NoName RAM vs. Brand Name
I was thinking of upgrading the Ram on my Powerbook G4/1.5 gig 17". So I called a local shop that I usually deal with & got a quote on 1 gig of RAM (I have a gig in already & have one slot free). So they tell me a gig is $999 Canadian (about $840 US). Or I can get 512 megs for $249 CDN which is more in my price range right now. They normally sell only Kingston RAM.
I was just on O'Grady's Powerpage & I saw an add for Wegener Media
http://www.wegenermedia.com/fallblowout.htm
They have a gig of Samsung memory for my Powerbook listed for $239.99 US. I have never used anything but Kingston Ram before, so I don't know the difference here, but that is quite a price difference. They also have the following disclaimer there:
So what I am asking is, does anybody else have any insight on cheaper ram? Samsung, are they a notable company?
Would I be making a mistake going with the cheaper ram?
I was just on O'Grady's Powerpage & I saw an add for Wegener Media
http://www.wegenermedia.com/fallblowout.htm
They have a gig of Samsung memory for my Powerbook listed for $239.99 US. I have never used anything but Kingston Ram before, so I don't know the difference here, but that is quite a price difference. They also have the following disclaimer there:
Quote:
We stock all RAM shown here, and guarantee all RAM to surpass Apple's standards for RAM cards.
ALL RAM is guaranteed to fit your Powerbook, and comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY! Our RAM is fully tested for each laptop, and is guaranteed to fit THAT specific laptop!
Please note: RAM prices are very volatile-these prices change constantly, and are good when posted as posted.
What about Firmware?
Recently Apple implemented several firmware updates which caused compatability issues with certain 3rd party RAM. However, we fully guarantee our RAM modules to exceed all Apple requirements for all firmware revisions. Our RAM is fully JDEC MO161D Compliant, and is guaranteed for life.
We stock all RAM shown here, and guarantee all RAM to surpass Apple's standards for RAM cards.
ALL RAM is guaranteed to fit your Powerbook, and comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY! Our RAM is fully tested for each laptop, and is guaranteed to fit THAT specific laptop!
Please note: RAM prices are very volatile-these prices change constantly, and are good when posted as posted.
What about Firmware?
Recently Apple implemented several firmware updates which caused compatability issues with certain 3rd party RAM. However, we fully guarantee our RAM modules to exceed all Apple requirements for all firmware revisions. Our RAM is fully JDEC MO161D Compliant, and is guaranteed for life.
So what I am asking is, does anybody else have any insight on cheaper ram? Samsung, are they a notable company?
Would I be making a mistake going with the cheaper ram?
Comments
Samsung is an excellent company, but I don't know what the RAM that Apple normally uses is.
I trust the corsair ("3rd party") RAM in my G5 way more than I trust the stuff Apple was going to charge me THREE TIMES THE PRICE for.
I'd go for it. If they say it'll work, then you can return it if it doesn't. I'd give it a 99% chance of working, so that's a 99% chance you'll save hundreds of dollars, and a 1% chance you'll just have a hassle.
I had to go with the Local Expensive Ram. I have a big Photoshop project I thought was going to be a few days off, but it came in (in a mad rush) today.
Couldn't wait for the shipping.
Oh well, there is always next time.
Originally posted by Bulky Cranium
Thanks for the reply folks.
I had to go with the Local Expensive Ram. I have a big Photoshop project I thought was going to be a few days off, but it came in (in a mad rush) today.
Couldn't wait for the shipping.
Oh well, there is always next time.
Can you return that RAM once you're finished with the project? Paying 3x the going price for RAM is kinda crazy. Unless you're going to charge that $1K to the client.
[edit]
Oh, and there's no way I would call Samsung a no-name brand.
Originally posted by rrabu
Actually, isn't Kingston more of a "noname" brand than Samsung. I know Samsung makes memory. Doesn't Kingston just test and rebrand other manufacturer's RAM?
I heard this also.
I heard there are only like 20 RAM manufacturers world-wide, the rest are re-branders
http://www.crucial.com/
For workstations I buy cheap as but for any server I buy direct from the company that makes the server.
When I worked for Digital (when it was still called DEC) the memory was graded A AA B BA BB or something similar.
DEC machines always had the A grade which was really expensive but was very trustworthy. Wang used B or C grade which was cheaper but less reliable.
I don't know if this is still the case or not.
Dobby.
Originally posted by Bill M
Micron Technology is one of the top quality memory manufacturers. Their online store (crucial.com) is probably one of the best too. Excellent service and priced right. Try them the next time you are shopping for ram:
http://www.crucial.com/
Micron is also the only SDRAM manufacturer left in the US.