Third-party RAM versus Apple RAM

Hey everyone,
Excuse me if this has been answered before, I did a search and didn't really find what I was looking for.
I'm about to buy a new MBP and I would like to know how people think the quality of third-party RAM (Crucial and the like) fares against the quality of Apple RAM. As I know all of you know, I would save a couple hundred dollars going with a third-party vendor. But, almost everyone I've spoken with has told me that with RAM you "get what you pay for." Well, can anyone be more specific? What is so much better about the Apple RAM, if indeed it is that much better?
Thanks!
Ian

I've just done exactly the same - new MBP with 2Gb and then bought a 4Gb kit for £50 (about $100) from Crucial. Fitted in 5 minutes, all working well. Saved around £200 ($400) against buying a 4Gb unit and still have 2 x 1Gb spare for 'future use' somewhere...
I've always bought 3rd party RAM for my 10+ PCs over the years, never had any issue at all. Apple don't make their own memory - they buy in the chips just like everyone else.
I love my Macs, but the obscene markup they place on RAM to catch those who are not comfortable with taking a few screws out of the Mac does irritate me.

Similar Messages

The difference between regular ram and "apple ram" from 3rd parties

So I made a previous post on the Macrumors forums regarding whether the RAM issues in the Unibody MacBook have been resolved or not: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=692653
It seems that most people who bought OCZ ram have had no issues what so ever. I am located in Canada so a store like CanadaComputers is great for me because I can go pick it up instead of having it delivered and pay shipping costs (as opposed to Newegg.ca). On their website, they have two modules with similar specs expect one is found in the Apple ram section and the other is in the regular ram.
Apple Ram (OCZ)
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...80&cid=RAM.188
Regular Ram (OCZ)
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...id=RAM.187.778
When comparing the specs, the only difference I can see is that the CL on the Apple ram is 7-7-7-20. The CL on the regular ram is CL 8-8-8-27.
The price difference between the two is $57! OCZ's website confirms that one is made specifically for Apple Notebooks and the other is just regular.
Can anyone explain what CL is and whether it is something that needs to be taken into consideration. Thanks.

That only needs to be taken into consideration if you're using applications which are very demanding about performance, which aren't intended for usage by home users. Click here for more information.
(43042)

Third Party Repair vs Apple Store Visit (weird situation/question)

I have a 24" intel iMac that recently went kaput. I turned it on last night and it could no longer find any startup volume. It was as if my hard drive just vanished. I tried rebooting, I tried holding the option key and booting, I tried holding c and booting, etc. to no avail. There was just no longer a hard drive. I booted from the install cd and ran disk utility, but there was no volume to repair or reformat/reinstall on, so I finally called Apple. We went through the whole troubleshooting procedure and the rep came to the conclusion that I would have to bring my iMac to the nearest Apple Store or dealer to have the hard drive replaced...
Now, here's where my situation gets a little unique and where my actual question comes in. I live close by to an Apple Store, but I am currently receiving high-dose chemotherapy and it is HIGHLY inadvisable for me to drive, let alone expose myself to mall germs for the next few weeks. I told the Apple rep about my situation and asked about having someone come to my house to repair the computer. He obliged by hooking me up with an approved third-party dealer. They will apparently call me to set up an appointment, come to my home and replace my hard drive. Now, this is great, but I had a question about this which the Apple rep could not answer and I have yet to receive a call from the third-party repair company. My question for the rep was whether or not this third-party repair company would do anything at all to attempt to retrieve the data on the defective drive. The Apple Rep said he did not know what, if anything, they would do to help me retrieve the data currently in limbo. That pretty much stinks because all of my personal info is on there, including tax returns, e-mails, photos and music. I have some backups, but definitely not everything. This is long, sorry....wow...anyway, here is my question for this board:
Would I be better off waiting and just going through the Apple Store for this process? I have AppleCare and my PowerBook, so time is not really an issue; but would they go above and beyond in the effort to retrieve my data? I have no idea what this third party is going to do, but I'll find out eventually; however, if I'm armed with the knowledge that the Apple Store will do everything they can to get my data and this third party ends up sounding wishy washy about it (or worse - they flat out say they won't do anything beyond the repair), I'll just tell them to forget it and wait until I can travel and take my iMac into the Apple Store. This information is vital because the one thing the Apple rep made crystal clear is that there is no way I will be allowed to keep the old drive, which would allow me to attempt data retrieval at my leisure.
Also, this is an additional minor question: the Apple Rep said that the old drives are destroyed when received by Apple, but can anyone here confirm this? Is it 100% assured that these drives are not just given a cursory wipe and then refurbished (if it turns out they can be fixed that is)?
Thanks for listening and any info you can provide.
Matt
iMac 24" Mac OS X (10.4.7)

"but would they go above and beyond in the effort to retrieve my data?"
It has been my understanding from reports here by other users with the experience, that the Apple stores generally charge a fee (I think $75) for transferring hard drive data - it's not part of the service that they're performing. Don't assume that before you leave without your Mac, anyone will even inquire whether or not you still have data on a drive. There have been reports from some users who simply made the assumption that data transfer would be taken care of, only to find it all gone. As for an Apple authorized dealer, I'm not sure why the situation would be any different at all. Best to use caution.
Message was edited by: myhighway

The third party software that Apple used to have on their website

For years, Apple had lots of third party software listed on their website. Now, it's gone without so much as a link or even a paragraph of text to find it.
Anyone know what they did with it and where I can find it?

