Apple store RAM or Crucial RAM??

I would definitely go with 3rd party RAM. The most important thing with 3rd party RAM though is just to make sure it's specifically qualified to work with your specific model Mac Pro. Having the same specs is typically not enough.

markf007 wrote:

... Are there any major differences (other than the price) Like speed differences a Computer Novice like I, should take into consideration?...

Do they have the heat sinks that Apple specifies? These do: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory#1333-memory

As long as the RAM is guaranteed compatible with your Mac, there is no reason to buy the expensive RAM.

There is no benefit derived with regards to speed or performance in the exorbatantly priced RAM. It is no different than any of the other major RAM makers Mac RAM.

In fact, the RAM that Apple sells is made by one of three or four major RAM manufacturers...... Samsung, Hynix and Micron (Crucial) for sure.....

To maximize the value of any RAM you buy from any Vendor, tell them your Mac model, and have them supply RAM that they "guarantee will work in your Mac or your money back".

If they cannot provide this assurance, you are not yet dealing with an appropriate Vendor.

I believe that Crucial in the UK and elsewhere can work inside this framework if you ask them. Many others can as well.

Apple is very, very slow to adjust its prices to reflect market prices.

There is also a bit of a "convenience store" effect with them. Like the (inflated) price for a single pre-chilled soft drink at a convenience store, vs the price of a carton of soft drinks at a supermarket.

Apple won't ever "sort it out" per se. Their objective when it comes to their peripherals and upgrades is to give a one stop shop approach with stable/fixed pricing rather than actually trying to be competitive. In many cases, it's simply for people who don't want to shop around. While in this case there a greater than 5x price difference which is particularly bad, Apple generally don't care.

It's not often that it goes in our favour, it sometimes does (more that it's sometimes less bad). For instance, when HDD prices shot through the roof because of the disaster in Japan, Apple's prices across the board (from components to new systems) remained unchanged when everyone else's did.

Only one period in over 12 yrs where market price on RAM went very high in 2010 was Apple even close to the market and semblance of affordable. But shorter warranty. Apple wanted 3x what a standard hard drive cost which only briefly came close to market (WD Black 2TB went from $170 up to $270-289 briefly, and seemed to be an extra $100 slapped on many brands and models). Which led to people experimenting more with cheaper green model line.

There are no special heatsinks. That was a feature of FBDIMMs, not DDR3.

Mac doesn't let you go in and adjust anything so they have to follow exact voltage, SPD to conform to Apple's firmware.

Besides Micron/Crucial you can also find Kingston in UK, and don't know if Alternet in Germany is of any use but they are large online vendor that carries equipment like Mac compatible memory.

Crucial may or may not (have not checked in a year) carry 8GB or 16GB DIMMs which are popular (3-4x8GB for single socket for instance appeals to CS5/6 users).

Price on DDR3 1066/1333 ECC is probably as low as it could get.

The hatter wrote:

...There are no special heatsinks. That was a feature of FBDIMMs, not DDR3...

Funny thing is that I recently ordered an 8GB DDR3 DIMM from OWC for my 2010 Mac Pro 6 core and by mistake they shipped me one without the heat sink, just bare chips, which didn't match the others I'd already bought from them. They made good on the correct replacement right away so for their responsive customer service as well as their good products and prices I'm comfortable recommending them. The original 1GB DIMMs that came from Apple with the Mac Pro didn't have heat sinks but all the 8GB DIMMs I've gotten from OWC (except that one) do. This is the type I use: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/1333D3MPE8GB/ and this is what initially got shipped: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/1333D3ECC8GB/. I'm frankly not clear what the difference in application is after looking at both web pages but given the chance to have heat sinks, I'd go for it.

Interesting. Didn't realize and while PC users often flock to RAM heatsinks for their over clocking and cooling potential, I'm not sure they are needed or whether they improve thermal range. Any tests? Small price when buying a $100 DIMM.

I got hit with $300 for 2x512MB FBDIMMs 6 yrs ago today: Happy b'day 1,1.

The hatter wrote:

...I'm not sure they are needed or whether they improve thermal range. Any tests?...

I would think the heat sinks would improve heat dissipation. At the same time, the DIMM slots are in line with the air flow and without the heat sinks, there's a lot more room for the air to pass between the DIMMs and carry away heat. There's still space with the heat sinks but definitely less. Indeed, I raised a question awhile ago with a number of sources about the viability of leaving slot three in a four slot RAM configuration free and using slot four for the third DIMM simply so that at least one side of each DIMM wouldn't have impeded airflow but no one knew for sure. Recently, X423424X posted a link to a collection of service manuals and in the 2010 Mac Pro manual I found "Note that you cannot place a DIMM in slot 4, without first placing a DIMM in slot 3" which is about as definitive as you can get.