Apple Brand Memory?

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When I bought my MBP (mid-2012 15" non-retina), it came with 4GB of memory so I bought at the same time 8GB of Corsair brand memory from Amazon. I installed it right away and began using the computer. It worked well for a while but then the computer started having all sorts of issues including random crashing--so eventually I decided to put back the old 4GB of memory that came with the computer and it seemed to fix it. But I want to have 8GB of memory, and Apple charges a **** of a lot for such a simple job. Is there anywhere I can buy some genuine, real Apple memory (i.e., the ones they would install if I paid them to upgrade it) so I can then just upgrade it myself?
 

pigoo3

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There is no such thing as "Apple Brand Ram". Apple does not make their own ram...they buy/contract it from ram suppliers/manufacturers...just like other large sellers of ram.

It's always possible that the ram you purchased was defective in some way...which can happen with ram from Apple as well. Nothing is perfect.

Bottom line. If you purchase ram from good suppliers...you have no problems. Since they have lifetime return policies & easy returns. We usually recommend these two suppliers:

- Crucial
- OWC

HTH,

- Nick
 

Slydude

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Beat me to it Nick. Gotta type faster on the iPad.
 
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Honestly, it's just frustrating to go into the Apple store with a problem and have them be like "well I don't know, it could be your memory since it's not Apple brand, this computer wasn't designed to work with that memory" and then do the thing where they act like they totally understand why I got it myself but then subtly guilt me for not buying it from them. >_>

Incidentally, I found this page which lets me buy 8GB of memory from Apple for $200, which is still way expensive. But you guys are saying the brand (i.e., the one Apple uses vs. any other) doesn't really matter as long as I have the right specs (e.g. pin count, MHz, etc.)? I.e. if I have problems it must just be the particular unit I got?

Thankfully Corsair has a lifetime warranty so if I'm understanding right I guess I'll just use it.
 
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Okay so Corsair Vengeance isn't a good brand, or just not as reliable as Crucial/OWC? Or I guess what I'm asking is, do you think I should bother with the warranty or just buy new sticks from Crucial/OWC?
 

pigoo3

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Okay so Corsair Vengeance isn't a good brand, or just not as reliable as Crucial/OWC? Or I guess what I'm asking is, do you think I should bother with the warranty or just buy new sticks from Crucial/OWC?

We usually recommend OWC or Crucial...because what they sell works well with Mac's, they have lifetime warranty's, and great return policies.

This doesn't mean that perfectly good ram cannot be purchased from other places. If the ram you have meets the exact specs your computer needs...and you have a lifetime warranty on it...then return/exchange it. It's very possible that it could be defective in some way (which can happen with the ram Apple uses as well).

- Nick
 
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I have always thought that if you have a problem and your replace the memory. If the problem goes away it is likely the memory. You could put the memory back in and see if the problem comes back. If they offer a life time warranty I would try to get new sticks and see if they work ok. If they work sell them on ebay and buy OWC. That's just my 2 cents.

I replaced my 4gig with 8 from OWC about two years ago and have no problems. Really anything I have bought from OWC has been top notch. My MBP is my baby my friend so I treat it with the best.
 

Slydude

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There are other vendors that can sell you the right memory for your Mac. Even some of the large mail order vendors that sell more PC parts than Mac parts may have what you need. When my Mac Pro was running I purchased a few gig of memory form one of those outfits and had no problems but that's not always the case.

When I made my purchase it helped that I knew what spec the memory had to be and also knew that the Mac Pro 1.1 needed fully buffered memory. Fortunately I got a PC guy who was also somewhat knowledgeable about Macs. That's often not the case which is why so many members recommend OWC and Crucial. They know their Macs.

No matter where you purchase the memory find out the length of the warranty. Also ask whether there is a "restocking" fee. There are some companies that charge this fee for any items returned unless its actually defective. In other words, order the wrong memory you pay the fee.
 
C

chas_m

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When I was fixing Macs for a living, "Apple RAM" was in fact Hynix brand. I do not know if that is still true.
 

dtravis7


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When I was fixing Macs for a living, "Apple RAM" was in fact Hynix brand. I do not know if that is still true.

Apple did use a lot of Hynix Ram like you said. Not sure about latest Macs but Hynix is very common in the Macs I have owned.

To the OP, I did have a bad stick of Cosair in my iMac G5. Bought it new and in a few months started to get panics. Bought a new Kingston stick and issues went away and never returned.
 

chscag

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Apple did use a lot of Hynix Ram like you said. Not sure about latest Macs but Hynix is very common in the Macs I have owned.

They also used Samsung memory for quite a while. I'm not sure what they're currently using but very likely from wherever they can get it at a good bulk price. And by the way, all other computer manufacturers do the same thing..... ;)
 

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