Mike, I see it's answered... or is it?
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/

Third party apps with Apple notes?

Are there any third party apps that can sync with Apple Notes?

It's a pretty closed off app. Take a look at SimpleNote and Evernote if you want apps that you can use across more devices. It may be a bit more than you're looking for but I think Drafts is amazing.

Third party earphones from Apple Retail Store - Warranty?

Hi guys,
I purchased some RHA 450i earphones on the 30th of December last year and have been very pleased with the sound and comfort. Unfortunately the first pair were DOA - Apple retail exchanged them as soon as I could get back there. The next pair have been working well, but the fabric sheath on the cable has fallen apart, as has the strain-relief at the jack. I thought I'd check out warranty before I went to work with some thick heat-shrink. Apple Retail said 'Yep, should be covered, but you do it through RHA's Australian Distributor' and showed me the warranty form on the distributors website. Interdyn (the distrib.) got back to me pretty quickly, but say that they don't deal with products sold through Apple - I must go to Apple.
What do you think?
1. Apple
2. RHA/Interdyn
3. Chunky heatshrink
Thanks

review your Country's Consumer laws , someone is responsible ,they all cannot play "pass the parcel "

Third Party Router and Apple File Protocol

Hi,
I'm not quite sure, if this is the right forum for my question.
I use a Siemens Gigaset SE505 (ADSL2) Router for my WiFi Network and for the communication with my ISP. Before that I just used a switch, ethernet cables and no ISP-connection.
So i thought hip hip hurry, now i can go online and connect my G4 Powerbook and my G5 via AirPort. But wait...since I use the SE505 Router i cannot connect to any of the drives of the other computer via AFP. Instead i have to use the slow and unstable SMB.
Why?
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Update: I just found out that if i use the syntax afp://192.168.0.101 instead of afp://SHARINGNAME everything works out fine.
But I just can't see why. Isn't the sharing name supposed to function as well as the internal IP???

I took my iMac 2010 to a "Third Party" company to replace my hdd, they did, but now it will not boot. if i took this to the Apple store, how much would it cost to fix? if i buy my own SSD (£70) Thanks a LOT!

I took my iMac 2010 to a "Third Party" company to replace my hdd, they did, but now it will not boot. if i took this to the Apple store, how much would it cost to fix? if i buy my own SSD (£70) Thanks a LOT!

DewiRobbo wrote:
Well, this "third party" is going to put my old hdd back and not charge me any money (as he did not fix it) but i think its better off taking it to an AASP because i have a feeling Apple store will charge way too much.
The way I read that comment – you seem to suggest the Mac was broken before the third party replaced the disk - is that the case or was it working before the HD was replaced?
Since the Mac is out of warranty you will have to pay for any repairs wherever you take it. Authorised Apple service centres will be able to get parts whereas any non certified technicians will have to use 'grey market' parts since Apple will not sell parts to the public. These may be reconditioned or not official parts - it's a risk to use them. Visit the Apple store & ask them - there is no point in lying about it being handled by a third party. An Apple tech may be able to tell when they open the case, depending on how meticulous your third party was.
If you are handy with a screwdriver & have tools and a lot of patience you could use a guide on iFixit.com, but there is no indication of why this Mac not booting up.
It could be that the disk is not formatted correctly.
Are you sure the tech copied an OS onto the disk? Did they install the OS for you or did they clone the old disk?
Can you boot from a backup disk or from an install disk? Does the disk appear in Disk Utility when booted from another OS (either the installer or a backup).
'Not booting' can mean so many things, what does booting do exactly? Grey screen, black screen, any noises or tones, any signs of life at all…?
If you look at the iFixit guides you will see many fiddly connectors, if the tech failed to hook them all back up it could explain the failure, or perhaps you just have a disk that is 'dead on arrival' - sometimes that happens. A properly trained technician should be able to figure that one out.

Third party memory upgrades?

