Mac Mini G4 RAM spec again?

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Level 3

645 points

Mac Mini G4 RAM spec again?

Sorry, I did this before, and have forgotten the answer.
I upgraded a Mac Mini from 256MB to 1GB, using some RAM. Now I have to do it again, to another Mini, and I forgot the specs. I don't want to have to open the first one to figure out the specs, so I am asking for some help here.

The spec as best I remember:
PC3200 (DDR400) SDRAM, maximum chip count 16, unbuffered.
I know that PC2700 (DDR333) is supposed to work, but I've heard enough horror stories (esp. with Kingston ValuRAM) to not want to risk it.
The last stick I used was from PowerQuest International (pqi).

Now, there was some restriction on CAS Latency... I know there is, but I can't remember off the top of my head, and didn't find it in recent forum postings.

What's the CAS Latency required for the Mac Mini G4 (1.25GHz version, with its 167MHz FSB?)

Thanks for any help.

Mac Mini Rev.A, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Mar 20, 2006 4:18 PM

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Answer 1

mhunter

Level 6

9,191 points

Mar 20, 2006 8:35 PM in response to Alex Lu

Here is what I have in my Mac Mini G4:

DIMM0/J11:

Size: 1 GB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30440

This is CAS 3 memory (denoted by the 3 in the 30440 number)

Type is PC3200

and mine is a 16 piece (8 on each side) memory module (16 chips).

This is a pretty common PC3200 module. I've had 7 or 8 modules (of varying capacities) in the last year, and they all matched this configuration (except some of them had the numbers 30330).

The first number in that series denotes CAS speed.

Other than that, the other important thing is to make sure it is a 184-pin DIMM.

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Answer 2

BGreg

Level 6

17,558 points

Mar 20, 2006 8:37 PM in response to Alex Lu

Alex

Apple says you can use either PC2700 or PC3200 (which operates at PC2700 speed) memory in the mini, with additional details at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300572

Knowing our macs are sensitive to memory, I wouldn't recommend value ram either, as I've seen a couple of situations where it hasn't worked. However, I wouldn't construe that to mean that there are issues with quality PC2700 RAM. I have a Crucial 1GB PC2700 strip in my mini, which operates fine, and passed both the Apple hardware test and Techtool Deluxe tests with no errors. I benchmarked the memory using Xbench, and saw no lowering of memory performance over other Mac mini's. The other day the Crucial 1gb memory was going for around $95.

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Answer 3

Alex Lu Author

Level 3

645 points

Mar 20, 2006 10:06 PM in response to BGreg

The other day the Crucial 1gb memory was going for around $95.
Thanks for that info. I just found the same pqi stick I used before on Newegg for about $74. Of course, Micron makes better chips, but I am a cheapskate. The last pqi stick ran well enough (in contrast with other cheap brands) -- doesn't mean this one will, but I'm risking it.
Thanks again for the info.

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