i4k20c said:
Is there really a diff between quality of ram? Like crucial, samsung, kingston.. or are they all practically the same if the computer excepts them?
Key point: IF THE COMPUTER ACCEPTS THEM
There a bazillion models of RAM on the market. Apple Macintoshes have stricter requirements for the RAM meeting the established standards than most PCs. Beyond "PC2700 200 pin SODIMM 2.5V CL2.5" there are standards for the configuration of the rows and columns of the memory, and for the Serial Presence Detect settings programmed into the chip's parameter memory. Some PC generic memory manufacturers don't bother to comply with the settings that don't matter to most PCs but do matter to Macs.
You cannot tell by looking, or by reading the commonly published specs, whether a particular model of RAM will or will not be Mac compatible. Macintosh machines also vary model to mode in their tolerance for out of spec memory. A marginal SODIMM that works in a 1.5 GHz Powerbook may not work in a 1.0 or 1.25 GHz Powerbook.
So: The only way to 100% know in advance if memory will be Mac compatible is if the vendor guarantees compatibility. If they do not, then it is rolling the dice -- you will have to do your own compatibility checking and testing in your own machine. This may not faze you if you are a Mac expert. However if it is not compatible, you have the time and expense of returning the RAM. The worst case scenario is if the RAM appears initially to work, but fails later (or fails when you upgrade your OS and the machine applies a stricter check for compliance), causing crashes and/or data loss. If you don't have the time, or are new to Mac hardware troubleshooting, the risk may not be worth the savings.
You cannot generalize that one brand is better or more compatible than another, because they make so many models. Kingston guarantees Mac compatibility on their KTA- series RAM for Apples. They do not guarantee compatibility on their KVR- ValueRAM series. Kingston will not consider any non-performance of the KVRs in a Mac to be a warranty issue, they will direct you back to the seller. Same with Crucial - their Mac specific RAM is good and can be relied on, and they have a bargeload of other models which are not Mac specific.
Answering the other half of your question, IF you have purchased the correct RAM from a reputable dealer who guarantees Mac compatibility and offers a lifetime warranty, there is little or no difference in the quality of manufacture between the brands of RAM - Kingston, Crucial, Samsung, Hynix, Infineon, Micron, Transcend, Siemens. Certain RAM is more cheaply built, like the Corsair ValueSelect series (very thin PC boards), but no reputable RAM dealer would sell those for use in a Mac anyway.
And the speed of performance in a Mac will be precisely identical between brands of RAM, because it is the Mac that sets the speed, not the RAM. So there is no such thing as "Hyperformance" or "Ultra Performance" Mac RAM.
Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
