x180 / james duncan davidson: Mac mini Memory Notes
The reason to crack the case of a Mac mini is, of course, to bump up its RAM to 1 GB without paying $425 to do so. Instead, I payed Crucial $226 for a 1GB stick. Specifically, I bought a CT12864Z335 module (DDR333 PC2700, CL=2.5, Unbuffered, Non-ECC, 2.5V, 128Meg X 64).
Interestingly enough, the OEM memory in the Mac mini was made by the same company as the replacement RAM I bought: Micron, the parent company of Crucial. Even more interesting, the RAM that came in the mini wasn't PC2700, instead it was DDR400 PC3200. This is kind of odd considering that the mini is designed from a cost standpoint. Of course, if you look up the price for 256MB PC2700 and PC3200 modules from crucial, you'll find that they are exactly the same price. Mystery explained.
Bottom line: If you are going to buy a Mac mini and want a gig of RAM, save $200 and spend $5 to get a putty knife to crack your case. It's easy enough to do.
Oh, and to answer the question as to why I didn't get a $160-$190 stick of RAM instead of paying $226 to Crucial: it's all about the quality. Cheap RAM has been the source of almost all of my problems with the Mac. When I put in good stuff, my Macs stay happy. I've never had a problem with Crucial. And now that I've seen that Micron is one of Apple's OEM memory suppliers, I'm even more validated.
