RAM brand shootout (G5, FCP 5.0)

[Glenn Chan]

Here’s what happens on PCs:
Performance will vary be neglible amounts based on:
memory latency- these are coded into the SPD chips, and can be adjusted; lower memory latency/timings means faster performance (but too fast and you risk instability)
single-banked or double-banked
other differences?

There are various benchmarks of various RAM on hardware review sites like anandtech.com, xbitlabs.com, etc. On average, the performance increase from low latency RAM versus normal RAM is a few percent (and typically not worth spending money on). For video editing, the performance difference is not measurable (<1%) with Sony Vegas (my own tests).

Crucial RAM is programmed to run at the slowest timings possible to increase reliability. On PCs, this will hurt performance a few percent. For video editing it may be desireable to buy RAM such as this- the performance difference is neglible, while the RAM is a lot less likely to flake out on you. In rare cases, a stick of RAM will be marginal and cause an error every few hours or so- lowering timings can fix this.

Some RAM will be flakey on arrival. With the off-brands, your chance of getting a bad stick is higher (although still pretty rare). Good brands would be Crucial, Mushkin, Corsair and then Kingston, Geil, OCZ.

All in all, it's not really a big deal what RAM you buy. There's only minor differences between RAM. The top two things to do are probably:
A- Buy the right RAM. The memory finder on crucial.com makes this easy. G5s should be using PC3200 DDR RAM from what I remember.
B- Use pairs of the exact same model+capacity RAM for optimal performance (dual channel). Other configurations will hurt performance a few percent.

[Bob Roberts]

i got started on this kick because i just got a nifty dual 2.5 and i was looking at the tech specs of the ram it recommends in the manual.

you can get a MADE FOR APPLE 2gigs of ram or you can get something that meets apple’s own written specs for almost half the price. look closer and you see the latency is generally lower for the latter.

it seems like you can get cheaper, faster, equally reliable ram if you are not suckered into the DOES IT SAY APPLE ON THE BOX madness.

[Walter Biscardi]

Crucial is the only RAM I use and the only one I recommend.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Bob Roberts]

I’m going to buy a handful of the Performance variant of an OCZ 1GB stick and see what happens ;]

Buy the new stuff in pairs, use the original 512 to stir coffee…