Use of high density PC133 RAM in a G4

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Level 2

288 points

Use of high density PC133 RAM in a G4

I am upgrading a G4 tower 867 MHz which uses PC133 SDRAM. The module I was looking at states "512MB 64X64 3.3VOLT SDRAM 7.5NS W/ EPROM UNBUFFERED PC133. THESE ARE HIGH DENSITY MODULES".

I cannot find anywhere the specs for the Mac other than:
* 128MB or 256MB of PC133 SDRAM
* Three DIMM slots supporting up to 1.5GB of PC133 SDRAM using the following1:
—128MB or 256MB DIMMs (64-bit-wide, 128-Mbit technology)
—512MB DIMMs (64-bit-wide, 256-Mbit technology)

Apparently, so machines run into problems running "high density" modules. How can I find out if this Mac G4 is compatible?

G5 1.8 GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.8), iBook 10.4 & Beige G3 w G4 upgrade 10.3

Posted on Sep 7, 2007 3:11 PM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Sep 7, 2007 5:19 PM in response to The Hammer610

Hi-

Generally speaking, G4's have the best success with low to medium density DIMMs.
I have tried high density, before (because there was no real "info" on the subject), and the DIMMs weren't even recognized.
High density modules will have chips on one side of the board, while low will have chips on both sides of the board. The individual chips have larger capacity in high density. High density is usually sold for PC's.
Here in Japan, the HD memory is sold with optional "compatibility insurance" because there are often compatibility problems with high density DIMMs.
Check out memory at :

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/
http://www.crucial.com/store/drammemory.aspx

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Answer 2

The Hammer610 Author

Level 2

288 points

Sep 10, 2007 1:07 PM in response to japamac

Your answer was very helpful. Thank you!

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