Category archives: Apple

MacBook RAM Dilemma No More

07Sep06

I thought it was time to conclude my mini-series on my MacBook RAM Dilemma since the dilemma no longer exists. I have successfully selected, received, and installed the new RAM. If you don’t know what I am talking about and why I wanted to buy RAM from another source than Apple, check out MacBook RAM Dilemma parts 1 and 2 before completing this short post.

I purchased 2 Gigs of Corsair Value Select DDR2 667 200-pin SODIMM RAM (PC5300) from ZipZoomFly. Both the RAM and the transaction worked great. The RAM seems to have speed the MacBook up. The boot time is significantly faster. I wish I were able to provide more insight to the MacBook’s overall performance, but the machine I upgraded isn’t mine and I haven’t had the chance to do any kind of heavy processing with it before or after the upgrade. I’m sure that the extra RAM has helped. There hasn’t been any problems with the laptop since the upgrade, so the Value Select was a smart choice.

Installation of the RAM was a snap…literally. It was pretty easy and would have been easier if I had the right tools. All of the screw drivers I could find at my house were a little too long to make for easy access to the screws that hold the plate that goes around the battery area. I managed to angle the screw driver just right and get the screws out any way. Removing the original RAM was very easy.

Installing the new RAM wasn’t too bad. You just have to push it in and replace the little plate and battery. The plate was a little tricky to get it to go back completely flush. It helps if you have someone hold it in place while you are trying to screw it back in. Once complete, I booted the machine and got nothing but blank black screen…I was a bit worried. I decided to make sure the RAM was completely pushed it and it wasn’t. It requires a bit more force than I expected. The first time I thought I heard the snap that you were supposed to hear, but apparently I didn’t. So, I put everything back together after knowing the RAM was completely pushed in on the second try. I booted up and everything worked like a charm. I checked the computer properties and sure enough 2 gigs of RAM showed up. Happy me! :)

Though I had never heard of ZipZoomFly before purchasing the RAM from them, I was pleasantly surprised with the service. Their website provided ample details about the product, the transaction process was smooth, and the shipment was fast and free. ZipZoomFly’s price wasn’t the lowest when considered by itself, but when free shipping and no tax was factored in they had the best price. Since then, I even made a repeat purchase–a D-Link DWL-G710 AirPlus G High Speed 2.4GHz (802.11g) Wireless Range Extender. I was not as pleased with the repeater as I am with the RAM though. Nothing against ZipZoomFly…just the product I selected.

In conclusion, I’ve been happy with the Corsair RAM upgrade for the MacBook. Buying and installing third-party RAM was so much cheaper than buying from Apple I highly recommend that you do consider it if you are in the market for a new MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Filed under Apple, Tech Advice| | 6 Comments

MacBook RAM Dilemma (Update)

02Aug06

I think I’ve finally found some better solutions for my MacBook RAM dilemma. I don’t know why I was having so much trouble finding PC5300 RAM the other day. The day following my orginal post, Lauren sent me some links from newegg.com which is weird because it is one of the places I checked. I don’t know why I didn’t find it the day before. Maybe, they just got it in or something. To make me feel even worse about not finding anything, Lauren doesn’t really know that much about the technical side of RAM. She knows what it is, and that it is needed to make a computer run faster, but she had to reference my previous post to even know what to search for.

Her finds were very useful. I am seriously considering one of them. The other one is a good option as well. Both are from reputable manufactures, Corsair and Kingston respectively.

Both are value RAM. At first that worried me because I wondered why “value” RAM cost around $50 cheaper per gigabyte than “select” RAM. So, being a curious person and frugal consumer I researched it. Techspot.com had a nice article explaining the difference. In essence, every piece of select RAM has been had tested by the manufacturer while value RAM is only tested in batches. This reduces the manufacturing cost of value RAM and ensures that select RAM is of utmost quality.

