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

Mar 9, 2007 3:54 PM in response to Parag

Some recent changes in the Mac Pro RAM scene.

It seems OWC is no longer carrying the Techworks brand for the Mac Pro (was cheaper directly from Buffalo anyway at $297 for the 2x1GB kit). It also seems they're no longer using the "Apple identical" Hynix RAM as the OWC house brand. However, their prices have dropped a good bit - both the OWC and Netlist brands.

2x1 GB kits:

OWC brand - $284 (cheapest I've seen anywhere from a "reputable" dealer)
Netlist - $299

Crucial has also dropped prices somewhat with the 2x1GB kit going for $374. Better, but still almost $100 more than OWC.

-phil

sergoo7

Level 1

45 points

Mar 9, 2007 7:04 PM in response to Parag

hi there i have NETLIST and they run somewhere in 115 and 120 F so I got the 2 gig modules total of 16and they stay at that temps so im gonna get rid of the 1 gigs OWC has them too

Mar 9, 2007 7:25 PM in response to Phil Shockley

The prices have dropped, but so has the rebate if you send in your original 512 chips. It's now only $100 (120 before). It's not clear who the manufacturer of the OWC house chips is. The Netlist is what Apple is using for BTO systems that want more ram. At least that's what OWC says. For $15 more it's perhaps a smarter move than getting an unknown but equally warrantied set.

Mar 9, 2007 11:31 PM in response to William Robinson

Yes, but I thought that the OWC brand looked like the original ones in my Mac... are you saying that i I had purchased some BTO RAM it would have had a totally different look???

Thanks,

R

Mar 10, 2007 12:19 AM in response to Robert Broussard

That's a maybe. Apple uses Micron/Crucial , Nanya, Hynix...... whatever fits the spec and is stable. If one brand starts to turn up a bunch of bad RAM, they move to the other providers. I'm willing to bet Apple supplies the heatsinks for all the above and uses all of them based on supply/availability.

Michael

Mar 10, 2007 12:38 AM in response to Michaelworks

Okay, let's say the OWC heatsinks look exactly like the Apple 512MB stock heatsinks according to the pics I saw on the OWC site.

That other brand... NetList? Had a totally different heatsink design.

Right?

R

Mar 10, 2007 6:00 AM in response to Robert Broussard

There are probably multiple reasons why Apple will use a certain brand at any given time. Price, supply, reliability, etc. While many Mac Pro users were saying the previous brand of OWC's chips (Hynix), were identical to the RAM that shipped in their Macs, mine shipped with Crucial/Micron (at least the 512s I purchased from Crucial looked identical to my Apple-shipped sticks).

It's important to note that the vendor you purchase from is just as important (if not more so), as the brand of RAM you buy. Any vendor's RAM can have problems (including Crucial and Apple), so those vendors who quickly resolve customer issues are highly valuable. In that regard, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the "untested" (reports from users here), RAM that OWC is now using. (well, I might wait to see a report or two first) 😉

-phil

Mar 10, 2007 12:07 PM in response to The hatter

the hatter wrote:

Nor do I see myself ever needing more than 4GB.

chuckle

That's what I thought when I loaded up my Power Mac 8500 with a whopping 144 MB of RAM in 1996. But to be fair, it served me well without further RAM upgrades for five years! (Though I did eventually upgrade the processor.)

It cost $900 for two 64 MB DIMMs! That sure puts $200 per gig in perspective. 🙂

I'm currently sitting at 2 GB, which serves me pretty well most of the time, but I plan to add another gig or two this spring.

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 10, 2007 12:22 PM in response to Robert Mohns

I am already using 4GB on a heavy day, and if/when I include Parallels, that will surely mean buying more RAM! 😉

Let's see.... $300 per 4 x 256K (1MB upgrade for SE/30) would... break the bank for 4GB! right? Only later would it come down to $40 per MB.

Who was it said, "no one will need more than ____" or, 128K when CP/M got along with 64K? Our COBOL compiler needed 32K in 1967 so everything had to be shipped overnight on tape to be run - once - because our school computer only had 16K!!

MarkJT

Level 1

125 points

Mar 11, 2007 7:54 AM in response to Parag

I've had MaxUpgrades 2x 1Gb with MaxSink for months now without incident, I had them replaced by RMA after the first kit gave me many ECC errors. I had good email support/ shipping to Australia from the US.

Mar 11, 2007 3:16 PM in response to MarkJT

Has anyone bought the new OWC 1G chips? If so what "brand" are they. Formally their house brand was hynex, same as Apple was using. But now they make no mention of the manufacturer, only the Apple approved heat sink and the lifetime warranty.

sergoo7

Level 1

45 points

Mar 11, 2007 3:53 PM in response to Parag

any one here have the NETLIST modules and how have they been working for you ??

sergoo7

Level 1

45 points

Mar 11, 2007 3:56 PM in response to Parag

has any one have NETLIST modules they are useingand how are they

Mar 18, 2007 2:25 PM in response to sergoo7

OWC's prices for 2x1G chips have lowered a bit more:
Netlist $289.99
House Brand $279.99

Rebate still at $100

Still no idea who makes house brand.

Mar 18, 2007 2:35 PM in response to William Robinson

My OWC "house brand" arrived as Hynix, the same that came fro the Apple factory.

Michael

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RAM Manufacturer Opinions