Level 1

65 points

RAM Manufacturer Opinions

HI everyone. Looking for some advice on places to buy RAM for my Mac Pro. Looks like most places that have been recommended by people on the forums are charging around $400 for 2GB (2x1GB) of RAM. Manufacturers I'm talking about are newegg, transintl, macsales, 4allmemory, etc. I've found a few that are a little cheaper and was wondering if anyone had any experiences with them. Memory to go and power line memory both are a bit cheaper with memory to go selling for about $366 and Power Line Memory selling for $338. I believe I've seen members saying that they've had good experience with the memory to go modules. Has anyone used the Power Line Memory modules? A link to the product is:
http://store.powerlinememory.com/ma685g-a.html

Also, any other opinions are more than appreciated. I'm certainly not averse to paying the extra $40-$70 for something that I know will provide good results but if either of these prove to be good choices, then I'm also not averse to saving a little chaching!

Thanks.

Mac Pro 2.66 Stock Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Jan 5, 2007 6:19 AM

110 replies

jbwjim

Level 1

20 points

Jan 19, 2007 6:32 PM in response to Parag

Anyone had any problems with Ram from these guys for a MacPro 2.66??
store.powerlinememory.com/ma685g-a.html

Please advise as I am thinking of getting 2- 1 gig sticks over the weekend. Thanks in advance........JIM

jbwjim

Level 1

20 points

Jan 19, 2007 6:34 PM in response to Parag

dclayton

Level 1

40 points

Jan 19, 2007 7:35 PM in response to jbwjim

I recently purchased two 512 MB sticks from Transintl. They arrived very well packed, are working flawlessly and constistently run a few degrees cooler than the Apple Dimms.

Joe Loud

Level 1

0 points

Jan 20, 2007 7:49 PM in response to infinite vortex

Now how does one find their page ins/outs ratio? I'm pretty new to the Mac thing.

New Mac Pro 2.66 GHz... my first Mac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Feb 12, 2007 10:29 AM in response to jbwjim

Anyone had any problems with Ram from these guys for
a MacPro 2.66??
store.powerlinememory.com/ma685g-a.html

No experience with them but that 2 GB kit isn't exactly a great deal. The price shown is WITHOUT the Apple-approved heatsink. (I wouldn't buy Mac Pro RAM without an Apple-approved heatsink) When it's added, the price jumps to $444! There are better deals to be had from known sources.

Here's another place that I've heard good things about - with decent prices. (and they use quality Samsung RAM)

Link

-phil

Feb 1, 2007 9:46 PM in response to Phil Shockley

I haven't heard much about MaxUpgrades, but their 2GB kit which they say features Samsung memory, is now the same price as OWC's brand with Hynix memory, both $350 as of 2/1/07
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory

So the question remains, which brand has worked the best, and at what price for you that have purchased?

I checked out Hynix's site. They merged with LG Semiconductor in 1999, and LG has had a good rep. Samsung also has a great rep. from everything I've read.

What about Techworks $370, or NetList $390 (2 GB kit)?

CRUCIAL;
What about Crucial at now at $360? Very good rep.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Mac+Pro

Kingston almost $500 at New Egg?

Mac Pro, and MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7) Win XP on second HDD

Feb 2, 2007 4:45 PM in response to nathannookie

Oh, the wacky world of FB DIMM prices ...

I'm emabarrased to admit I've become a bit addicited to checking prices. I really want to pick up 4 x 1 GB but with the prices fluctuating so much, it's worse than playing the stock market! MaxUpgrade prices seem to decline at a slow but steady pace. I think they've dropped 3 or 4 times this week.

And yep, Crucial prices have finally come down out of the stratosphere and given the $10 difference for the 2x1 gig kit, I wouldn't hesitate - Crucial is always my first choice.

However, I just saw transintl.com (also very reputable), has a 4 x 1 GB kit for $678.

Feb 3, 2007 11:53 AM in response to dclayton

As an Apple OEM vendor and in my personal Mac workstations, I have purchased hundreds of SIMMs/DIMMs from TechWorks over the last 20 years and as far as reliability & compatibility go, they have been top shelf. Only one failure in all that time. No problem, as they guarantee their RAM for life and replaced it immediately... no questions... no hassle.

Mac Pro 2.66GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

BKENT

Level 1

10 points

Feb 5, 2007 12:00 PM in response to Parag

memory to go

Very nice people to deal with. The stuff came lightning fast now installed and works great. Buy the 2Gig $366.00 one with heat sinks.

From Canada,

Cheers.

MAC PRO Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Feb 7, 2007 9:33 PM in response to BKENT

Memory to Go aye?

Why do they show different part numbers for the same memory configuration depending on whether it's for a 2.0, 2.6, or 3.0 GHZ system?

Crucial and most of the others I've checked show same part for any speed Mac Pro.

http://www.memorytogo.com/comp_modelsearch~famid~Mac+Pro~txtManufacturer~Apple.h tm

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Feb 8, 2007 6:52 AM in response to nathannookie

So that they can track sales, returns, or problems with a batch or configuration usually.

The 3GHz 5160s have different operating temps, and we know FBDIMMs are small heaters (and 10W per).

Crucial price looks nice makes me wish I'd waited a month for my last purchase. ;-(

GRS

Level 3

891 points

Feb 9, 2007 2:17 PM in response to The hatter

crucial or ramjet; never had a problem with any kind of ram, notebook or desktop.

Feb 10, 2007 1:24 PM in response to GRS

I ordered 2gbs (1gbx2) from Maxupgrades and had to RMA it after about 3 months. It was strange from the start. Sometimes it would show up as only 1gig and then it stopped working completely. It got real hot. I wouldn't suggest it.

Feb 11, 2007 10:38 AM in response to GRS

I just got 4x1G FB-DIMMs from Crucial for my MP and two of them ran hot. What I think is far more important than the fact that the two RAMs are sub-par is the complete lack of hassle in getting Crucial to cross-ship new RAM modules to me. One "call" to their live-chat customer service and not only were the new modules on the way, but the label was emailed me promptly for the free return of the old modules. No muss, no fuss, and an apology for my trouble. Their treatment of the issue reminded me of the quote about judging a man not by his falling down but but how he gets back up. For the foreseeable future Crucial will definitely have my business and recommendation.

Feb 11, 2007 11:17 AM in response to Hunter Ware

Just out of curiosity, and I'm just speculating here, but did you swap the hot and cooler DIMMs positions to see if airflow had anything to do with it?

If it's not airflow, is it the way the heat sinks are applied that causes the difference in temperature?

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RAM Manufacturer Opinions