Mac RAM Upgrade

KED · August 18, 2008

Sorry, I know this has been addressed here, but I have spent the last hour searching. There seems to be a preferred third-party supplier of additional RAM for Macs -- can someone please shoot me a link?

Thanks!

davev · August 18, 2008

I think it's this one.

Crucial

pathfinder · August 18, 2008

Crucial.com is where I bought my additional 8 Gb. Works flawlessly.

Easy company to deal with also - I made a mistake on another order for my laptop and ended up being sent 2 1Gb chips instead of one 2 Gb chip. Just got the RMA number from their website, mailed the wrong chips back and got the right one all within a week or so. No problems or difficulties from the company.

Andy · August 18, 2008

Crucial, ftw

pathfinder · August 18, 2008

Andy, have you purchased from Other World computing -- www.macsales.com ??

I have bought a couple 1 Tb Seagate internal hard drives from them and really like them

Orders filled and shipped quickly.

I have not tried memory from them though. Like you I like Crucial.

But for hardware from non-OEM vendors, their prices are pretty good for the mac world.

KED · August 18, 2008

Andy wrote:

Crucial, ftw

Thanks Andy, Pathfinder, Dave- I'm on the Crucial website now, and as a New York cynic I have to ask -- $182 vs $999 for Apple RAM -- what's the catch? I see the "Apple-approved" imprimatur, which makes me more comfortable, but rarely does one see such a huge delta so I can't help but wonder. (PS i know that if, god forbid, I ever had to lug my Mac Pro in for service to Apple, I'd have to pull out the contraband memory).

Pupator · August 18, 2008

$182 vs $999 for Apple RAM -- what's the catch? I see the "Apple-approved" imprimatur, which makes me more comfortable, but rarely does one see such a huge delta so I can't help but wonder.

Check every other site in the world except Apple and see where the prices fall (far closer to Crucial's than Apple's). Then realize that Apple computers are (generally) targeted at a fiercely loyal audience, many of whom will only go into an Apple store for all their upgrades.

Then put 2 and 2 together.

(PS i know that if, god forbid, I ever had to lug my Mac Pro in for service to Apple, I'd have to pull out the contraband memory).

No, you don't.

KED · August 18, 2008

Pupator wrote:

Check every other site in the world except Apple and see where the prices fall (far closer to Crucial's than Apple's). Then realize that Apple computers are (generally) targeted at a fiercely loyal audience, many of whom will only go into an Apple store for all their upgrades.

Then put 2 and 2 together. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/deal.gif" border="0" alt="" >

No, you don't.

Ya know, I didn't even wait for a reply to my last post -- my order for 4 new gigs at <$200 is already in. I am totally into Apple (a late convert, and no AT&T iPhone for me), but that's just crazy.

And by the way -- here is the awesome power of the internet and the beauty of this forum -- 50 minutes from my original post, my order is already placed after strong endorsements from highly respected participants (mostly mods!) here -- how good is that?????

pathfinder · August 18, 2008

It is funny isn't it. Apple goes to significant length to show/display EXACTLY how to add memory in the manual( pdfs ) that come with the machine, and on the Apple website.

For my Mac Pro there is a three or four page full color article showing precisely how to add memory in pairs of chips, so I assume they do want us to do just that.

But they ( Apple) are willing to charge a large premium if you want/need them to add it for you. Fair enough, I say.

KED · August 18, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

It is funny isn't it. Apple goes to significant length to show/display EXACTLY how to add memory in the manual( pdfs ) that come with the machine, and on the Apple website.

For my Mac Pro there is a three or four page full color article showing precisely how to add memory in pairs of chips, so I assume they do want us to do just that.

But they ( Apple) are willing to charge a large premium if you want/need them to add it for you. Fair enough, I say.

Good -- soon I'll have the RAM, then Apple will instruct me on how to install it. Perfect actually. By the way, the $800 Apple vs Crucial premium for a 4GB RAM upgrade is hardware only -- I didn't see anything on the Apple store about a guy bringing it to my door and putting it into my Mac Pro as part of the deal!

I love my machine, as I'm sure you do yours, but they're not exactly portable!

pathfinder · August 18, 2008

Nonsense - my water cooled dual G5 was in at the Genius bar several times before I sprinkled Holy Water on its soul, and watched it wend its way into the nexus beyond mere mortals:D

I never loved that machine ( it was as noisy as a jet engine ), but the MacPro definitely Rocks, and is near dead silent too!!

cabbey · August 19, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

Nonsense - my water cooled dual G5 was in at the Genius bar several times before I sprinkled Holy Water on its soul, and watched it wend its way into the nexus beyond mere mortals:D

Heh, I've lugged mine into the genius bar a couple times too. The first time I did they were kinda shocked that I came walking into the store carrying it. They were like "you know you can call us ahead and we'll meet you up at door 16, right?" uhm, no, I hadn't known that. Now I do. Heaviest mac they ever made....

I never loved that machine ( it was as noisy as a jet engine ), but the MacPro definitely Rocks, and is near dead silent too!!

Odd, I just replaced my quad G5 with a quad MacPro... and so far, I'm NOT loving the MacPro. It stutters all too often, full screen video playback is herky-jerky (admittedly, I've also got more pixels now, but it's also a much newer graphics card.) And when I really push the box hard, I'll admit it's a touch quieter, but it's also a higher frequency, and it's far more annoying.

mrbill62 · August 24, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

Andy, have you purchased from Other World computing -- www.macsales.com ??

.

I use OWC memory & have for years. They have a lifetime advance replacement warranty - though I have never had to test the warranty.

mwgrice · August 25, 2008

KED wrote:

Thanks Andy, Pathfinder, Dave- I'm on the Crucial website now, and as a New York cynic I have to ask -- $182 vs $999 for Apple RAM -- what's the catch? I see the "Apple-approved" imprimatur, which makes me more comfortable, but rarely does one see such a huge delta so I can't help but wonder. (PS i know that if, god forbid, I ever had to lug my Mac Pro in for service to Apple, I'd have to pull out the contraband memory).

This is a pretty standard practice in the industry. For instance, third-party RAM for Cisco routers is much less expensive than the equivalent Cisco RAM. Or at least it used to be, last time I looked a few years ago. I think the same is true for Sun or IBM on many of their servers (at least the ones I use).

Note that I said "standard," not "good."

Occasionally the extra money may be worth it in terms of quality and service, etc.

KED · September 1, 2008

pathfinder wrote:

Crucial.com is where I bought my additional 8 Gb. Works flawlessly.

Easy company to deal with also - I made a mistake on another order for my laptop and ended up being sent 2 1Gb chips instead of one 2 Gb chip. Just got the RMA number from their website, mailed the wrong chips back and got the right one all within a week or so. No problems or difficulties from the company.

Update: 4 GB new Crucial RAM up and running; install a no-brainer with Apple's instructions; and Pathfinder, I made a similar mistake and caught it with timing such that the correct pair arrived a week before the incorrect, because their service is so good that even if you go with free slow-boat shipping initially, if you change your order they overnight it to you!

Excellent, excellent, excellent. One of the greatest value arbitrages that I have ever seen anywhere!

Moogle Pepper · September 3, 2008

I just bought Crucial 4 gigs of Ram for the macbook pro on Newegg.com for $66!

Mac RAM Upgrade

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