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Level 1

0 points

Unstable after RAM upgrade

I installed 4GB of Patriot RAM from Fry's. The specs are:

2 x 2GB, DDR3 PC3 8500

Model: PSD34G1066SK

This is the same set at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220338&Tpk=psd34G1066SK

During various operations, including SuperDuper, downloading files and watching YouTube, the machine froze and I had to restart by holding down the power button.

I've run memtestosx in single user mode and it didn't turn up any issues.

Should I return the RAM and get a replacement set? Should I go with a different brand?

Thoughts?

MacBook (late 2008) 2.4GHZ, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 18, 2008 7:03 PM

237 replies

Oct 20, 2008 12:28 PM in response to jtokash

I have bought crappy RAM from Fry's before that I had to return like 2x before I finally got some that didn't crash my laptop.

That was for a PC though

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Oct 20, 2008 12:45 PM in response to jtokash

jtokash wrote:
I don't see a brand name. There is an M symbol with a slanted oval around it... Maybe that's the manufacturer's logo?

Micron Technology of Boise, Idaho.

http://www.micron.com/products/

Samsung will either say SAMSUNG or SEC. Hynix has their name on their logo. I'm not sure what Qimonda's logo looks like. I think Apple might even use Elpida.

jtokash Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 21, 2008 10:50 AM in response to jtokash

I returned the RAM and will probably buy the crucial online at some point. I'd rather buy local so the exchange process (if necessary) is smoother, but it looks like that's not an option.

Mattc867

Level 2

201 points

Oct 21, 2008 11:50 AM in response to jtokash

I was looking into upgrading my RAM recently and from the stuff I read people made it sound like the MAC OS is really picky about RAM chips. I was told to specifically buy RAM marked as "Mac Compatible" on another forum. To me it seems like RAM should be RAM and that it wouldn't matter, but others seem to disagree...

mmike70

Level 2

324 points

Oct 21, 2008 2:39 PM in response to jtokash

How long did it take your macbook to crash after a reboot with the 4GBs in?

I'm having the same issue with the 4GB RAM kit from OWC and mine freezes after about 7 hours, never less. It's crashed under all conditions, under load or no load, ac or battery. Last two times it froze there was graphical corruption on screen but the previous 5 or so things just stopped, no pinwheel. 4 hours of running memtest checked out perfectly and there's no evidence of a kernel panic in the system.log file or on screen. Resetting the PMU and PRAM had no effect either.

mmike70

Level 2

324 points

Oct 21, 2008 3:12 PM in response to pogster

My 2.4 came with samsung.

jtokash Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 21, 2008 5:23 PM in response to mmike70

It varied, but I got it down to a set of tests that will get it to crash in an hour or less.

Basically, all at the same time: QuickTime running with a video (or four), YouTube playing (create a playlist and run that), a large (multi-GB) copy operation from one place on the local hd to another on the local hd, GrandPerspective analyzing the hard drive, a few large simultaneous network downloads, run visualhub to convert a video - run all of that while the screensaver is also running - mine was the photo slideshow (with pan/zoom) screensaver. Often, many of these operations would complete before the crash, but I think some of that activity is useful for speeding up the process of reproducing the problem.

I could not reproduce the crash when I booted from a USB hard drive. Run all of that stuff from your local HD.

mmike70

Level 2

324 points

Oct 21, 2008 6:08 PM in response to jtokash

Ok, thanks for the info. I've been running handbrake, fusion w/ server 2008 (2GB alloc), quicktime, google earth, etc but never had it lock up in less than 7 hours.

I'm trying out a second batch of memory from OWC right now @ almost 7 hours of uptime and so far so good as I'd expect. We'll see how it goes.

Just looked at the link in your original post, and the ram you got is exactly the as the memory OWC is selling.

mmike70

Level 2

324 points

Oct 22, 2008 9:53 AM in response to mmike70

I'm at 23 hours uptime now and everything is still running smooth which is a new record by 14 hours. I'm hoping I just got unlucky with the first batch of memory.

Oct 22, 2008 10:01 PM in response to jtokash

I purchased patriot ram 2x2gb kit from frys. My MB aluminum has been crashing randomly. I would suggested taking that memory back, i did.

gpotts

Level 3

585 points

Oct 23, 2008 2:57 AM in response to Jesse Guerrero

I bought the OWC 2X2GB kit. I've been having crashes too mainly with watching Flip4Mac streams.

I've been using the Apple Hardware test looping all night and it hasn't found any trouble with the RAM. I'm going to put my original 2 GB back in and see if it works. Then I'll have to get replacement chips from OWC.

HapMan

Level 1

0 points

Oct 23, 2008 4:18 PM in response to jtokash

I'm getting the same symptoms - hangs when doing large processes (mostly in SuperDuper, transferring large amounts of data) but it has happened in various places on the OS.

I, do, however, have Apple Branded RAM that I purchased when I ordered the machine.

I'm pretty frustrated at this point as the machine has crashed probably about 15 times requiring a force power down each time. (I've also had one kernel panic when working in iPhoto.)

jgmdean

Level 1

30 points

Oct 23, 2008 8:08 PM in response to jtokash

There appears to be DDR3 RAM out there with at least different CAS. I've seen 7 and 9. It might be an idea to check the timing specs on the original stick's chips and make sure any upgrades match or exceed.

Interestingly Crucial's site is giving an error for the MacBook late 2008, but the MacBook Pro late 2008 takes you to the correct DDR3 parts. AFAIK the new Macbook and the new Macbook Pro take the same DDR3 SO-DIMMs.

James

Oct 24, 2008 7:37 AM in response to jtokash

I have upgraded my new MacBook with the OWC 4GB package. Since I have experienced a total system freeze about 6 times. It has occurred when watching video both ripped video with Quicktime and a DVD. The first time I had other programs running so I tried closing all programs and still had freezes. It's strange though because it doesn't always freeze up. Last night I it froze after 10 minutes, I restarted and had no freezing for over 2 hours.

I am thinking about putting the original ram back in.

Oct 24, 2008 8:00 AM in response to jtokash

I replaced the Samsung RAM in my 2.4 MacBook with 2X2GB of the Crucial RAM, and have had no problems whatsoever.

Unstable after RAM upgrade