PC2-5300 Ram in a PowerBook G4 High Res?

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PC2-5300 Ram in a PowerBook G4 High Res?

Hi, All.

I am dying on a vine here. My 17" PowerBook started locking up on me about a month ago and then finally died altogether. I had 2GB of Kingston RAM in it (running smooth for over 2 years). This is the 10/2005 model which takes DDR2 RAM. I took my computer to the Genius Bar, after changing the HD and trying different RAM configurations. We sent it off to have the Logic Board tested, but it was sent back saying the 3rd party RAM was the issue. I tried TechWorks Ram and Samsung RAM, both from OWC, but still got the panics and lock up problems. I took it back to Apple/Genius Bar where the tech spent 2 days running tests and again confirmed my PB worked fine with Apple memory. This, of course, was all done free of charge and I do appreciate that.

So, the tech said he used newer memory, the PC2-5300 RAM that is coming in the new MacBooks. I also read that this memory would work in my PowerBook since it also used DDR2 memory. So, I'm on my 4th type of RAM now, some Hynix PC2-5300 that came out of a new MacBook Pro and when I turn on the computer, the power light blinks 2 or 3 times and that's it. (I have no sound, another issue which hasn't been addressed).

Is there something I need to do to get the computer to recognize this memory, or was I misinformed about it being backward compatible with my PowerBook. I really hate to spend another penny on memory, when it seems like my problem is Logic Board related. However, Apple will not test the logic board until I have Apple RAM in the machine. My guess is they will want the PC2-4200 memory that came with it originally.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is my 4th PowerBook and 10th Mac machine I've owned in my lifetime and I have never had this much trouble. I'm going on a month now without resolution.

Thanks in advance.

Derek

PowerBook G4 17" High Res, Mac OS X (10.5.2), 250GB HD

Posted on Apr 7, 2008 2:23 PM

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Answer 1

BGreg

Level 6

17,558 points

Apr 7, 2008 7:28 PM in response to LP Freak

Welcome to the Apple discussions.

Sorry to hear about the memory issues. Apple sources memory from Crucial/Micron, Samsung, and Hynix, that I'm aware of. So when they say they want 'Apple' memory in there, they are talking one of those brands.

On the Crucial website they say that memory is designed to be backwards compatible, noting, however, that faster memory will operate at the slower speed the computer is designed for. Apple did have a note for the original mac mini about using PC3200 memory in place of the spec'd PC2700 memory.

That said .... our Powerbooks are sensitive souls when it comes to memory. Memory which has met Apple's written specs has often not worked, because the Apple architecture uses bus slewing, which is tough on memory (a google search on 'mac memory bus slewing' will turn up the Apple developers documentation that talks about this).

If the memory is the right memory, your Powerbook should fire right up. Personally, I'd recommend Crucial memory ... they guarantee that their memory will work when chosen from the memory selector on their web site at http://www.crucial.com .

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Answer 2

LP Freak Author

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Apr 8, 2008 8:23 AM in response to BGreg

Thanks for the response. At this point, I am skeptical about ordering from crucial. I figured OWC was a reliable source of memory and I tried the TechWorks and then the more expensive Samsung. Does anyone know the specific part numbers of the Samsung and Hynix memory Apple used on these DDR2 G4's? I am wanting to avoid spending $200 on memory from Apple, only to find out that it is indeed a logic board problem.

For the record, I tried Samsung M470T2953CZ3-CD5. Same problem... By itself, the PowerBook USUALLY operates as normal. It will sometimes work with the 23" Cinema display and the older Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse. As soon as I plug in another USB device it locks up. Also, with the new Apple Keyboard it just goes to the blue screen during boot up.

I also have no sound and have checked the connections several times. Has anyone else had this problem?

Derek

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 10

80,466 points

Apr 8, 2008 1:50 PM in response to LP Freak

RamJet specifically mentions the bus slewing issue and claims their RAM can handle it. Here:

http://ramjet.com/pbg4.asp

Quote:
Bus Slewing: Some models of PowerBook G4 Aluminum use this feature which lowers the voltage to the memory when the PowerBook is on battery power. This conserves power. However, this also means that you need a special Bus Slewing compatible SO-DIMM that can handle an undervoltage properly. Ramjet SO-DIMMs for the PowerBook G4 Aluminum have the low voltage feature, and therefore the Ramjet modules here are Bus Slewing compatible

I ordered RAM from them a long time ago but that was when PC100 was hot stuff. Haven't dealt with them in years but haven't heard anything bad.

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Answer 4

mplomin

Level 1

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May 2, 2008 7:44 PM in response to Allan Jones

I've got a 1.25MHz G4 PowerBook Aluminum, and my memory configuration is as follows:

Memory Slot Size Type Speed Status
SODIMM0/J25LOWER 512MB DDR SDRAM PC2700-25330 OK
SODIMM1/J25UPPER 1GB DDR SDRAM PC2100-25330 OK

Since the G4 PowerBook specs PC-2700 and I've got PC-2100 running OK, I wonder if I'm overclocking the 1GB chip or if I'm dragging the 0.5GB chip down. Either way, I don't care and it's running fine.

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Answer 5

May 3, 2008 9:12 AM in response to LP Freak

Hi,

And yes, I have DDR2 5300 Ram in my 'Late Model' PB, like yours.

Have you tried putting in just one module and seeing if it starts? And then moving it to the other slot and seeing if that works? Do you have the original Ram yet, to try?

It may not be the Ram but ONE of the memory slots causing this. If so, the other should work fine.

PS: Make sure it is 'unplugged' and the battery 'out', pause a minute, plus touching the metal case to neutralize any 'static' you may have... before you open the case and replace the modules.

Message was edited by: The Bohemian

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Answer 6

Jun 26, 2008 5:49 PM in response to The Bohemian

Patriot Memory sells 1G and 2G DDR2-667 PC2-5300 modules specifically guaranteed to work with Intel MacBooks, but that guarantee doesn't apply to us. It might be worth a try.

What I'm experimenting with is a matched pair of Patriot 1G PC "Extreme Performance" low-latency PC2-5300-4-4-4 modules. My memory benchmarks are +/- 3% depending on the time of day I run them. The only significant difference I've noticed so far (either on or off battery power) is that my system sees the modules as MUCH slower PC2-3200S-2-6-6 modules (no such SDRAM module has ever been manufactured, so the system is concocting this somehow). BUT, my benchmarks run more-or-less the same; memtest in single user mode reports no problems; and so far there have been no other evident side effects.

Can anyone suggest why I'm getting the weird "PC2-3200S" reading? (Yes, I took the memory back to the shop I got it from, and it came up fine as PC2-5300 in a PC laptop.)

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