Hi,
I'm in the process of upgrading the memory in my USB 2.0 iMac and was wondering if anyone had experience with using non OEM modules. In my case, the price is not the only factor deterring me from making a purchase directly from Apple. After placing an online order for a 256MB module (said to ship in 5-7 days), it was 10 days until I received a notice via email that they were backordered and the item wouldn't ship for another two weeks! Lousy.
Anyways, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a particular manufacturer. The specs are:
Unbuffered, PC2700, 3.3v SO-DIMM of SDRAM.
Regards,
Rory Woods

Try looking at www.ramseeker.com for RAM prices. They list prices from a number of reputable vendors. You can also use the RAM selectors on the websites of vendors like www.crucial.com and www.datamem.com. They will all be much cheaper than Apple, and the same or better quality (after all, Apple buys their RAM from third party vendors too; Apple doesn't manufacture their own RAM). Just make sure you buy from a vendor that offers a lifetime warranty (almost all do). Crucial is a very reputable brand; my preferred vendor is Data Memory Systems.

Third Party Webcams

I'm interested in purchasing a third-party webcam (the Apple iSight cams I am finding - even on eBay - are a little pricy). Any suggestions? Upon the direct recommendation of a resident "Apple Specialist" in my local CompUSA, I purchased a Logitech Orbit from Amazon.com, only to find it would NOT operate properly with my Mac.
Any REAL educated peeps here that can help me out? I need a GOOD webcam that will actually WORK on my Mac. Thank you!
stuvansweet80

Hi stuvansweet80,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions
I see that this thread has been moved.
Hopefully you did not deliberately Unsubscribe yourself from the thread. (by default you are subscribed to get email alerts of new posts.)
In fact there is also an iSight forum where this question has been asked
See this thread http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=919364&tstart=0
11:19 PM Monday; April 16, 2007

Damaged third party fixed iPhone out of warranty replacement

Okay so the humidity or something yesterday made both my iPad 1 and iPhone 4s screens screw up.
My camera lense fogged up and was all condensation-y so all pics were blurry.
It looks like there is a smudge on the touchscreens. The iPad was typing and click stuff by itself. iPhone keyboard won't let me use the bottom keys in msgs and certain apps so the touchscreen is not responding. iPhone wake/sleep bottom was turning off and on and screenshoting.
It was like the symptoms of water damage except I never dunked them in water or anything and the water damage indicators on iPhone aren't red. I don't know if iPad 1 has water damage indicators.
So right that afternoon I passed apple store on george st, told me they were busy and I had to book an appointment for tommorrow.
I put my iPad in rice last night and it's fine now... Just smudge on the touch screen.
So today I bought my iPhone into the genius bar, hoping to get it fixed or replaced because it's not even 2 years old and if you argue enough the Australia consumer laws blah blah sometimes you can get an out of warranty replacement for free.
By this time, the camera condensation has evaporated and sleep/wake button stopped spazzing but keyboard was still stuffed.
They said they can't do anything, not even offer the $279 replacement, because when I cracked my screen I got it replaced by a third party.
Said it was because the screen is non genuine that my iPhone is acting like this.
Which it isn't, because my iPad also screwed up which has a genuine screen.
Sorry about the essay.
So how does apple tell if I got the screen fixed or not?
Has anybody gotten apple to fix a third party screen replacement phone?
If my iPad didn't start working again, would they have fixed it?

The genuine Apple module has various identifying marks that are missing from a third-party part. Apple will not attempt to repair an iDevice that was "fixed" by an end-user, or an unauthorized third-party.
"If my iPad didn't start working again, would they have fixed it?"
Your question is ambiguous but, if you mean "if my iPad failed - not due to accidental damage - and I returned it to Apple without having a third-party muck around with it, would Apple fix it?" Apple has an out-of-warranty exchange (not repair) iPads, and you'll be charged for it.

Has anyone had problems with Domayne using generic third party RAM for memory upgrades? My RAM is now faulty and had to be removed, but Apple wont replace it under Apple Care because its not a genuine component?

The computer was purchased in the knowledge that all components and hardware were genuine and subsequently covered by the Apple Care warranty.
Domayne replaced the genuine components (8GB stick) with generic components (2x 16GB sticks) to save money and boost margin.
Apple should not allow this misleading, profiteering behaivour. This behaviour is brand damaging. Apple must maintain more control over their supply chain.
Has anyone had any expirenece with this problem?
Has anyone made Domayne or other third party resellers acountable for this misleading behaviour?
Thank you.

Stick with Brand name RAM and reputable distributors. Mac is finicky about low quality RAM
Try OWC http://www.macsales.com/
Crucial http://www.crucial.com/
Most RAM comes with Lifetime guarenntee so return it where you got it.

Third party ram + apple ram?

I'm thinking about buying a macbook pro with the standard 1 stick of 1 gig ram, but third party solutions for the remaining slot looks much cheaper. Will putting 1 gig of apple ram + 1 gig of nonapple ram together cause any problems? Has anyone done this and had any issues? Thanks.

