Is all PC 133 SDRAM DIMM 168 pin suitable for Macs

Hi, ANOTHER post, sorry... Is all PC 133 SDRAM DIMM 168 pin suitable for Macs ?
I want to expand my Digital Audio, from these forums I have deduced that the maximum ammount of RAM I can fit is 3x512mb, I looked on ebay and it is awash with 512 PC 133 SDRAM sticks, what is the difference between buffered and unbuffered?
Will they all work?
Thanks
Robert

Powermac G4 Giga-ethernet Dual 1.2ghz 100bus 2 Gig Ram 2xHD 80gb+120gb USB1+2/FW, Mac OS X (10.4.9), wireless network

Posted on Jun 27, 2007 1:21 PM

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4 replies

Jun 27, 2007 3:30 PM in response to Robert Gillam

Buffered, registered, and ECC SDRAM are slightly different from each other, but their purpose is essentially the same. Each type is designed to verify the integrity of the data before it's passed along, so that errors can be detected and corrected (if possible) when found. While buffered and unregistered memory are typically used in servers, some home PCs have ECC memory in them. Macs don't support any of these types of memory, so you must look for unbuffered, unregistered, and non-ECC SDRAM. The most obvious physical difference is an additional chip on each side of the DIMM. A compatible 512 MB DIMM for your G4 will have (8) chips on each side, for a total of 16. An ECC 512 MB DIMM will have (9) chips on each side.

Jun 29, 2007 1:55 PM in response to Robert Gillam

HI Jeff, its me again... I was looking at these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2X-512mb-iMac-Ram-Cards_W0QQitemZ120136505396QQihZ002QQcat egoryZ80034QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I see they have eight modules and the gaps between the pins look similar but the RAM I already have has a gap of about one module wide in the middle of it, the seller says they do not know anything other than they came from a iMac 500mhz
Can one identify them by sight?

Jun 29, 2007 6:31 PM in response to Robert Gillam

Your G4 Digital Audio requires PC-133, whereas the slot-loading G3 iMacs (350-700 MHz) only require PC-100, but can use PC-133. The auction that you linked only indicates that the pair of 512 MB DIMMs were pulled from a 500 MHz iMac, but doesn't identify them as PC-100 or PC-133. Since you need the latter type, you need to know before bidding. A simple means of identifying PC-133 would be the individual memory chips' speed, which should be printed on them. If -10, -8, or -08 is printed on them, the SDRAM is PC-100, whereas -07, -7, or -7.5 would indicate PC-133.

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Is all PC 133 SDRAM DIMM 168 pin suitable for Macs

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