14 DAY TRIAL // Mac-focused sites are pointing out to an Apple Discussions thread, which, according to the sources, is reporting problems with third-party RAM upgrades. Symptoms are system instability, lock-ups... the usual laundry of issues when “don't mix” hardware is used.
Nevertheless, users have went on good faith and bought RAM upgrades from specialized vendors like OWC and Crucial, who make a business around Macs. RAM kits coming from companies like these are supposed to work flawlessly with Apple hardware - they are advertised as specifically aimed at Apple notebooks. OWC, for instance, has recently introduced a new Mercury SuperDrive, touted as compatible with most MacBook models (except for the late 2008 "Unibody" SKUs).
However, RAM kits sold by OWC are listed as follows: “4.0GB(2x2.0GB Kit) PC-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin Memory Upgrade Kit for Late 2008 MacBook, MacBook Pro.” The Late 2008 MacBooks, as avid Softpedia readers should know, are Apple's latest introduced notebooks, whose owners are experiencing all this fuss.
Speaking of which, here's an Apple Discussions poster, and owner of a Late 2008 MacBook 2.4GHz - Mac OS X (10.5.5), sharing his experience when trying to upgrade using a third-party kit for “Apple” computers:
“I bought mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 (PC8500) Dual Channel Kit Memory For Apple – Retail from newegg.com,” goes a post signed chloe2. “This ram caused freezing, so I returned it. I ended up getting RAM from Apple, and have had no freezing since. Cost was $135 for the mushkin (and it was specifically stated for Apple Macbooks that took DDR3 SODIM 1066 memory.) The Apple store gave me the same price, but I had to turn in my 2G of original Apple RAM,” the user writes.
“I think there must be something that Apple is writing to the SPD area of memory, or the CAS spec is different from the ones that I purchased,” chloe2 adds.
However, the specs list for mushkin's “2GB DDR3 1066 (PC8500) Memory For Apple Model 971643A” makes no mentioning of the unibody notebooks introduced this October. So, while these DDR3 kits should be a go, apparently they're not. Anyone here upgraded recently? Have you got any hiccups / crashes / freezes?