Is Mac/Apple RAM the same as PC100 168-pin SDRAM?

[clutz123]

I now have to work on Macs at my grad school lab, and my G3 is dragging along with only 64 MB of RAM. I opened the case and looked on a few sites, and it seems that Apple RAM is just PC100 "PC" RAM. But then on Apple's site the sell a 128 MB stick for $200. What's up?

Thanks

 

[Tontoe]

I think you can't use regular PC ram in G4's anymore, ever since the last bios update or something, not sure if this applied to G3s, but I remember reading this someplace. Anyone elses memory better?
If you like I could plug a PC module into a G4 and see what it does...hmm, no I think I'll keep the apple safe...it's kinda expensive.

 

[benjamit]

apple has pc100 and pc133 depending on the fsb on their models
i don't know if the mobo you have is compatible with 133 but the 100 should be same for pc and apple
just compare the apple dimms to pc dimms since you have the case open and find for your self

 

[clutz123]

they look the same to me, as far as i can tell. same size and spacing of connectors. i don't have any PC Dimms on me right now (i'm on the mac as we speak). i think G3's are PC100, and G4's are PC133.

i just wanted to make sure, as me screwing up one of these machines would be bad.

i kinda like how the case opens so easily , right in the middle of me typing...

 

[Eug]

Just go to Crucial's website and do a search for your Mac model. It will tell you what kind of RAM is needed. And yes, standard PC133 SDRAM will work in most recent models.

BTW, every big company seems to charge a lot for RAM. Just check out Dell. They bilk you for RAM prices there too. (However, part of this is to compensate for the ever fluctuating prices.)

 

[Raincity]

Yes its the same for the G3/4. You can go to the Crucial website and use the ram locater for each model and you will see a entry for Apple then the models if you dont believe me.

Rain

 

[Flat]

any PC100-133+ RAM will work in a G3, ramseeker.com is the best place to search for Mac memory. Get the cheap stuff, it works

 

[clutz123]

aw yes, i should have thought of crucial myself, just bought some RAM from there. good stuff. thanks all!

 

[DarkManX]

<< I think you can't use regular PC ram in G4's anymore, ever since the last bios update or something, not sure if this applied to G3s, but I remember reading this someplace. Anyone elses memory better?
If you like I could plug a PC module into a G4 and see what it does...hmm, no I think I'll keep the apple safe...it's kinda expensive. >>



since when do macs have a bios?

 

[benjamit]

i think macs have pram (preferences ram) that needs a lithium bat to keep settings like bios
correct me if i'm worng

 

[Gunbuster]

Apple did a bios update to some g3/g4 to tighten up the ram timing spec.
Made some 3rd party sicks not work anymore.

The first model Imacs used laptop sized SODIMM's

 

[rhinox99]

Just be sure to buy CAS2 ram or else your system won't boot at all!

it has to be naturally coded as cas2 rather than &quot;it is capable&quot; of cas2 speeds

 

[clutz123]

Really? Good call. The ones in my systems are 3-2-2. Dang, that means i can't plug in my old 128mb PC100. That would make soooo much difference. sigh....

 

[spazntwich1]

I've been seeing some pretty incorrect advice here...

Speaking from first hand experience, I can at least confirm that standard crucial pc133 works in G4's, and not just CAS 2.

My friend just recently bought him a shiny new dual G4, and I just told him to buy from crucial. The silly old boy bought 2x256 meg sticks of CAS 3, non ECC, unbuffered PC133. We plugged it into his 2 open DIMM slots, hit the power switch, and it booted up just fine. In &quot;About this Macintosh&quot;, it had him listed at the full 640 megs of RAM we had installed.

I see no reason crucial's pc100 won't work in a mac with a 100mhz FSB, so I wouldn't worry dude.

EDIT: The silly part is referring to hs getting CAS 3, not the fact that it was also non ECC and unregistered. I realized this might be a little confusing, for what it's worth.

 

[soupwizard]

>since when do macs have a bios?

They call it the firmware - the initial program the mac uses to start up and test hardware. There was a firmware update released recently that tightened up the memory testing programs that gets executed at start-up, to weed out the crap memory some people had been installing (and causing crashes).