DDR2 RAM in Powerbook?

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Level 1

110 points

DDR2 RAM in Powerbook?

I just upgraded my 15" MacBook Pro and took out a 512MB DDR2 PC2-5300 stick in the process.

Does anyone know if I can use this in my PowerBook (15" G4 1.5 GHz)? The memory spec on the G4 is for DDR PC2700, so the MBP RAM is considerably faster. I've read that you can put faster DDR memory into a machine that doesn't go as fast, but I have no idea about putting DDR2 memory into a DDR system.

Thanks in advance,
-Chris

17" MBP, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jun 11, 2007 11:35 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 12, 2007 1:05 AM in response to Chris Henry

DDR2 is the next generation of ram compared to DDR, i would have my doubts about it working properly. However, I dont think it hurts to just try it and test it yourself to see if it will accept it.

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Answer 2

BGreg

Level 6

17,558 points

Jun 12, 2007 6:25 PM in response to Chris Henry

No, the DDR2 memory won't work in a system made for using DDR memory. On the PPC PowerBooks, the last iteration used DDR2 memory, and in the 15" line, that's the 1.67Ghz double layer hi-rez machine.

What you're thinking of is that you can typically use faster memory, which the system will use at whatever lower speed it's designed for. However, DDR and DDR2 are both very different, starting with different pin configurations. Also, the cutout on the RAM board is different for DDR and DDR2.

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Answer 3

Chris Henry Author

Level 1

110 points

Jun 12, 2007 9:04 PM in response to BGreg

Thanks! It's a bummer that the memory for the PowerBook really hasn't come down in price. I picked up a 1GB stick for my 1.8 GHz MBP for $40 from Crucial last week. They want $120 for a 1 GB stick for my PowerBook. OWC wasn't much better. Argh.

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