Will Mac Powerbook PC133 SODIMMs Work in Dell Inspiron?

[shadowjack]

My question is about mixing apples and oranges: will Kingston Powerbook PC133 SODIMMs work in a Dell Inspiron 4100?

My friend has an Inspiron 4100 that the lying thieves at Dell sold her with only 128MB installed. (Yeah, I know! She didn't know any better, and I can't believe they swindle customers like this. The laptop is useless because the machine thrashes constantly. It takes -- no exaggeration! -- over ten minutes to load Firefox and you can't run two programs at once, just like the old days of 8088s with 512K.)

Anyway, I've been trying to avoid having her spend $150 for a new 512MB upgrade since that's excessive for old memory. (The DDR stuff is $30 after rebate!)

I found someone selling a used stick of Kingston KTA-PBG4/512 for a Mac Powerbook at $40, and thought that would do the trick. (It's Kingston, so if it goes bad it's got a warranty.)

But I can't tell if Mac memory is compatible with a Dell. Both are PC133 and have the 144 pin pinout. I called Kingston and they said they hadn't tested Mac memory in Dell laptops, and they couldn't tell me if there was a difference. They did want me to use Kingston KTD-INSP8100/512 memory which is specifically for the Inspiron, but which I don't see for sale (used) very often in this size.

Has anyone done this type of upgrade? Is there any difference in memory or is this just a scam to allow memory vendors to charge more?

I'd be grateful for any tips here.

Thanks.

 

[thecoroner]

This might help you:
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys...b1250d72?sa=X&oi=groupsr&start=1&num=3

A lot of times there isn't a difference between memory of different brands. I've never heard of a question like this before so I don't want to give you an answer and turn out to be wrong.

One side note. Please don't blame Dell for the fact that the notebook only has 128 MB of memory. She easily could have gotten more RAM when she bought the notebook. It's not Dell's fault she made that decision. I will admit Dell can be very misleading with their advertisements sometimes.

 

[shadowjack]

Thanks for digging out the link. That's, unfortunately, for 72-pin SIMMs. I used to swap them all the time, putting Mac SIMMs into Intel and vice-versa, and discovered there wasn't any difference.

I can blame Dell. Ordinary people don't understand that 128MB is totally inadequate for Windows XP, no matter what Microsoft says. Dell sells this configuration as if it is a usable laptop. Yes, she could have gotten more memory, but she didn't understand that the configuration advertised was TOTALLY unusable. It takes fifteen minutes to boot! And then you can't run more than one job at a time!

Dell lies. They lie all the time. (I had to sue Dell because they sold me a computer that didn't work and wouldn't fix it.) Their whole operation is bait and switch -- advertise a low price and then when you try to make it usable the price balloons. And they sucker people into buying machines that don't work and then connect them to tech support hell so they just give up and buy another one.

You can't expect ordinary people to understand machine configuration. Minimum amount of memory for XP is at least 256MB. At least. Unless all you use is notepad, and even then it will still take forever to start up. And Dell needs to tell people this and not cheat them.

 

[thecoroner]

In that case, why not just put the RAM in the PC for a day and see what happens?

As long as they fit in the slot correctly, I can't think of too much damage that could happen. The worst thing I could think of would be system instability. But don't hold me to my answer!

 

[shadowjack]

Sigh.

Because I have to buy the SODIMM and if it doesn't work I'll have to sell it in ForSale/Trade. This is a hassle and it can cost money. Ok?

I'm just looking for a simple "yeah, I do this all the time and it works" or "no, way, dude, one's CL2 and the other's CL2.5 and they don't play together."

I know you're trying to be helpful, and I do appreciate that, but this wasn't a "what do you think will happen" sort of question.

 

[thecoroner]

Well if you have to buy it don't do it. I thought you meant you had the RAM on hand.

Sorry I couldn't be of much more help!

I guess you must have a special reason for buying Mac RAM. Otherwise you would probably just buy PC RAM.

 

[shadowjack]

Dude, I clearly stated I didn't want to buy Kingston's Dell-certified SODIMM for $150 if I could get a compatible Mac one for $40. Ok? Sigh.

 

[thecoroner]

Well, you don't have to buy Dell memory or Kingston or Mac. Why not just buy the cheapest name brand DDR memory you can find on Newegg? Almost all memory comes with a warranty. In fact, you could easily get a stick of 512 MB for $50.

 

[shadowjack]

Sigh.

Because this computer takes PC133, not DDR. Because I want Kingston, not some fly-by-night memory vendor that I'll have to mail something back to and have downtime until it is replaced. Some of us use computers for work and can't afford downtime.

