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MacBook RAM upgrade

the Western zoo

the Western zoo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 16, 2006
379
3
Aarhus C, Denmark
Hi,

I'm sorry if there is another thread that I should be writing this in but I've been reading through alot of threads and haven't really found the subject clearly discussed before...

What brand do you recommend? And what should I be looking for?

I want to upgade my MacBook to 2 GB, so I know I need 2 x 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300 200 pins SO-DIMM RAM but what manufactures should I go for? And I've even seen two different sets of RAM from the same manufacturer and both being 1GB yet there was a substantially difference in price...

I want to get the most for my money, but don't know much about RAM, so any advice is welcome! :)
 
toontra said:
Use to be - no longer. £212 for 2 x 1G at the moment. It seems to have gone up £50 in the last few days - sure I saw it for around £160 a couple of weeks ago.
Click to expand...

Ow, that is as high as they were when I bought my RAM at the beginning of October, I paid £160 (from PC World), seems I got a good price.
 
G. Skill from Newegg has shown great results from the reviews and it seems most are MB/P users. Fair price too.
 
I get all mine from crucial, it might be a little overpriced but the shipping is fast and hassle free. I've yet to return any, but I'd hope if I ever do the return is as easy as the purchase.
 
so should I just go for cheapest? or is there such a factor as build quality to consider?

the cheapest I found is from a company called A-DATA but they have a cheap model (approx. $125 pr module) and then another more expensive (approx. $175 pr module)...

So I'm a bit confused... :)

But is it the common oppinion that Crucial make the best RAM?
 
if the cheap one has a lifetime warranty it'll be fine, otherwise I'd probably go for the $175 one, though I don't know how computer prices in Denmark compare to the UK. Make sure the cheap RAM isn't High Density though, that should be avoided as it's crap.
 
Try Newegg and Buffalo

I purchased my 1GB sticks at www.newegg.com and bought BUFFALO Select 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Notebook Memory Model D2N667C-1G/BR - Retail @ $92 each. They are now $94 each but have worked great from the moment I put them in a month ago. I run os x and windows and have logged quite a few hours on these and so far they perform perfectly. From photoshop cs2 under os x to company of heroes under windows, I have not had any crashes or panics since installing the new ram.

I actually never powered up my Macbook with the original ram or HD. Replaced both before ever plugging it in.

Cheers,
 
I strongly recommend you get a good brand.

Unlike other components, dodgy ram will have such a weird (and random) effect on your computer's stability that cheapening out on it is just plain not worth it.

OWC sells supposedly official Samsung branded modules for around $150 each. You may also get similar modules from eBay for around $100 per stick. The Samsung modules are the ones officially used by Apple in my C2D 2.33ghz machine.
 
You're in Europe, so the choice of sellers is different than the USA, and costs for importing / sending back defectives from a NAmerican reseller may be prohibitive.

The brand is not as important as the seller's guarantee that the RAM is Mac compatible. Look for a reputable seller who has a verifiable track record, offers guaranteed-Mac-compatible RAM, a lifetime warranty, and a no-cost return (no restocking or shipping fee) if it doesn't work. Most eBay sellers fail one or most of these criteria.
 
i got a 1gig stick of PNY Ram and it works fine for $89.99 at best buy.
 
iW00t said:
I strongly recommend you get a good brand.

Unlike other components, dodgy ram will have such a weird (and random) effect on your computer's stability that cheapening out on it is just plain not worth it.
Click to expand...

Yeah am I just trying to figure out which brand are good brands since I know very little about RAM other than I like to have a lot of it! :D

I know Crucial has an office in the UK so I can buy them of their official homepage, and since it is a EU country they'll have all same obligations to me as to one resided in the UK, so at this moment I'm mostly considering going towards that solution, but since RAM are quite expessive at the moment I think I'll wait and see how the prices devellop...

Still if anyone has any input about which brand are the best when it comes to RAM, I'll be interested to hear it! :)
 
I have G.skill RAM and it's been good so far. Got it for 70 dollars/1gig a piece too (back when macbooks first came out)!
 
G.Skill

I got the G.Skill from Newegg and it's been flawless, and at the time I bought it half the price of Crucial (about 6 months ago).
 
Ram

Hello,

i always check <ramseeker.com> they provide commodity type pricing for all kinds of memory. My personal favorite vendors in order 1-800-4-memory and Memory to go.

I have found that it is useless to overpay for ram. These vendors offer consistently low prices and lifetime guarantees. After putting at least 30 gigs of ram in a dozen macs over the last six years I have never received a bad chip from either vendor.

Good Luck
 
G. Skill

yup i have two gig sticks of g.skill i got from newegg and its been great in my macbook
 
Jeffacme said:
Hello,

i always check <ramseeker.com> they provide commodity type pricing for all kinds of memory. My personal favorite vendors in order 1-800-4-memory and Memory to go.
Click to expand...

For the prices 1-800-4-memory charges ($125) I'd rather just pay 25 more bucks and get a Samsung module from OWC. At least it is the same brand as what Apple uses.
 
iW00t said:
For the prices 1-800-4-memory charges ($125) I'd rather just pay 25 more bucks and get a Samsung module from OWC. At least it is the same brand as what Apple uses.
Click to expand...

I don't care what Apple uses as long as the ram works and it always has. In fact the only time I got a bad chip it came from Apple back in my blueberry imac days.

Apple has always used ram/harddrive upgrades to enhance profit. Buy a new quad Mac Pro pay $5700.00 for 16gb of ram from apple. Buy a new quad Mac Pro and get 16gb of ram from 4-memory for $2500.00 you have $3200.00 left for 17" Mac Book Pro, a nice printer, scanner or just to pay the rent. So maybe 16gb is on the heavy side but for high end photo reotuching or video production I would do it.

For me it is a business decision and if commodity priced ram didn't work I would not use it. The problem, it does work and the money I have saved over the years has been used to great effect in other areas of my business.

I just checked ramseeker and the price for a 2gb kit from 4-memory is $197.50, OWC $239.99, from Crucial $417.99 either a significant savings.
 
Jeffacme said:
Hello,

i always check <ramseeker.com> they provide commodity type pricing for all kinds of memory. My personal favorite vendors in order 1-800-4-memory and Memory to go.

I have found that it is useless to overpay for ram. These vendors offer consistently low prices and lifetime guarantees. After putting at least 30 gigs of ram in a dozen macs over the last six years I have never received a bad chip from either vendor.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

God, I hate 18004memory. I don't know if it's me but out of the three they had sent me, 2 were bad. Either they wouldn't boot or they gave me kernal panics. I have extra money now so I am going to sell the good working one and buy 2x1gig ram
 
I hear good things about Crucial from this forums. However, I believe that there isn't a HUGE difference betweens rams, but OSX is tricky so that doesn't mean that ANY ram will work on your mac. I personally just upgraded to 2gb when i ordered from Apple. Any reputable manufacturer you should consider fair game : Crucial, Kingston, SanDisk, Mushkin
 
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