# What is "Mac RAM" and "PC RAM?"



## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

When looking for RAM on eBay, how do you know if it'll work in a Mac or not? I never thought there was Mac or PC specific RAM, but some auctions have stated, "This RAM does not work with Apple computers." 

Shouldn't any 512 MB PC-133 SDRAM DIMM work in my iMac DV? Or what do I need to look for?


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## live4ever (Jun 23, 2003)

I know Corsair states that their ram does not work with Macs.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

You are correct that there is no such thing as Mac RAM or PC RAM, but there are variously characteristics to RAM such as CAS Latency, parity, ECC, speed, voltage, etc. I believe why some companies state that certain RAM is MAC RAM is to identify to some of us people that don't know RAM that it will work in a MAC. For instance I haven't got a clue about ECC and parity, but if it states it's MAC G5 DP2.5, DP2.0, or DP1.8 RAM, it should work in my G5. Not all users know everything about RAM. I'd rather just go to a reseller and tell him I have a G5 DP2.5 and let him figure out what type of RAM I need.


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## Kuan (Sep 17, 2004)

Thats true Kosh, I too would rather go to a reseller and buy ram that would work for sure in my Mac. However, there are huge price ranges for ram on the market and often as mac users we get pinged when buying ram as its not too clear what will work and what won't.

So there is a gamble here. Get a cheap price on some ram but not be 100% sure it works in your machine... or pay a bit more and get the for sure thing...


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

As Kosh said, there is no such thing as Mac RAM or PC RAM, but there are certain characteristics to each module that can set it apart from the rest. 

The reason some manufacturers say that a specific module is for a specific machine (Kingston, for example) is that they test those modules with those machines and guarantee that they will work.

There is always the slight chance that generic RAM won't work.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14918&item=6709116456&rd=1

Any reason not to buy this DIMM? I'd like some opinions, simply because I'm very tempted to buy this...


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Would be nice if the seller had provided some Manufacturer info such as manufacturer name and part # or what system he used it in. At least then you could check it out on the manufacturer's web page or a RAM site.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Yeah, I e-mailed him looking for a brand-name... he said it's an IBM chip, although that really doesn't say much for the mot part.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

What you want to do is buy your RAM from a Canadian company that both knows Macs and has reasonable prices. This strategy will probably cost a bit more initially compared to buying on eBay, but it will save you grief in the long run.

If you have a local source that meets these specs, go for it. If not, I'd suggest Canada RAM in Victoria BC.

http://www.canadaram.com/macram.html

They're great people, I've known one of the principals for years.

Cheers :-> Bill


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