What's are the effects of using lower quality RAM? [UK Mac]

From: J. J. Lodder on 17 Jul 2010 16:59

From: Nigel Lord on 17 Jul 2010 19:36

Thanks for this - all three people who took the time to reply.

I know that the received wisdom is 'stick to good quality RAM', but my
question was simply, what is the likely outcome of using less good
quality RAM - assuming that it is actually compatible and that it does,
broadly, work (which in this case it must, otherwise I wouldn't be
writing this!).

In other words... can RAM work, but work less well - and how does this
reveal itself?

Nige

> > Conor <conor(a)gmx.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > Stick to Crucial if you're buying third party and buy from them direct -
> > > that way you get the no quibble compatible guarantee and lifetime
> > > guarantee too.
> >
> > Seconded. Bought from them a few times now, never had a problem.
> >
> Thirded - I use them all the time at work.

From: Rowland McDonnell on 17 Jul 2010 20:08

Nigel Lord <nige(a)room.bt.com> wrote:

> I've just bought a new Mac Mini as a replacement for my G5 PowerPC -
> primarily to allow me to upgrade to Adobe CS5. I thought it wise to
> max out the (SODIMM) RAM to 8GB and having picked myself up off the
> floor after discovering Apple's price for memory, spent a couple of
> hours trawling the internet for something more affordable. One of the
> sellers I found - KOMPBAY - was advertising 2 x 4GB at around �160 - at
> least �50 cheaper than anyone else - so I placed my order.

There's always a reason for things being cheaper, if you see what I
mean. Make sure you know what the reason is - it's usually not because
it's a bargain for the buyer, I can tell you.

> Prior to installing the RAM, I was plagued with crashes and other
> problems which I put down to running Photoshop and other apps with only
> 2GB of memory.

You should not have any crashes if RAM is low. If you do have crashes
that don't turn up until you're filling all your RAM, that /might/
indicate that your RAM is dodgy, just not much of it's dodgy.

How to find out?

Get Applejack and follow the instructions on using memtest which is
included with Applejack:

<http://applejack.sourceforge.net/>

>However, now with 8GB memory, I'm still suffering
> unexplained crashes - even the odd kernel panic - which I am at a loss
> to explain, given that the machine is so new.

It's defective RAM - not up to spec. This is exactly what you'd expect
from dodgy RAM. It's cheap because it's dodgy - not up to spec.

> I've even had this weird incident where the screen turns blue - the Mac
> doesn't audibly re-start - but when it comes back on screen, all the
> apps have quit and it looks like it has re-started.

Fun and games :-)

> So my question is... can the quality of RAM affect a Mac in this way?

If the RAM's not up to spec, you can expect this sort of thing. If the
RAM is up to spec, you won't.

Basically, you've fitted your Mac with broken parts and it's not working
right as a result.

> I
> suspect the kernel panic is RAM-based, but what about applications
> quitting for no apparent reason?

Sounds about right.

>Is there any way that you can test the
> integrity of your RAM?

Use memtest - comes with AppleJack.

<http://applejack.sourceforge.net/>

And do follow the instructions...

>And what troubleshooting app would anyone
> recommend to identify potential software problems?

I'd start out by looking in the various logs you can get to see using
Console.app in /Applications/Utilities.

> OK... I know that's three questions, rather than one - but if anyone
> could shed any light, I'd be most grateful....

You've got duff RAM - send it back, buy some decent RAM.

Rowland.

--
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From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 18 Jul 2010 03:32

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:36:21 +0100, Nigel Lord <nige(a)btroom.com>
wrote:

>
>Thanks for this - all three people who took the time to reply.
>
>I know that the received wisdom is 'stick to good quality RAM', but my
>question was simply, what is the likely outcome of using less good
>quality RAM - assuming that it is actually compatible and that it does,
>broadly, work (which in this case it must, otherwise I wouldn't be
>writing this!).
>
>In other words... can RAM work, but work less well - and how does this
>reveal itself?

Random crashes and file corruption.

But you had that before, with the original RAM, so it could be a
previously existing condition.

Your best bet is to test the new RAM, and if it's good stick with it
and try and solve the other issue. To test the RAM, you can use the
Apple Hardware Test extended mode (boot off the install DVD while
holding D to get into AHT), or better by getting+burning a memtest86
iso and booting off that.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"the average homeowner should expect to repair direct
meteor damage every hundred million years."
-- http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030506.html

From: ray on 18 Jul 2010 06:19

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