Karbon

Q: ProMOS RAM?? Anyone heard of it?

Hi there.

Does anyone know anything about RAM made by ProMOS Technologies? I've been searching and reading, but after many hours, have only found the company info and some possible association with Crucial - I still can't find any real reviews as to whether their memory is any good - well except by the company themselves and some PeeCee dudes griping about problems with overclocking it in the higher speeds. The reason I ask is that I bought a 1 GB stick on eBay (1GB RAM MEMORY Apple G4 iMac Powerbook iBook PC2700) for an Aluminum G4 1.67Ghz PB from a Seller there who swore that +"all memory is name brand, tested, and high quality. It is guaranteed to meet Apple specifications for the following Mac computers..."+. I just received the module, expecting Hynix, Micron, or such, and instead saw ProMOS (V826765G24SBFW-C0) written across the stick instead - and not one I would consider "name brand".

I put it in the Aluminum PB and it seems to have accepted it okay - but that doesn't necessarily mean the memory is any good in the long run. I'm running Memtest on it now and it seems to doing fine (well except for one initial reference to an error which I'm assuming is for the bottom bank, which wasn't working when I got the machine - the tests run so far after that have received an "ok" remark). But once again, just because Memtest passes it, it doesn't mean that in the long run... I don't really understand how to evaluate the Spec sheets on these things - I just stick to finding the correct speeds and proper bank ratios - and then stick to the names I know to be good, lol. I was hoping that maybe someone here could help me make a decision as to whether to keep the module I received, or go and yell at the Seller about it and make him send me either a name brand I really do recognize or get my money back.

Thanks a lot for any assistance you can give me.

Karbon

P.S. The second link below makes a reference to ProMOS cutting corners by not using Jedec technology and that rang a bell in me about Jedec having some importance with regards to memory in Apple computers - or maybe not?



eBay Auction Link:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380311417015&ssPageName=ADME:B :EOIBSA:US:1123

ProMOS uses low-cost TSOP packaging for DDR2 Memory Modules:
http://www.legitreviews.com/news/1255/

ProMOS Technologies Website:
http://www.promos.com.tw/website/html/english/company.htm

Message was edited by: Karbon

PM G4 867 / 1GHZ DP QS-2002 * G4 533 DP DA * G4 667/1GHz DVI PB, Mac OS X (10.4.11), PM9600/XLR8 G3 384 * Beige MT G3 338 * Indigo G3 366 FW * All run OS 10.3.9

Posted on Feb 24, 2011 12:40 AM

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Q: ProMOS RAM?? Anyone heard of it?

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  • by BGreg,Helpful

    BGreg BGreg Feb 24, 2011 4:02 AM in response to Karbon
    Level 6 (17,522 points)
    Feb 24, 2011 4:02 AM in response to Karbon
    The Powerbook architecture is picky when it comes to memory, since it employs a power management techique called memory bus slewing. This varies power to the memory bus both to conserve battery energy and not generate additional heat when not being actively used. Some, typically cheap, memory may meet Apple specs and not work with the Apple Powerbook architecture, typically causing kernel panics. Earlier Powerbooks seem to be more sensitive to this than later Powerbooks.

    If there's any question, I'd return the memory. I've used, and recommend, either Crucial, Kingston (not their value ram line, though), or Samsung memory.
  • by eww,Helpful

    eww eww Feb 26, 2011 6:27 AM in response to Karbon
    Level 9 (52,994 points)
    Feb 26, 2011 6:27 AM in response to Karbon
    With RAM as cheap as it is now and nearly all vendors offering a "lifetime" warranty on it, it makes no sense at all to buy RAM that doesn't come with such a warranty, or to buy from anyone who doesn't have a proven record of honoring their warranty. I don't know what sort of warranty you got, but that's what you should be thinking about. Any manufacturer's or vendor's RAM can be bad or go bad, and what you want is confidence that if that happens, you'll be able to get it replaced quickly, without a hassle.
  • by Karbon,

    Karbon Karbon Mar 6, 2011 9:50 AM in response to Karbon
    Level 2 (285 points)
    Mar 6, 2011 9:50 AM in response to Karbon
    Thanks BGreg and Eww for your help. I contacted the Seller and he's going to send me a different manufacturer (Infineon) and pay for return postage on the module he sent me.

    You make a good point about "Any manufacturer's or vendor's RAM can be bad or go bad", Eww, but in general I prefer to stick right with the manufacturers I know to have a proven record - or least a strong track record of fewer failures. Granted a failed piece of memory isn't going cause as much trouble as say, a failed hard drive, but I have a tendency to be lazy once I've spent the time fixing something up, I want it to be trouble-free for as long as possible, lol.

    Thanks a lot.

    Karbon