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Q: G4 12" ram 2gb  upgrade

have a g4 12" 1.5 - can I add 2GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400? seems this question about 2gb was answered (no) years ago when the 2GB single didn't exist. there's only one slot on my G4. but has anyone tried this stick? looks like it would fit and people say it works. it's cheaper than the 1GB and if I can 2gb for the price of one, why not?
thanks!

G4, Mac OS X (10.6.6), 1,5

Posted on Mar 18, 2011 7:06 PM

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Q: G4 12" ram 2gb  upgrade

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  • by BGreg,

    BGreg BGreg Mar 23, 2011 5:09 PM in response to applebutters
    Level 6 (17,522 points)
    Mar 23, 2011 5:09 PM in response to applebutters
    Welcome to the Apple discussions.

    I'm not aware of anyone who has used a 2GB ram in a 12" Powerbook. However, if you have money in your pocket, try it and report back. Recommend Crucial, Samsung, or Kingston (not their value ram line, though) memory.
  • by Gator TPK,

    Gator TPK Gator TPK Mar 23, 2011 11:54 PM in response to applebutters
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 23, 2011 11:54 PM in response to applebutters
    There is one thread I found that talks about this:
    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=762659

    I'm not sure it's real, the screen shot probably is, but can the 12" PowerBook G4 really use all 2.25 GB of RAM? It probably only uses up to 1.7 GB. Also, all 12" PowerBook G4s (All PowerBooks G4 period) use DDR memory, not DDR2. Trust me, there is no way that a PC2-6400 DDR2 will work in any PowerBook! Actually, after a little research, it appears that not a single PowerPC Mac, except the Dual and Quad Core Power Macs ever used anything more than DDR Memory. The Dual and Quad Core Power Macintosh G5 did use PC2-4200 DDR2, and that is about the slowest of all DDR2 memory. Even my 5 year old MacBook Pro (Intel) uses faster PC2-5300 DDR2 (probably the most popular DDR2 of all time).

    Yes, the DDR and DDR2 SODIMMs both have 200-pin, but are not at all compatible! (Completely different technologies, double the data rate, twice the CAS Latencies, etc.) DDR and DDR2 are just as different as DDR2 and DDR3. (Except they had the same 200-pins for SODIMMs)

    I have trouble finding a single 2GB DDR-333 (PC2700) SODIMM Module. I did read (now non-existent page) a page from Agile Technologies that they had one, but it was ECC. I emailed them an hour ago and await their response. It was a September 5, 2002 Press Release when they announced their 2GB DDR SODIMM Module. This is a Google web cache of the page with the Press Release:

    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yBHXNa6kGXcJ:www.agiletech. org/pr04.htm2gb+single+pc2700+ddr+-ddr2+-2x1gb+-1gb+-512mb+%2Bsodimm+-dimmmodule&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari&source=www.google.com

    Let me know if you can ever locate a single 2GB PC2700! (or any single 2GB DDR Module for that matter)

    Thanks in advance if you do find a 2GB DDR, I'd like to try it myself!
  • by danieladaniela,

    danieladaniela danieladaniela Apr 14, 2011 4:11 PM in response to Gator TPK
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 14, 2011 4:11 PM in response to Gator TPK
    DDR2 will never work.
    If someone does find a compatible 2GB stick, please post. I would buy, it does not matter if not all programs / not all OS processes can exploit all of it, the machine will be improved. I know that for a fact, I have too many retro machines all over the place
  • by danieladaniela,

    danieladaniela danieladaniela Apr 14, 2011 5:38 PM in response to Gator TPK
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 14, 2011 5:38 PM in response to Gator TPK
    Google found this. Disclaimer: it is DDR but I have not checked the other specs and there may be other obvious showstoppers. If there aren't and someone were to try it out, please post results

    http://www.priceblaze.com/Product.aspx?ref=1&rfid=2319379&q=