[dreamsINdigital]

I bought RAM on eBay for my MacBook advertised as 2 GB (2 x 1 GB) of Samsung DDR2 667 PC2-5400 RAM. I installed it and it works, yet looking at About This Mac and System Profiler, it appears to be running at 533 and not 667. I tried each stick individually, and also combined with the stock MacBook RAM, yet it still reads as 533. I know it sounds bad since I got the RAM on eBay, but say it really is 667 RAM. Is there anything I could do get it running at 667 and not 533? Some setting I could change? Any program I could use to identify the RAM and speeds?

Searching google, I found this site with someone that says,

Francis Barr

I just got a MacBook Pro with 2GB RAM installed, and it has the random shutdown problem described by many other users. I tested both RAM chips individually and the factory fitted chip runs at 667 MHz while the other fitted by the Apple reseller only runs at 533 MHz. No wonder there are problems when both are fitted!!! Both chips are labelled as 1GB DDR2 PC5300 667MHz. The problem chip is Samsung RAM from First Choice Memory. Hope this helps anyone else having similar problems.

Even if it is 533 RAM, I read there's only like 1% performance difference from 533 and 667. Should I just keep it? After all, I only paid $160 for them.

This was the eBay listing.

What do you guys think?

Thanks

[uicandrew]

there is a decent price difference between 533 and 667. i don't think there is going to be much of a performance difference.

and stickers can be doctored. thanks for the post. it is a nice warning about the fraud on ebay

[brokenjago]

I say keep it, and give him a neutral rating.

[uicandrew]

give the seller a chance to fix it. see if they are willing to replace your ram. if the seller is an honest one, he will want to make things right. if not, contact your credit card about canceling payment. don't contact paypal. they are too slow.

good luck

[dreamsINdigital]

In Windows XP through Boot Camp, looking at CPU-Z it's telling me that the memory is PC2-4300 266 MHz. I don't know what to believe... the seller, what OS X reports, or what Windows reports.

I want to contact the seller, but I don't know what to say yet with these mixed reports.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by dreamsINdigital

In Windows XP through Boot Camp, looking at CPU-Z it's telling me that the memory is PC2-4300 266 MHz. I don't know what to believe... the seller, what OS X reports, or what Windows reports.

I want to contact the seller, but I don't know what to say yet with these mixed reports.

Windows is reporting the same thing as OSX.
PC2-4300 and PC2-4200 are synonyms; they're just different ways of rounding the actual speed.
DDR2-533 actually runs at 266Mhz, but since DDR gives you twice the bandwidth (insert long technical discussion here on why that's not quite true) it's marketed as twice the clockrate.

The seller has scammed you.

[ibook_steve]

Just to make sure, look at the part numbers on the chips on the SO-DIMM and go to the manufacturer's web site to find the tech specs. Then you can know for sure what speed the memory should be running at.

Steve

[Eug Wanker]

Does it really say M470T2953CZ3-CE6 on the SODIMM?

What do the individual chips say?

[dreamsINdigital]

Yes, each RAM sticker says M470T2953CZ3-CE6. Although, after closely examining the stickers, they look cheap and pixelated as if they were printed out of a computer and poorly cut not even straight. The corners are not rounded, but snipped to give a rounded appearance. They definitely do not look as good as in the auction picture:



Also, while I was lookin at CPU-Z on XP through via Boot Camp, the manufacturer was not listed as "Samsung" but instead a bunch of zeros 000000000.

I suspect this RAM is counterfeit. Looking at the seller's feedback someone who bought some Kingston RAM from him said, "Item was not as describe; But Compatiable & working , Willing to take back item"

What should I say to him? Should I tell him I suspect the RAM is counterfeit?

[badsey]

Semiconductor | DDR/DDR2 | DDR2 SDRAM

k4t51083qc 512MB (64MBx8) DDR2

zce6 = 667MHZ

memtest these chips to make sure they are not faulty. And some of those chips are not labeled = bad (could be the flash). Mem chips that do not pass inspection are thrown into a box and sold cheaply = others try to fix the chips and resell.

Memtest OS X - Home

are these memory card actually 1GB each?

http://www.samsung.com/products/semi...70T2953CZ3.htm

chips look good and are 1GB = still test them out on memtest.

[dreamsINdigital]

The RAM runs fine and does pass Memtest. Each stick is 1 GB.

I have reason to believe that the RAM is not Samsung at all. If you could see the sticker on them, you can clearly realize that they are not genuine. Pixelation is evident, as if printed out from a printer. The surface looks as if it was taped over to give a gloss appearance. The edges of sticker are not cut straight, and the corners are snipped instead of rounded. If you compare a picture of the actual RAM to the picture used in the auction, you can see they are not the same. The label on the actual RAM doesn't even match the one in the auction photo. Actual says "Made in China" not "Made in Korea" in the photo, and has the numbers 0634 instead of 0633. The writing on each chip does not match what is in the auction photo. I'll try to take a picture once I can get a hold of a better camera.