Dude, did you even read my posting?

 

[thecoroner]

Yes, I have. I just mixed a few simple things up. Don't flame me. So far I've been the only one who's taken the time to try and help you.

Anyway, you really don't have to go with Kingston. All memory companies use the same memory chips for the most part. There are probably a dozen other memory manufacturers just as good if not better than Kingston. But if you really want to go with them, it's your choice.

Here is some PC133 notebook RAM. Brands I have heard are good are mushkin, Patriot, OCZ, pqi, Crucial, GEIL, and Kingston just to name a few.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...00170381+70002142&ATTR6=&ATTR7=&ATTR8=

And besides, how do you know Kingston is better than all the others? What makes their warranty so much better? Trust me, these guys all do the same things to keep costs in line. No brand name memory maker is truly superior to the other.

 

[MeddlePAL]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...10170381+70002142&ATTR6=&ATTR7=&ATTR8=

Now stop being so b**chy and don't even tell me that Muhkin and Patriot are fly-by-night operations. Hell, memory manufacturing is far from fly-by-night you don't just decide to start crapping out sticks of memory one evening.

TheCoroner beat me to it.

 

[shadowjack]

Ok. The prices for 512MB SODIMMs on NewEgg -- which I checked out when I realized she needed more memory -- range from a low of $85 for AllComponents, a second-tier brand, to a high of $100 for Patriot. (Use your own link! You're looking at prices for 256MB, not 512MB.)

Why should I pay these prices when I can buy 512MB Kingston for $40 locally with zero shipping? It's less than half the price!

TheCoroner was talking about DDR (which isn't compatible with PC133) and and just popping it in for a test drive when it was clear he hadn't read my original posting at all.

 

[MeddlePAL]

It should work. Contact Kingston if you are really concerned about compatibility.

 

[shadowjack]

You, sir, didn't read my posting. Neither did TheCoroner.

I clearly wrote, "I called Kingston and they said they hadn't tested Mac memory in Dell laptops, and they couldn't tell me if there was a difference." So your advice to "Contact Kingston if you are really concerned about compatibility." has no value because I've already explained the outcome of that phone call.

Furthermore, your "it should work" comment is a rephrasing of my original statement that I "thought [it] would do the trick". Yes, it seems reasonable, but I didn't ask for unfounded guesses.

What I need to know is whether or not someone on Anandtech has done this experiment and what the results were. Offering off-the-cuff advice when you have no experience on the subject is not helpful. Neither is telling me to buy 256MB parts for more than a 512MB one will cost me, and when I want the larger SODIMM, and not a smaller one.

Sigh.

 

[MeddlePAL]

You, sir, didn't read my posting. Neither did TheCoroner.

I am browsing through the forums and going elsewhere - I am not going to remember your entire post in my head and be able to remember it when I reply. I made a mistake i'll cry about it later.

As for guessing - Sorry. But experimentation is sometimes the best way to find out. Even in business where downtime must be minimized, experimentation is often key.

 

[thecoroner]

Originally posted by: shadowjack
You, sir, didn't read my posting. Neither did TheCoroner.

I clearly wrote, "I called Kingston and they said they hadn't tested Mac memory in Dell laptops, and they couldn't tell me if there was a difference." So your advice to "Contact Kingston if you are really concerned about compatibility." has no value because I've already explained the outcome of that phone call.

Furthermore, your "it should work" comment is a rephrasing of my original statement that I "thought [it] would do the trick". Yes, it seems reasonable, but I didn't ask for unfounded guesses.

What I need to know is whether or not someone on Anandtech has done this experiment and what the results were. Offering off-the-cuff advice when you have no experience on the subject is not helpful. Neither is telling me to buy 256MB parts for more than a 512MB one will cost me, and when I want the larger SODIMM, and not a smaller one.

Sigh.

Well, you didn't specify what kind of advice you wanted. When you post a message in a public forum, you should expect to get replies from everyone.

Obviously the "experts" have been unable to help you so far. Who do you consider an expert? It looks like most people read your thread and skipped over it because they couldn't help you.

 

[shadowjack]

Your comment "Well, you didn't specify what kind of advice you wanted. When you post a message in a public forum, you should expect to get replies from everyone. " shows how little you understand Anandtech. I know, you just joined today, but still. Read and learn, grasshopper, read and learn.

I clearly wrote: "Has anyone done this type of upgrade? Is there any difference in memory or is this just a scam to allow memory vendors to charge more?"

I didn't ask for uninformed opinions. I didn't ask for guesses. I didn't ask for advice about buying DDR memory when what I need is PC133.

