Is this Mac Pro memory safe?

[petite]

I ordered 4 x 1gb FB-DIMMs from the Apple store in my country and what I received were Samsung FB-DIMMs with a much smaller heatsink than the ones Apple USA is selling.

So what I am wondering is if anyone has any experience with theses Samsungs? Will these work and not make the fans go crazy?



Some info:

This is what says on the package:
1GB FB DIMM, ECC
64x8,667MHz, Samsung

On the stick itself it says:
1GB 2Rx8 PC2 - 5300F - 555 - 11 - BO
M395T2953CZ4 - CE601 0634

I have seen these on some European websites:
- http://www.biehler-online.com/catal...d=406&osCsid=6784b9e2767d7002d3a6da2fe3e69a6e
- http://www.macdata.se/?view=details&prodnr=512/667FB/DIMM


I hope someone can help... Thanks.

 

[I'mAMac]

Well there are people who are using RAM with standard heatsinks but it is too early to tell if there will be long term problems. If you can cancel that order you should go to http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa...ro&mfr=Apple&tabid=AM&model=Mac+Pro&submit=Go
and order apple RAM just to be safe.

 

[kered22]

Wow... knowing those are DIMMs shipped by the Apple Store itself makes this very interesting. I guess you can try them, see how they run (watch for any errors reported in System Profiler) for a couple of days and then see if they're worth keeping. If not, just let the Apple Store know and either get your money back or get some 3rd party RAM.

 

[petite]

That's probably a good idea. I can't see why they shouldn't refund the memory if it doesn't work 100%. That's why I went to the Apple Store... to get 100%. Maybe I'll try it out.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

If it really bothers you then you could call them up and say that the memory that they sent you is very different in appearance to what is on the apple website and what other people are getting: link to Apple's picture of the ram

 

[kered22]

That's probably a good idea. I can't see why they shouldn't refund the memory if it doesn't work 100%. That's why I went to the Apple Store... to get 100%. Maybe I'll try it out.

Yeah if they don't work, it should be either a refund or replacement. If you do try them, please post back on any changes in fan noise.

 

[petite]

If you do try them, please post back on any changes in fan noise.

Alright. I'll do that.

 

[petite]

So I decided to put in the Samsung FB-DIMMs after having a talk with the Apple Store here. They told me this RAM was certified for Mac Pro.

This is what I have experienced:

• I kept the original Nanya RAM in slots 1&2 on first riser

• I put 2 x Samsung sticks in slots 3&4 on first riser

• Then I put 2 x Samsung sticks in slots 1&2 on second riser

• So in whole 5GB of RAM. 1GB Nanya with giant heatsink and 4GB Samsung with smaller heatsink

I booted up the computer (really fast!).

• I ran 'About This Mac' which says: 5 GB 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM

• 'System Profiler' says: all slots are OK

• I ran Rember. Not completely sure how it works but pushed the test button (test all memory) and no errors

• I hear no change in sound of fans

Then I wanted to test the computer a little.

• I started up 15 applications

• Including: Photoshop, inDesign, Aperture and VLC playing 720P HD movie

• Other programs for example: iPhoto, iCal, Mail, Safari, Activity Monitor

• Then I opened up 43 x JPEGs - each around 30mb in size (3872x2592, 300dpi)

• Everything ran super smooth and no hickups

• Applied filters on one image. Unsharp Mask and Gaussian Blur. No status bar appeared. Filters applied instantly.

So far, after running 1 hour in regular use:
- No change in fan noise
- Status OK
- FAST... And I mean incredible. Even Photoshop is faster than I have seen. Can't wait until it's Universal Binary.

I will update if I notice something odd. Any suggestions to how I should test the RAM are welcome. I haven't actually set out to try RAM like this before so I'm not even sure I did enough.

 

[petite]

And some images:

I'll post pictures of the ram sticks later on.

 

[petite]

Somewhere I read that by keeping the Apple RAM number 1&2 they would take the most heat and kind of "shield" the rest from heating too much. Is there any truth to that? Should I also try the Samsungs solo?

 

[kingtj]

3rd. party RAM

I think what was originally found was that putting 3rd. party RAM in the top riser board instead of the bottom one got it out of the way of the heat coming off the CPUs - so it has a better chance of working right if placed there.

BUT - the same guy who said he got his Kingston 1GB DIMMS working that way came back a couple days later, saying he was starting to encounter some crashes and problems with them anyway.