At the same time, value RAM from both Kingston and Corsair is actually produced by those companies and comes with a manufactures lifetime warranty (they don’t buy their value RAM in the open market like some other manufactures do). Therefore, the value RAM from Corsair and Kingston is going to be better quality than a lot of other RAM. To further reduce my concerns, the Techspot reviewer stated, “The performance variations between the Corsair XMS and Value Select memory were much lower than I had anticipated. Given I was expecting fairly small margins, this is quite a shock.” He concluded by noting that “select” RAMS overclocking abilities is what sets it apart. I don’t have any plans to overclock so value select sounds like the smarter choice. The $50 saved can go somewhere else.

So, if the 2 GB of Corsair RAM is purchased for $177.80 from ZipZoomFly rather than getting 2 GB from Apple.com for $450. I’m saving $272.20. You may be wondering why I decided to consider buying from ZipZoomFly as opposed to Newegg when ZipZoomFly charges $88.90 for 1 GB of the Corsair RAM and Newegg charges $84.99. Well, I happen to live in a state that newegg charges tax for. Plus, the shipping isn’t free from Newegg. When tax and shipping are considered, ZipZoomFly is $14.19 cheaper. Don’t forget the details when comparison shopping!

Nonetheless, I do have a couple of concerns about the Corsair and Kingston value RAM. For one, neither claim to support the MacBook even though the technical specs of the RAM are the same as what the MacBook ships with. I believe they just haven’t officially tested the it yet. I read in some forums where some people have used the Corsair RAM I’m considering in the new Intel Macs without any trouble. The more expensive (select) Kingston RAM has been MacBook approved. But is it worth the extra $82? I highly doubt it. Has anyone used either of the value RAMs in a new Intel based Mac?

I am leaning towards Corsair because it is slightly cheaper than Kingston and Corsair has a good reputation just like Kingston does. I wish I could find Crucial memory was just as cheap as the other two since Crucial seems to be the favorite of many people on the web.

If any of my readers have any advice, please share. I would love to know before spending advising someone to buy this RAM. Also, if you know anything about ZipZoomFly as a retailer let me know. Thanks in advance!

Filed under Apple| | 1 Comment

MacBook RAM Dilemma

31Jul06

I can’t believe how hard it is to find some RAM for a MacBook. My mother is getting a MacBook and I advised her to buy 512MB from Apple rather than 2GBs because Apple wants to charge $450 more for 2GB vs 512MB. I know that it doesn’t cost $450 to buy 2GB of RAM on your own (big thanks goes to Robert Evans). Installing memory isn’t hard, either.

Little did I know that finding a place that carries 2GB (1GBx2) of DDR2 667 200-pin SODIMM RAM (PC5300) would be so difficult. I’ve searched the net and haven’t really found a good place to buy it. Some of the places that carry it look to shady for me to send them any money. Other places may have it, but they say they are upgrading their database…little good that does me at the moment. More reputable places like Newegg and TigerDirect don’t have it in stock or it isn’t showing up in their inventory. Crucial.com, one of the main and most popular memory brands, does have it in stock and for sale. However, they seem a bit expensive. They want $322 (including tax and free shipping). That is still much cheaper than Apple, but I have a feeling I can do better than that when I have more time to devote to researching. I want her to get a good brand of RAM. From what I know, Crucial, Kingston, and Samsung are the best. believe Apple uses Samsung in the laptops. Also, I’m going to check with some local Apple stores, maybe I’ll have better luck finding it there.

So, for all my tech savvy readers I have a challenge. \r\nDo she really need 2GBs of RAM or should I advise her to change her order to 1GB which only costs $90 more? (She does a lot of work with Photos (programs include Adobe Photoshop and InDesign). What are the best brands of RAM from your experiences? Where can I find the best price for some RAM? (I only want trustworthy dealers)

Please let me know your thoughts and/or suggestions in the comments. Thanks in advance!

Filed under Apple| | 3 Comments