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OWC Ram?
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Hg2491
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Jan 25, 2009, 11:06 PM
 
I'm planning on getting 2 gigs of RAM for my MacBook from macsales.net. Is this website safe? Has anyone got a bad experience buying there? Also, are their RAM sticks good?

Thanks in advanced,
Hg+
     
Cold Warrior
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Jan 25, 2009, 11:21 PM
 
Never any problems ordering from OWC/macsales. Their products have always been fine.

Check out newegg though to compare RAM prices to make sure you're getting the best deal.
     
CharlesS
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Jan 25, 2009, 11:25 PM
 
You can get Crucial RAM for almost as cheap, or even cheaper if you get it via Newegg. That's what I'd do instead.

edit: it's actually cheaper via Crucial for your machine, even if you go via the regular Crucial website instead of through Newegg. $21.99 for a 2 GB module or $23.99 for two 1 GB modules at crucial.com, vs. $24.99 for a 2 GB module or $27.99 for two 1 GB modules via OWC. And the Crucial's probably even cheaper if you get it via Newegg (although it requires a little more care to make sure you get exactly the right module). Given this, there's absolutely no reason not to get the name brand.

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
Hg2491  (op)
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Jan 25, 2009, 11:37 PM
 
I looked for the Crucial RAM on Newegg, but couldn't find it. Would you mind posting the direct link? I have a 2.1Ghz MacBook.

Thank you again,
Hg+
     
Cold Warrior
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Jan 25, 2009, 11:59 PM
 
     
Langdon
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Jan 26, 2009, 01:02 PM
 
There is no good reason to buy RAM from OWC.
They charge a premium for memory that can be bought elsewhere for a better price and is of equal if not better quality. I like Crucial RAM and I tend to have had less problems with it than any other brand over the years. You can buy direct from them or shop from one of their authorized dealers. The cost should be right around what OWC charges. If you want to look for less expensive RAM but that is still a good quality I would look at Kingston.
     
CharlesS
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Jan 26, 2009, 02:19 PM
 
Crucial and Kingston are both good brands, but I usually find Kingston to cost more than Crucial. In the OP's case, Crucial is cheap enough that it actually manages to cost less than the generic OWC RAM, so that's definitely what I'd go for here.

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
Chongo
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Jan 26, 2009, 03:30 PM
 
running 4gigs in my iMac now.
45/47
     
BigBadWolf
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Jan 26, 2009, 05:51 PM
 
I recently bought 4 gb (2x2gb) of ram for my MBP for $40 at Frys ($19.99 each). It was branded as Crucial. In the month or so that I have had it, it has worked flawlessly.
     
Hg2491  (op)
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Jan 26, 2009, 08:10 PM
 
Thanks for all the reply guys.

Would this one be compatible with my MacBook? I want to get something that works.
     
BigBadWolf
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Jan 27, 2009, 06:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by Hg2491 View Post
Thanks for all the reply guys.

Would this one be compatible with my MacBook? I want to get something that works.
Go to www.crucial.com and use their memory advisor tool. You just plug in your computer's info and it will tell you all that you need to know about its memory.
     
RMXO
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Jan 27, 2009, 10:00 PM
 
I would recommend buying RAM from newegg. I just upgraded from the stock 2GB to Kingston 4GB from Newegg. I paid $20.99 for each stick.
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody | iPhone 16GB 3G
     
SierraDragon
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Jan 28, 2009, 10:42 AM
 
Bargain hunting critical componentry IMO is bad policy for most purchasers. IMO RAM is a critical component often hard to troubleshoot if it gets flaky, and various RAM has widely different QA and QC applied to it, even some that comes from the same manufacturer.

Do all you folks who recommend buying only by price and whether or not it fits really think that every Asian manufacturer discards all the RAM that fails their highest levels of QA/QC? Where do you suppose those DIMMs that fail QA/QC but still work go to after they slip out the back (or even the front) door? It cannot all go into Microsoft Xboxes .

OWC is an excellent vendor from whom I have been buying for a long time (I have no relationship with them except as a buyer who manages nine Macs). They have excellent presales tech support that knows the complex mix of Mac products and parts and they provide excellent post-sale service. They do their homework in terms of optimizing products for individual Macs. And you can easily talk to a knowledgeable live person.

E.g. when bargain hunters were getting Mac Pro RAM from Newegg and others that lacked proper heat sinks OWC RAM came with righteous heat sinks. Lack of heat sinks means little in the short term but quite a lot in long term product life.