The last thing I heard was that 512MB 3rd. party DIMMS without the larger Apple-style heatsinks were working ok for people in Mac Pros because they're lower-density memory on the sticks, so they don't generate as much heat to begin with. But the 1GB and 2GB modules generally didn't work well, if the systems were left on long enough and kept busy enough processing things, unless they had the big heatsinks.

Somewhere I read that by keeping the Apple RAM number 1&2 they would take the most heat and kind of "shield" the rest from heating too much. Is there any truth to that? Should I also try the Samsungs solo?

 

[kered22]

Sounds great Petite (especially the part about how fast it is ). For the testing, just do what you normally do with your Mac. I was under the impression that all the MacPros needed those huge heatsinks, but if those smaller ones will work, that's great.

 

[TedSlawski]

memorytogo.com

I bought 2 512mb DIMMs from them and they had the sheet metal heat sinks, they got too hot to touch when the Apple RAM wqs merely warm. I took them out and replaced them with Apple RAM. I called memorytogo, who is now selling Samsung RAM alongside of the RAM I bought. I mentioned the heat and they said they would send me better RAM without my asking so…

 

[damado]

You could also always just buy 2x 1 gb or 2x 2gb sticks and just take out the 512s from apple and put the apple heatsinks on the larger capacity sticks.

I'm tempted to get 2x this and just swap heatsinks.

 

[petite]

Here are pictures of the Samsung RAM as promised:

Also, I wish to say that the above statements do in no way apply to small-heatsink RAMs in general. I'm simply testing out a certain type of Samsung RAM sold by the local Apple Store (which is, according to what I have read, memory of the highest quality available). Maybe this RAM has better heatsink than other 3rd party rams even though it's the same size... Maybe not - what do I know

And oh yeah. Everything is still OK.

 

[petite]

A little update:

Everything is still fine. No problems.

The computer has been running all night and this morning I turned it off, opened it and touched both kinds of RAM. The Apple RAM was a little bit hotter to the touch than Samsung. Very interesting.

 

[petite]

For some benchmarks in Photoshop with the Samsung RAM check out:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/200558/

While benchmarking for about two hours and often 6-8 photoshop tests in a row I never heard fans speed up.

 

[kered22]

The computer has been running all night and this morning I turned it off, opened it and touched both kinds of RAM. The Apple RAM was a little bit hotter to the touch than Samsung. Very interesting.

Wow that is interesting. Was it the entire heat sink that was warmer? The processor on the FB-DIMMs is in the middle of the DIMM.

 

[petite]

Yes entire heatsink... But, after running the intense photoshop tests I touched the heatsinks again and the Samsung was a little hotter - but not much. I touched top, side and the clamps (is it called that?!?).

 

[kered22]

Yeah, clamps or clips is probably the closest approximation.

Hopefully this means there is more RAM that is safe to use now, versus just the Apple RAM with those huge heatsinks.

 

[mistafreeze]

has anyone tried these?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820134085

i was thinkin of getting a few gigs from here.

they are likely not as nice as the more expensive models but majority of people i have heard, have had no problems with it.

 

[TedSlawski]

samsung

That's good news about the Samsung temps, having RAM that's too hot to touch didn't seem to bode well for the long run. I will probably sell it when it comes 'cause after extensive testing with 3gig in my Powermac G5 I found that anything over 2gig just sat there. Maybe if the new versions of the Adobe suite are RAM hungry, I'll get more. But all the photoshop work I do now is for the web, so small file sizes. On the other hand probably by the time I get the replacements I won't be able to get my money back for them on eBay, so maybe I'll just "store" them in the machine in case I need them.

 

[MacCurry]

Someone Please Help!

I'm new to macs, so please bear with me.

I bought Crucial 2x512MB Mac Pro memory directly from Crucial and installed in slot 1&2 on the 2nd riser. My Mac Pro locks up when I open any app. I tried it in slot 3&4 on the 1st riser and again it locks up. When I try restarting, the machine never comes up, but the fan speeds up. I immediately shut down and removed the Crucial ram and everything was fine. Right now, I have Nanya 2x512MB in slot 1&2 on the 1st riser as delivered by Apple.

Please help, am I doing anything wrong?

 

[petite]

Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. The extra RAM should be on Riser B like you tried. Weren't you even able to start System Profiler to check out memory status?

 

[MacCurry]

petite,

All RAM status was good on System Profiler and checked good on System Monitor. My Mac Pro locks up when trying to use iPhoto and iDVD. It says to press restart or hold down the power button to shut off.

My Mac Pro has a build date of Aug. 2006 and I suspect its Apple adding some hidden firmware to check system memory so that you're forced to buy RAM from Apple itself.