatched speeds?

thanks - danbrew

[Akai]

Those two chips are the same speed (PC3200 - AKA: 400Mhz) the other stuff tacked on the end probably has something to do with the make/model/size of the chip, what exactly it means im not sure though.

Just to confuse you a little more though: speed however is also based on Ram Timings depending on what type of chip you use the lower or higher the timings the better. Apples tend to run very loose timings though so I severly doubt your extra chips is a big deal.

Anyways.. long story short your fine. Your system will run both sets of ram at the exact same speeds and timings, if its working then don't worry

[Madrag]

Read this

it says it accepts memory in this configurations:

256MB DIMMs (64-bit-wide, 128- or 256-Mbit)
512MB DIMMs (64-bit-wide, 256-Mbit)

so probably the 512 are different (faster) from the 256

but I might be wrong

[danbrew]

i'm gonna sound really ungrateful here... but does anybody know for sure? the "i think" part is about what I had when I strated. it seems to work ok... it's still running and all that.

[Catfish_Man]

I'm afraid I can't answer definitively either, but I can say that they could be slightly different speeds. Those numbers could be related to the CAS latency of the ram. If they're all low CAS latency it'll be slightly faster, but it's not a big deal.

[Turnpike]

Originally posted by Catfish_Man:
Those numbers could be related to the CAS latency of the ram. If they're all low CAS latency it'll be slightly faster, but it's not a big deal.

Looks good, but I'm not sure... CAS is usually 2 or 3, not 3 or 4... but it's been a while for me

[Akai]

I seriously doubt those numbers are related to cas latency.. i mean after all ive never seen a latency of 0

Odds are its something to do with the make/model/size/batch of the ram, although I cant tell you for sure what they mean since I didn't design it. You don't have to worry though, your mac will run the ram at the appropriate speed (and the exact same as the other DIMM). If its working, its working just be happy

[danbrew]

You don't have to worry though, your mac will run the ram at the appropriate speed (and the exact same as the other DIMM). If its working, its working just be happy

well... yes and no. i know i'm sounding like a real jerk - i don't mean to, i was born that way. because it runs doesn't mean it will keep running or it will not later cause errors. i guess i'll be satisfied that it's working and not worry too much about it - until and if it stops working. but... you're essentially guessing. ****, i can guess.

[Catfish_Man]

Originally posted by Akai:
I seriously doubt those numbers are related to cas latency.. i mean after all ive never seen a latency of 0

Odds are its something to do with the make/model/size/batch of the ram, although I cant tell you for sure what they mean since I didn't design it. You don't have to worry though, your mac will run the ram at the appropriate speed (and the exact same as the other DIMM). If its working, its working just be happy

I did say related, not that the numbers were the latency. I was thinking possibly they were model numbers, and that the different models differed in latency. Just a WAG though.

[Turnpike]

Originally posted by danbrew:
because it runs doesn't mean it will keep running or it will not later cause errors.

I've never seen a case where RAM -stopped- working. If it works when it ships, it will continue to work. The only possible issue that could crop up would be if somehow it isn't compatible with other types of RAM or it isn't compatible with a later firmware update. These would be compatibility issues, and are for the most part easily avoidable.


I'm SURE it isn't a big deal. by the time your 2.5-4.5 gigs (you still have two open slots) isn't enough, you'll be getting a new computer anyway. The possible speed difference won't matter. Compatibility issues could crop up if this is sub-standard RAM. If you bought it from Joe's computer shop, you might want to be worried. Otherwise, it should be okay. You already know it works with Apple's RAM.

That leaves a firmware update as the only thing that could leave you behind... if you are really that worried about it, don't update your firmware.

you're essentially guessing. ****, i can guess.

Remember, expert opinion is still only opinion. If you would appreciate not getting any responses to your post more than getting responses from people who have ideas, I'd suggest making your own forum and posting there alone. That way you won't get all of us jerks trying to offer help.

In fact, it was a pretty bad plan to post here to get a final verdict from somebody who was 100% sure. You should have emailed the manufacturer or at least the retailer, or better yet called them or personally taken your stuff there for them to examine.

You can be certain if you took this question to an Apple store and asked the genius, they would not be sure, either. Maybe you should take your machine directly to the top engineers at Apple and ask them. Hell, they might even be wrong... you're better off dumping it all in a landfill and washing your hands of any possible uncertainties.

[Akai]

Originally posted by danbrew:
well... yes and no. i know i'm sounding like a real jerk - i don't mean to, i was born that way. because it runs doesn't mean it will keep running or it will not later cause errors. i guess i'll be satisfied that it's working and not worry too much about it - until and if it stops working. but... you're essentially guessing. ****, i can guess.

The ram settings are up to the hardware and it will NOT run 2 sets of sticks with different speeds or timings, your system will run them at the exact same settings provided it can, and since it booted it can.

Im not guessing, what im telling you is I can't for sure know what those numbers mean since im not apple and I didn't develop the system profiler program. Also since they dont match up with any latency number configuration or speed so its a very safe bet that all those numbers are is make/model of the ram in question.

You want to know EXACTLY what those numbers mean? Your best bet is trying to email apple and try to get a response. However your ram is running at the exact same speed as the Dimms installed by apple. Even if the SPD of the ram is better or faster they will be run at the same settings if it can (and as I said, since it booted it did work).

All I was doing was trying to help you out and give you a response which would put your mind at ease without too much techno jargon to confuse you... *Shrugs* I tried to help but whatever.

[danbrew]

Originally posted by Turnpike:
I've never seen a case where RAM -stopped- working. If it works when it ships, it will continue to work.

...Remember, expert opinion is still only opinion. If you would appreciate not getting any responses to your post more than getting responses from people who have ideas, I'd suggest making your own forum and posting there alone. That way you won't get all of us jerks trying to offer help.

...In fact, it was a pretty bad plan to post here to get a final verdict from somebody who was 100% sure. You should have emailed the manufacturer or at least the retailer, or better yet called them or personally taken your stuff there for them to examine.

yeah, I know, I'm a sob. i disagree with your first statement - mismatched ram can cause parity errors. and it can work just fine. and it can stop working in the future. here's the deal... i know i don't know the answer. that's why i asked the question. plenty of people here know answers to difficult questions. just doesn't seem like anybody "knows" the answer to this question. that's ok - it's not the end of the world.

since i'm really curious now, I googled for DDR SDRAM PC3200U-30330 and found a bunch of references where other folks have asked similar questions... guess what? somebody else has the same configuration with 4 512mb sticks and 2 256m sticks - all with the same suffix. this seems to indicate the suffix does not refer to the model/configuration/capacity of the memory stick. perhaps the manufacturer? the two different guys I found on google are having kernel panics. related? who knows. interesting.

you know what the "I think" answers remind me of? when you're sitting in a compusa holding a product in your hand and you ask the sales rep a question and he takes the box from you and turns it over and reads what's on the box? that's what this thread reminds me of. shoot - i can read the box too.

that's a nice way of saying that "I think" is another way to say "I have no clue"... guess what? i knew I didn't have a clue about this when I asked the question. sorry the rest of you who feel so offended don't have a clue either.

yeah, i know, i'm a sob.