OWC's product support has amazed me. Twice I have purchased RAM that I later returned without using it because my plans changed; once many months later. In both cases OWC gave full credit for the return.

In short, I rate OWC 5x5 and consider going through any less-than-5x5 vendor just to save a few bucks long term cost-ineffective purchase policy (umm, crazy ). Note that OWC is not necessarily the only 5x5 vendor out there, just the one that I have had the most excellent long-term experience with.

-Allen Wicks
( Last edited by SierraDragon; Jan 28, 2009 at 11:01 AM. )
     
CharlesS
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Jan 28, 2009, 02:26 PM
 
I agree with the sentiment about bargain-hunting for RAM, but I would consider name-brand RAM such as Crucial, Kingston, et al. to be more reputable than OWC when it comes to RAM, and in this case Crucial actually turns out to cost less, so...

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
Simon
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Jan 28, 2009, 04:25 PM
 
     
Laminar
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Jan 28, 2009, 04:55 PM
 
Originally Posted by SierraDragon View Post
Do all you folks who recommend buying only by price and whether or not it fits
I didn't see any posts suggesting this.
     
kw14
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Feb 3, 2009, 02:05 PM
 
I've purchased RAMs over the years from all the aforementioned sources as my whims dictated. I may have had a flaky stick once or twice. Certainly having a good sales support retailer to deal with is a big thumbs up. But all in all, I don't recall having any trouble after the initial burn in period, generic or otherwise. As for OWC, the last stick of RAM I bought from them, I believe, was from Hynix for my old Powerbook. Don't they all source these things from the same few Asian plants?

Anyway, a few bucks don't make much difference to me. I like to spread the love around to try and keep everyone in business. And to the OP, I have always had positive experiences dealing with OWC dating back to the Voodoo2 card for my 7600.
     
tooki
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Feb 3, 2009, 07:44 PM
 
I order RAM from OWC or Crucial, depending on who's cheaper. I've ordered from both many times over the years.
     
Luca Rescigno
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Feb 3, 2009, 07:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by SierraDragon View Post
Do all you folks who recommend buying only by price and whether or not it fits...
What? Why would anyone recommend RAM that doesn't fit? That's about as useful for making your computer faster as an elephant would be.

OWC has a nice little system selector, but so does Crucial, and you can always go to Apple and find out there, or look in your user's manual. Then go to NewEgg and see what's available, what's cheap, and what has lots of positive reviews. Other brands I often buy from are Corsair, OCZ, and Mushkin. They'll all do the job just fine.

"That's Mama Luigi to you, Mario!" *wheeze*
     
Timo
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Feb 3, 2009, 08:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by SierraDragon View Post
Bargain hunting critical componentry IMO is bad policy for most purchasers. IMO RAM is a critical component often hard to troubleshoot if it gets flaky, and various RAM has widely different QA and QC applied to it, even some that comes from the same manufacturer.
This is excellent advice. I just lost a few days productive work trying to sort out some system hard freezes, eventually figuring out that fault RAM is to blame. Mind you, the failing RAM ended up corrupting my boot drive -- nothing that couldn't be fixed, but still with considerable effort.

Ironically the bad RAM's from OWC. I am assuming I'll have no problems RMA'ing it.
     
VicF
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May 26, 2009, 10:03 PM
 
I bought 6GB for my 2.53 from OWC, first as a single 4GB add on, then as a 6GB kit, OWC spent a lot of time trying to get it working. Swapping RAM, reviewing logs etc. In my case we could not get it to work in my 5,1 2.53 MBP and they refunded my purchase. I would definitely buy from them again! Seems to be some of the 5,1 machines just will not work with the hynix RAM at all. OWC felt they might have another solution in the future but not now for some, not all, 5,1 MBP.
     
macfix
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May 26, 2009, 10:20 PM
 
OWC has always stood behind their ram for me.
Over the years we've had a few ram sticks we had to return.
No problems and no hassles with the exchanges.
     
maxx9photo
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May 28, 2009, 12:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by VicF View Post
I bought 6GB for my 2.53 from OWC, first as a single 4GB add on, then as a 6GB kit, OWC spent a lot of time trying to get it working. Swapping RAM, reviewing logs etc. In my case we could not get it to work in my 5,1 2.53 MBP and they refunded my purchase. I would definitely buy from them again! Seems to be some of the 5,1 machines just will not work with the hynix RAM at all. OWC felt they might have another solution in the future but not now for some, not all, 5,1 MBP.

Mine is working perfectly so far and it's 6GB kit from OWC as well.
     
   
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