Forums | MacLife
You are not logged in.
#1 2007-05-01 11:02 am
What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
By cheap RAM I mean ram that runs me about $130-150(CDN) for 1 1024 dimm.
I just want to know if I risk damaging or currupting anything in the future by putting this RAM in my computer. I've read that people running servers should invest in higher-end ram. Although all the specs seem the same, and the only thing that makes high-end RAM high end is the price.
Am I risking anything buying discount RAM?
thanks
P.S 1.5GHz 15 '' Powerbook if it matters
Offline
#2 2007-05-01 11:06 am
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator
- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13818
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
Cheaper RAM is usually produced to lower tolerances than that speced. It can lead to operating anomolies, crashes, freezes, and so forth. Incompatible or actual bad RAM modules will affect booting, operation and can also affect writing reading from disks.
Cheaper RAM that is reliable can be found by shopping at established and reputable Mac shops. Many of the places that advertise in MacWorld and Mac|Life would qualify. If you get a real deal that is too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Something is wrong with it.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
Offline
#3 2007-05-01 11:09 am
- pottymouth
- Uncreative
- Moderator
- From: JP, MA
- Registered: 2002-02-06
- Posts: 17411
- Website
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
What brand? I'd say look it up on newegg and see if anybody's got anything bad to say. I always use relatively cheap stuff (usually corsair or kingston) and have never had a problem.
Offline
#4 2007-05-01 11:12 am
- Jonski
- System Lord
- From: Parts Unknown
- Registered: 2005-02-22
- Posts: 768
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
G4cubeguy wrote:
Am I risking anything buying discount RAM?
P.S 1.5GHz 15 '' Powerbook if it matters
Yes, quite a lot, actually.
And yes again, it does help to know which machine we're talking about.
But where are you getting your prices from? A quality make like Crucial only charge US$125.99 for a 1 Gig stick for that model. That's CDN$139.60, I believe. For 9 Canuck bucks and 60 pennies over your minimum, I'd say it's worth it.
Last edited by Jonski (2007-05-01 11:15 am)
Offline
#5 2007-05-01 11:13 am
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
- Moderator
- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13818
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
And laptop RAM is always more expensive than desktop. Different form factors and heat restrictions.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
Offline
#6 2007-05-01 11:19 am
- NAG
- A witch!
- Royal Wombat
- From: /usr/local/apps/nag
- Registered: 2000-09-22
- Posts: 30229
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
And Macs tend to be way pickier about their ram. You can get some cheaper stuff but you run the risk of it not working.
Offline
#7 2007-05-02 12:05 am
- Mr. T
- Best of both worlds
- From: omnipresent
- Registered: 2002-04-02
- Posts: 4231
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
That's really the biggest risk. It's not going to damage anything. More expensive RAM usually has better timings. The timings are listed as a set of numbers in the order of most to least significance (lower is better). In the real world, the performance implications of various timings is marginal, but it's important that the memory meet Apple's specs. Even more importantly, the memory has to publish its specs properly to the machine at startup. Many modules mess this up, in which case, the machine will reject the RAM.
Last edited by Mr. T (2007-05-02 12:06 am)
while (1) {fork();}
Offline
#8 2007-05-02 12:27 am
- D'Eyncourt
- OMGDICTATOR
- Registered: 2001-12-27
- Posts: 8808
- Website
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
Depending on which model 1.5 GHz PB you have, you can see a selection of RAM here for the older model, or here for the last model from Other World Computing. I think that even after you adjust for Canadian dollars you'll see that these prices are below the range you proposed.
BTW: I am typing on an older 1.5 GHz PB and have 2 GB of OWC RAM.
BOYCOTT SONY
"I think the question now is not whether you went to Vietnam or whether you didn't, whether you fought in the war or fought against the war. I think the only question is whether we can find a president smart enough never to make a mistake like that again"--Molly Ivins, way back in 1992
Offline
#10 2007-05-03 11:06 pm
- Tom_N
- Member
- Registered: 2002-01-24
- Posts: 889
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
justine wrote:
Your biggest risk is losing all the money you spent on cheap ram.
If your time is worth anything, a bigger risk is losing a large amount of valuable time, trying to get work done on a flaky computer.
Even worse is if the computer corrupts a document in a way that is not instantly apparent.
"I saved $10 on RAM ... and won a no-expenses-paid trip to meet the IRS!"
Offline
#11 2007-05-03 11:32 pm
- manwe
- Member
- Registered: 2006-01-28
- Posts: 125
Re: What do I risk by purchasing cheap ram?
"I saved $10 on RAM ... and won a no-expenses-paid trip to meet the IRS!"
Do you have a story to share with us?
G4 iBook 933 MHz 1.12 GB Ram running 10.5.1
Offline