Apple don't make ram themselves. They supply Samsung, Hynix, Nanya and Micron (which is also Crucial) as standard -so any of these will be as supplied by Apple.
Some respected retailers sell these and then certain other 3rd part ram which they have extensively tested - such as ramjet and owc (macsales).
If you stick to one of the brands that Apple supplies or one of these respected 3rd parties, you should be fine. Some very cheap ram may cause problems.
Best of luck.

What third party RAM is equal to "1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x8GB" for the NEW, 27" 2014 4K iMAC and is it advisable to buy instead of the Apple upgraded RAM?

What third party RAM is as good as the "1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x8GB" upgrade that Apple offers for the NEW, 27" 2014 5K iMAC Retina?
And is it advisable to buy instead of the Apple upgraded RAM? (my understanding is that third party RAM is not as costly).

go with one of the quality sources for ram OWC and Crucial are very well thought of
your options with the 5K when you buy it are
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB [Add $200.00]
32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x8GB [Add $600.00]
you might want to go with the 16GB option when you buy if you know you might want to go to 32GB some day as that will get you to 32zb at the lowest cost. or you can start with the 8 and add 8GB sticks as you need them but if you are not happy stopping at 20GB you will end up with a pair of 4GB sticks to try to sell on ebay... or if you are lazy like me you get a couple of extra xmas tree ornaments.. i have 35 years of ram methods on my tree now dating back to the extra ram for my Apple ][ extra 8k and not a few obsolete processor ornaments too... dress em up with glitter so they sparkle
this is the owc page for ram for the 5k iMachttp://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/Retina-5K/DDR3L
8.0GB PC3-12800 1600MHz SO Kit (4GB x 2) w/Lifetime Warranty
Same Day
$99.79
12.0GB PC3-12800 1600MHz SO Kit (4GB + 8GB) w/Lifetime Warranty
Same Day
$147.50
16GB PC3-12800 1600MHz SO Kit (8GB x 2) w/Lifetime Warranty
Same Day
$197.99
32GB PC3-12800 1600MHz SO Kit (8GB x 4) w/Lifetime Warranty
Same Day
$395.00

Third Party Plug Ins & RAM

Hi Guys
My MBP is about a year old now with 2GB RAM and 2.4 GHZ processor.
Until recently I have been running Logic very nicely for my needs, generally 15-20 audio or software instruments tracks with overloading a rather rare occurance. This is with pretty much zero third party plug-ins.
Recently however I purchased EWQLSO silver play edition and have found overloading to be occuring to a quite undesirable degree (with maybe only 3-4 EW instances). Firstly can I clarify that this is simply down to the fact that EW is very CPU hungry? This overloading seems a little extreme, but my sytem is otherwise ok.
As such I am considering upgrading to 4GB RAM and I was wondering will this be worth it and improve my situation here?
I also notice that memory from Apple is rather expensive and is available cheaper elsewhere...is it safe for me to change the memory myself (I don't really trust myself a friend upgraded his RAM manually from a cheap website and encountered one or two problems)?...Also will an upgrade to just 3GB be beneficial at all...I have read that it is better for the RAM in each slot to be identical?
Any other general advise I would very much appreciate.:)
Sam

So far, no one has mentioned "multitimbral" in this thread. I don't know if your third-party software instruments are multitimbral, but if they are, this may even solve your entire problem all by itself. (If your soft instruments are NOT multitimbral, then this won't help at all.)
I also recommend MAXING out your ram, which is ALWAYS a good idea.
IF your instrument has multitimbral capability (Kontakt Player 2, SampleTank, and many others do), then you'll need to read all about it in their manuals, as each one uses a different method of set-up for Logic. Logic plays multitimbral instruments quite nicely.
Basically, this method allows you to use the multitimbral software instrument only ONCE, for up to 16 separate instrument tracks, thereby saving a lot of ram, since the instrument itself takes up so much ram. To do this, you'll need to create your software instrument track(s) as multitimbral in Logic when you create the tracks, then within the individual software instrument itself, you'll have to assign ascending midi channels to ascending pairs of outputs. In other words, midi channel 1 will be assigned to outputs 1-2, midi channel 2 will be assigned to outputs 3-4, etc., all the way through outputs 31-32 assigned to midi channel 16.
Setting this up takes some time, so when you're done, save it as a TEMPLATE in Logic.
Then to MIX each channel separately, you'll need to create a special AUX channel for each track. In Logic, this means you'll have TWO tracks for each instrument: one for the midi data, and one for mixing, effects, etc. But it saves a TON of ram over using a software instrument instance for each track.
I'll search for an earlier thread in this forum, if it still exists, for more details on how to do this, and post the link here if I find it.
DS9

Third-party RAM versus Apple RAM

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