Your claim that you're "helping" me is false. You're wasting my time, the time of everyone reading this, and cluttering up this thread with totally pointless advice. Don't do this. I know you just joined today, but please don't "answer" questions you are totally unqualified to render an opinion for, especially when you haven't even read the question. It doesn't help anyone. Ok? Just stop doing it.

 

[shadowjack]

Let me get this straight. Did you really write: "I am browsing through the forums and going elsewhere - I am not going to remember your entire post in my head and be able to remember it when I reply."

I'm pretty amazed by that. If you can't remember what you are replying to, you should (a) not post because it won't be helpful and (b) see a doctor about that short-term memory problem, because it could be significant.

You view of just posting random responses because even a stopped clock is right twice a day isn't going to help people on Anandtech with questions.

Double sigh.

 

[chilled]

I'm not sure where this thread is going, but I'll add my thoughts.

I have a Compaq laptop which uses PC2100 DDR RAM. I recently found 2 x 512MB Powerbook DDR PC2100 cheap on ebay. It works fine. Memtest passes without errors and there's no instability.

Whjen I was researching on the subject, I found that ever since Apple moved to PC133 RAM, there was common ground with the PC. It's usually the case that Macs are more picky with RAM than PCs, so as a rule, all Mac RAM (SD/DDR) should work in a PC, but not all PC RAM will work in a Mac.

Hope this actually helps.

 

[thecoroner]

Originally posted by: shadowjack
Let me get this straight. Did you really write: "I am browsing through the forums and going elsewhere - I am not going to remember your entire post in my head and be able to remember it when I reply."

I'm pretty amazed by that. If you can't remember what you are replying to, you should (a) not post because it won't be helpful and (b) see a doctor about that short-term memory problem, because it could be significant.

You view of just posting random responses because even a stopped clock is right twice a day isn't going to help people on Anandtech with questions.

Double sigh.

I'm very sorry I originally made a mistake in my response. I did read your entire thread. Call it a brain fart. I'm a very busy person I make mistakes like that occasionally. Either way, my advice still applies.

You are being totally rude to me. To begin with, you yourself are a new member here. You may have been a member since 2002, but you've only made 37 posts. I may be new here, but I've made literally thousands of posts (over 2100 in one) in forums. I know how forums work.

You were just angry because you weren't getting the answers you needed. Sorry, but that's life. No need to bring it out on me.

Your comment "Well, you didn't specify what kind of advice you wanted. When you post a message in a public forum, you should expect to get replies from everyone. " shows how little you understand Anandtech. I know, you just joined today, but still. Read and learn, grasshopper, read and learn.

I clearly wrote: "Has anyone done this type of upgrade? Is there any difference in memory or is this just a scam to allow memory vendors to charge more?"

I didn't ask for uninformed opinions. I didn't ask for guesses. I didn't ask for advice about buying DDR memory when what I need is PC133.

Your claim that you're "helping" me is false. You're wasting my time, the time of everyone reading this, and cluttering up this thread with totally pointless advice. Don't do this. I know you just joined today, but please don't "answer" questions you are totally unqualified to render an opinion for, especially when you haven't even read the question. It doesn't help anyone. Ok? Just stop doing it.

I'd be grateful for any tips here.

Apparently you forgot what you said! Don't point the stick at me when you contradicted yourself. You said you would be grateful for any tips, however, you later posted "I didn't ask for uninformed opinions. I didn't ask for guesses."

Do not call me uninformed. Especially when you think Kingston is the only reliable brand of RAM.

Now, let's stop fighting. Flaming does no good in forums, especially when someone needs help with a problem. I don't believe in flame wars. However, I needed to show my side. I'm sure you'll learn more as you post more here at Anandtech and mature on the Internet so to speak.

 

[chcarnage]

Originally posted by: chilled
Macs are more picky with RAM than PCs, so as a rule, all Mac RAM (SD/DDR) should work in a PC, but not all PC RAM will work in a Mac.

I second this, you should give this Kingston offer a try. In all probability it will work fine. In the past Apple computers had their own exotic RAM formats, but nowadays the Macs are just less tolerant on the RAM timings than the average PC.

 

[shadowjack]

Once again, Anandtech comes through. Yay!

Thanks to chilled and chcarnage for spot on analysis and advice. Good to know that Macs and PCs have had compatible memory since the move to PC133.

(And TheCoroner? You're still a moron. See what real advice looks like? Notice how they read my post and didn't waste my time with idiotic commentary.)

Thanks again for the tips. I'm going to get the SODIMM.

We return you to your regularly scheduled forums.