[Appleman]

After having bought my new Dual 2 GHz PowerMac, I'm thinking in upgrading the machine.
Already ordered the Nvidia 6800 DDL Ultra, busy with finding the Western Digital Raptor 74 GB 10.000 rpm, now the RAM gets to attention.

What about RAM? Is RAM = RAM = RAM?

1. Is there any speed difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
2. Is there any quality difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
3. Is there any price difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
4. Is there anything else I need to look at when choosing my RAM?

For 3. I have seen the answer: there is a difference in price, so there must be something what is differentiating it.

Thanks.

Edit: typo...

[Westbo]

Originally posted by Appleman:
After having bought my new Dual 2 GHz PowerMac, I'm thinkking in upgrading the machine.
Already ordered the Nvidia 6800 DDL Ultra, busy with finding the Western Digital Raptor 74 GB 10.000 rpm, now the RAM gets to attention.

What about RAM? Is RAM = RAM = RAM?

1. Is there any speed difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
2. Is there any quality difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
3. Is there any price difference in a 1 GB 400 MHz SDRAM module from maker A versus maker B?
4. Is there anything else I need to look at when choosing my RAM?

For 3. I have seen the answer: there is a difference in price, so there must be something what is differentiating it.

Thanks.

Hi Appleman,

Forget about price. Save yourself a lot of frustration. Be sure the RAM you order is compatible with your new G5. After experiencing multiple crashes, freezes, random quits and kernel panics, It was determined that incompatible RAM was the cause. I replaced the additional 2GB I purchased from a third party vendor with new RAM that is the same brand as the original Apple RAM (Samsung PC3200 DDR 400Mhz). It will cost more, but your G5 will run rock solid. Order only from a proven reputable vendors such as Crucial or OWC. Plus be sure the RAM you purchase has a lifetime guarantee.

W2

[Appleman]

Thanks mate, thought about this as well, indeed.

[MORT A POTTY]

I got some good RAM... check compatibility, but also the CAS latency is iimportant too. a CAS latency of 2 is better, 3 is standard though.

some vendors are known for quality though

crucial, corsair, Viking, Kingston, etc.

just make sure it's compatible.

[Mafia]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
crucial

i've always preferred crucial.

[MORT A POTTY]

yeah, they are good.

right now II have a 512MB stick of Viking and 2x512MB sticks of Infineon.

[Appleman]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
I got some good RAM... check compatibility, but also the CAS latency is iimportant too. a CAS latency of 2 is better, 3 is standard though.

Well, I never heard of this, so after all it was good to post this thread! I found a link about CAS that might be interesting to others as well.

[MORT A POTTY]

Originally posted by Appleman:
Well, I never heard of this, so after all it was good to post this thread! I found a link about CAS that might be interesting to others as well.

that's a pretty damn good article on it. it's spot on. I'm glad it explains why you won't get a "massive 33%" performance increase. I still say that if you can, it's always good to get low latency RAM. BUT, REMEMBER THIS. if you combine different latencies of memory, they run at the lowest common denominator. if you have two sticks of CAS 3 and two sticks of CAS 2, they will run at CAS 3. so, be mindful of that.

[robo74]

I always go for the OWC memory. I know for a fact that every type of ram they sell is tested in the machine you are buying. I dont know of any machine OWC doesnt have or has not tried their memory on. In other forums, you often see OWCJamie and OWCLarry talking about it. When I got my dual 1.8, I ordered 2X512 and still have had no issues running it with my current Apple ram.

Rob

[Appleman]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
BUT, REMEMBER THIS. if you combine different latencies of memory, they run at the lowest common denominator. if you have two sticks of CAS 3 and two sticks of CAS 2, they will run at CAS 3. so, be mindful of that.

Ha, this is very funny: just came back from a peecee shop where they sell Crucial memory. I hesitated, since I wanted to be sure it works in the Mac. On my way back I was wondering about the latency of these memory modules, and what CAS the current installed memory has, and what would be the effect if you mix them (say CAS 2 and CAS 3). I would indeed expect it would follow the physic rule of "bottleneck" and therefor maybe it isn't that wise to spend money on CAS 2.
Back home I ran Apple System Profiler, just to find out this isn't stated, nor the maker of the installed (default) RAM, which at the moment are two modules of a lousy 256MB.
Does anyone knows what Apple puts inside, or are they just going with the flow: what's available at the time of production, sometimes this and sometimes that?

[Westbo]

Originally posted by Appleman:
Ha, this is very funny: just came back from a peecee shop where they sell Crucial memory. I hesitated, since I wanted to be sure it works in the Mac. On my way back I was wondering about the latency of these memory modules, and what CAS the current installed memory has, and what would be the effect if you mix them (say CAS 2 and CAS 3). I would indeed expect it would follow the physic rule of "bottleneck" and therefor maybe it isn't that wise to spend money on CAS 2.
Back home I ran Apple System Profiler, just to find out this isn't stated, nor the maker of the installed (default) RAM, which at the moment are two modules of a lousy 256MB.
Does anyone knows what Apple puts inside, or are they just going with the flow: what's available at the time of production, sometimes this and sometimes that?

Appleman, you're over-thinking this... I have the same Mac as you. Samsung is the original brand installed on my G5 (see earlier post). However, as you are in Europe, the RAM brand may be different. So, open up your G5 and look for any ID on the sticks to confirm brand and type Then if you can, go on-line, to Crucial ( www.crucial.com ) or OWC ( www.eshop.macsales.com ) or even the Apple Store (you'll pay more there). Enter your Mac model at their prompts and appropriate RAM available will be listed. Double check and send them an email to confirm compatibility (G5s are finicky). If you are able to order from them, do so. I would never trust any peecee shop to know anything about Macs, accept maybe an Apple store.

W2

[MORT A POTTY]

whatever brand Apple may have stuck in your machine, I can almost guarantee you that it's CAS 3.

[Appleman]

Originally posted by MORT A POTTY:
whatever brand Apple may have stuck in your machine, I can almost guarantee you that it's CAS 3.

Just talked with a guy from Apple about 2 dead pixels in my brand new Apple Cinema Disply 20" (to bad, they said) and he said that Apple mostly puts Samsung RAM in their machines. According to www.macnn.com of today, it's for sure they have something with the Koreans

However, he couldn't say if it was CAS 2 or CAS 3.