# Ram for the MAC



## Paynesmanor (May 14, 2006)

I have a friend who has a MAC computer, I know nothing about macs. She needs to upgrade her ram, APPLE is telling her she needs MAC ram. I looked online and there seems to be no difference between MAC ram and PC ram.

I am fluent when it comes to a PC. I know the ins and outs, ups and downs, and all the little tricks, I have about 15 years experiance rebuilding them from the ground up.
I KNOW NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO MACs. however I did use one once for about 5 mins.  

Does MAC differ from the PC, as far as the hardware? Spacifically the RAM.. Is it interchangable with PC ram? ( again I know the ins and outs of the different types of ram for a PC what works with what, and what not)..
Do Mac's require dual sticks, like some MOBO's? ( where you need two sticks of the same size). 

Any information or opinions you feel would be helpfull, and I would appreciate very much. Please dont send me to the Apple website, or some other technical website, Its just a basics question.


In another note, I will possibly be changing the ram for her, when she does get the right kind. Anything I need to know that differers from a PC tower, or laptop?


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

I trust Crucial.com for all my memory needs. They can tell you what you need for memory for just about any computer. But for the most part the DDR memory you put in your PC is the same they put in Macs these days.


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## iansjack (Nov 28, 2010)

There is one big difference between Apple RAM and RAM from other vendors. Apple will charge you eight times the price for the same component.

Go to Crucial - their memory is as good as any.


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Which Mac?
Make sure you're aware that many/most Macs use SO-DIMMs so you'll likely be looking at laptop size RAM.


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

iansjack said:


> There is one big difference between Apple RAM and RAM from other vendors. Apple will charge you eight times the price for the same component.
> 
> Go to Crucial - their memory is as good as any.


I like our new member already!


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## Zarnak (Jan 24, 2012)

Squashman said:


> I like our new member already!


Agreed. 

Semi-related question though. Anyone know what "brand" the RAMs are in a Mac or do they rebrand everything in the computers?


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## iansjack (Nov 28, 2010)

2GB modules that I pulled from my Mac Mini Server are branded Hynix. Can't say I'd ever heard of them, but Wikipedia tells me they are second only to Samsung. I didn't check the branding on the Crucial modules that I replaced them with.


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## tompatrick (Apr 19, 2010)

Apple used to use certain JDEC specifications on their ram which made other manufacturers ram incompatible. These specifications had nothing to do with speed or performance, but seemed more like an excuse for them to sell you apple only ram from apple.
Apple mostly uses Samsung RAM these days.

Most Mac users trust Crucial, Ramjet, and macsales.com for trusted RAM chips and services.

ALL THE BEST


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

tompatrick said:


> These specifications had nothing to do with speed or performance, but seemed more like an excuse for them to sell you apple only ram from apple.


Not to defend Apple but I'm sure the requirement of that was RAM limited to a few older Macs (G5s?) and the reason was directly related to stability issues. The issue wasn't the RAM itself but the supporting chipset that Apple used previously had issues with timing and the memory controller.



tompatrick said:


> Apple mostly uses Samsung RAM these days.


Source?
Pretty sure they use a lot of Hynix RAM. (Another South Korean electronic giant)


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## tompatrick (Apr 19, 2010)

> Source?
> Pretty sure they use a lot of Hynix RAM. (Another South Korean electronic giant)


They actually buy both Samsung and Hynix RAM. My Mac Mini came with Samsung DDR3 RAM.
Source - http://guides.macrumors.com/Buying_RAM


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

tompatrick said:


> They actually buy both Samsung and Hynix RAM. My Mac Mini came with Samsung DDR3 RAM.
> Source - http://guides.macrumors.com/Buying_RAM


Like I suspected, Apple buys it from all over, it's all based on pricing and profit maximizing.
I was more suspect of your use of the word *mostly* Samsung which was a bit misleading. No problem though.


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