is there a working 4gb kit out yet? (THIRD PARTY PLEASE, NOT FROM APPLE)

I assume you are talking about memory?
I have been using memory from Other World Computing for some time now and have absolutely no problems with their brand.

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?sort=pop&model=267&type=Memory&TI=0 512&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

Viable 4GB kits have been available for many months from many vendors. I personally prefer RAM from crucial.com

so please give me a HELPFUL post

What more do you want? You've already been given 2 suggestions from reputable RAM dealers...OWC and Crucial. If you don't like them then that's your problem.

All the best vendors are listed on my FAQ*:

http://www.macmaps.com/badram.html

I can confirm both Crucial and OWC are good vendors, and they stick to their reputations. Mind you keep your old RAM in case you do get bad RAM so you can verify the problem is with the RAM you received.

- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

piercehhan wrote:
there are posts all over the internet especially here of failing kits with freezing being directly linked to upgraded ram.

Don't believe everything you hear on the Internet or here. "Bad RAM" is often just a scapegoat for some other problem.

so please give me a HELPFUL post

Your responses have been very helpful. There is nothing I can add. Keep in mind that many of those "horror stories" you hear about bad RAM are from people who buy on eBay or Craigslist. You will notice that those sites are not found on anyone's list of good sources of RAM.

Believe me I understand where you are coming from piercehhan. I would like to have a definate answer on RAM that does work.

I bought 4gb of Kingston (NOT value ram) and I had the freezing issue. I am waiting on replacement so I am hoping the 2nd lot will be ok. If not, I will have to try another brand. I am hoping because DDR3 is so new it was a bad 1st batch ( *crossing fingers *)

There is a seller on Ebay which is selling "samsung" branded ram and I have heard from 1 person that it works fine in his new mb. Apple seem to be using Samsung branded ram so maybe it is 100% compatible (My original sticks are Samsung).

If I were you I would order 4gb from a company that does offer a refund if you do experience freezing. This way you can try various brands until you find one that works ok for you. Just because a brand of ram works for some doesn't always mean it will work in your machine.

Hi All,

I bought mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 (PC8500) Dual Channel Kit Memory For Apple - Retail
from newegg.com. This ram caused freezing, so I returned it. I ended up getting RAM from Apple and have had no freezing since. Cost was $135 for the mushkin (and it was specifically stated for Apple Macbooks that took DDR3 SODIM 1066 memory.) The Apple store gave me the same price but I had to turn in my 2G of original Apple RAM.

I think there must be something that Apple is writing to the SPD area of memory or the CAS spec is different from the ones that I purchased.

Message was edited by: chloe2

Regarding different memory vendors:

Apple: You will pay more, but you won't have to install it yourself - for a savings of 5-7 minutes
eBay: Just don't. They are lying to you.
Craigslist: See above. Did you know that people in your own town will lie to you too?
Newegg: You can get a good price here. You can get things that aren't available anywhere else. You have to do your homework. See how many reviews a product has. Only buy the items that have lots > 50 reviews - all of them 5 star. Read the reviews. If there are a dozen or so that say it works great in their Macbook, then it will work in yours.
OWC: Select your Mac, pick how much RAM you want, pay about $2 more than NewEgg, enjoy.

It is certainly possible to get good RAM and other products from any vendor - including eBay and Craigslist. However, no one who bought their RAM from OWC ever posts here saying it didn't work. No one.

etresoft, you may want to have a read through this thread. There are users who have bought from OWC and are having the freezing issue.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1757875&tstart=0

aliciar wrote:
etresoft, you may want to have a read through this thread. There are users who have bought from OWC and are having the freezing issue.

I like OWC because they are Mac-only. You can just pick your Mac, select what upgrade you want, and you are guaranteed that it will work. Plus, the prices are just as good as anything you'll get from NewEgg.

There are certainly other companies that are just as good, but many people have had very good experiences with OWC. Many people have had very bad experiences with eBay-types.

That being said, there is nothing whatsoever about OWC memory that is different than any other brand of memory. It is all the same stuff. Some of it just comes from different suppliers with varying specs. OWC tries hard to make sure the components they buy will work in a Mac. NewEgg isn't going to do that. If there is a "bad batch" of RAM, you are just as likely to get it from OWC as anywhere else. But the same applies to Apple too. I would consider Apple's RAM and OWC's to be equivalent. They both buy from the same people. They both try to make sure it works in a Mac. Neither can be 100% successful. I just think you have a much higher chance of having good components if you buy from Apple or OWC than from anyone else. OWC just happens to be much cheaper than Apple.

I bought a 4gb kit from Kingston and have not had a single problem with it. Crucial is also a good brand as well.

i can confirm Hynix CL7 2x2 GB modules work flawless here

Hynix is the brand I've seen Apple use a lot.
It also is among the higher priced brands.

I just got RAM from eBay samsung branded. Seller is a store that has a guarantee and a return policy. The RAM seems to work fine so far....

Running VMware and FF 3.1(MB version mindfield) with 30 tabs open and flash playing .... so far so good lets see what happens in few hours. If anyone wants a link I can provide for a seller, with cashback the total came out to be 63$ shipped.