PC133 RAM - compatible with slot load iMacs?

[LCGuy]

In the near future I'm most likely going to be doing a RAM upgrade on an iMac DV 400 (slot loading) for someone. The poor thing is running 10.4.11, and only has 192MB of RAM. I suggested that they go up to a gig, which is achievable by buying two PC100 or PC133 modules. Just to check...does anyone here have any experience using PC133 on these machines? I haven't really played with the slot loaders myself, but from my experience with upgrading RAM in Macs in the past, I've come to expect that just because something should work, and just because something works on PCs....that doesn't always mean you can get away with it on a Mac, and I just want confirmation on this before the owner actually goes and buys anything. I know it should work....but I also know that Apple loves nothing more than to bastardize a standard and not say anything about it.....

 

[protocol7]

The 512MB stick in my Summer 2001 iMac is PC133 . No problems. It's paired with a 128MB stick of PC100 I think.

 

[Osgeld]

theoretically pc XXx should be fully compatible with all systems using sd ram, the only two exceptions i have ever ran into is the occasional mac, and almost all Intel boards of the time, including the rotting p4 board i have in the drawer, that will refuse to post with pc 66 and pc 133 ram

 

[H3NRY]

I have a couple of 512MB PC133 sticks in my G3 500 DV iMac. It works.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

theoretically pc XXx should be fully compatible with all systems using sd ram, the only two exceptions i have ever ran into is the occasional mac, and almost all Intel boards of the time, including the rotting p4 board i have in the drawer, that will refuse to post with pc 66 and pc 133 ram

Well, systems should work with their rated speed or faster. I can guarantee your P4 board will not work with PC-66, no matter what. And some PC-133 RAM is non-compliant with PC-100; most notably 'single-sided' 512 MB modules. (The chips are too high density for PC-100 or PC-66 chipsets to recognize.) A 'double-sided' 512 MB PC-133 module should work just fine in any PC-100 or PC-66 system, though. (And there are some oddball single-sided 512 MB modules that work just fine in older systems.)

 

[Mike Richardson]

Just about the only kind of memory that doesn't work in a slot-loading iMac is "high density" stuff.

You can get just about any crappy old double-sided 512 MB stick and put it in there and it will work fine. I've never worried about CAS Latency or any of that nonsense either.

 

[Mycatisbigfoot]

I have pc-133 in my g3. as well as my g4,hd mem I have herd does not work, so try to stay away from it, but you can try it if you find it,

 

[Christopher]

PC66-133 will work, just the 66 stuff will downclock the bus speed to the 66mhz that the memory can handle. Other than that you'll be ok.

 

[QuadSix50]

PC66-133 will work, just the 66 stuff will downclock the bus speed to the 66mhz that the memory can handle. Other than that you'll be ok.

If the bus is greater than 66, PC-66 RAM won't work. At least that's what I've always read. It's not recommended to use memory that's slower than your system bus. Anonymous Freak has it right.

 

[LCGuy]

Just a little update on this - turns out I won't be upgrading this guy's iMac...thanks to the uselessness of the local computer shops....thanks to everyone anyway

 

[coius]

I have two sticks of PC-133 512MB RAM. There is only ONE machine I have gotten them to work on, and it was a crappy AMD Duron. Every other machine (Mac/PC) that I have put it in, it seems to want to bitch about. The memory is good, it's just that crappy of memory. I probably should throw it out, but I have the feeling I will get an off-chance to use it one day. I might try it in a Pentium III Board I have. It has a 133Mhz FSB, maybe it will work

 

[feruccio]

Hi, i don't know if somebody can help me, I have an old imac 350 MHz blueberry with 256 MB of RAM, I recently bought a 512 MB SDRAM 100MHz DIMM 3.3V .....

but when I put it on the mac, only turn on the light of the on/off button, but don't start, don't make the start noise, I don't really know what to do. xx(