Upgrading and Replacing Mac Hardware: There is no "Mac RAM"

Mac & PC: So different yet so alike...

     It's long been assumed that Apple PC's use a sort of magical hardware, excluding them from the realm of other PC manufacturers. While it may have been the case that in the past Macs used different interfaces (ADB, ADC), in recent years Apple's hardware has paralleled and preceded that of other OEM's. Let's look at the compatibility of Apple computers with standard hardware.

The Source of Legends

     The misconceptions of Apple hardware stem from a time when Apple used less common interfaces. When the Macintosh was released, it didn't use IBM's memory or expansion card standards. At a time when IBM reigned as king of the techno-industry, releasing computer systems that didn't support these standards was a risky venture. However, in time, Apple adopted more common standards and even headed the advancement of some widespread technologies today.
     Transitioning from SCSI to PATA then SATA, eliminating classic interfaces such as Serial ports in favor of USB and FireWire, and most recently, being the first with intel's Thunderbolt technology, Apple has formed and conformed to the PC norm. Let's bust some myths.

Hard Drives

     Apple first used SCSI to interface their hard drives. While SCSI was not as popular as ATA, it was a widely supported standard. Apple did, however, eventually begin to use ATA/ATAPI interfaces, starting with the Macintosh TV in 1993. SCSI was still an interface option for Apple's machines until the release of the Blue & White Power Macintosh G3 in 1999.
 Most recently, Apple adopted the SATA standard with the PowerMac G5 in 2003.
     Finally, every intel-based Mac uses SATA as the drive interface. Even the MacBook Air with the proprietary SSD uses a SATA interface, though without the standard i-SATA connector. It should be noted that all 2011-model-year Macs and later support 6.0gbps SATA.

RAM

     Take a look at the image of the memory above. One of these sticks is from a Mac, one was purchased on Amazon.com, and one was pulled from a Dell notebook.

     Since the Macintosh Plus in 1986, Apple has used standard RAM in its machines. The image above shows three sticks of DDR2, all of which are fully compatible in a MacBook, provided they are a compatible speed. All current Macs (at the time of writing) support DDR3, which can be purchased at any computer-hardware outlet.
    RAM is not forward or backward compatible. DDR2 is not compatible with DDR3, etc. However, RAM speeds are fully backward compatible. The original MacBook, for instance, uses DDR2-5300. Any module of DDR2-6400, DDR2-8500 or theoretically greater would work fine. The memory bus would simply limit the higher-speed RAM to the speeds of the DDR2-5300. It's also ok to mix RAM of different speeds.
    To get the most performance out of your memory, it's commonly advised that you purchase modules of the same capacity and install them only in even numbers (except some Mac Pros, which support triple-channel memory).

     The optical drives and LCD panels used in Macs are also typically off-the-shelf parts or available to other OEM's. So replacing that cracked MacBook LCD doesn't require finding a screen specifically for Apple notebooks. Along those same lines, don't let vendors scam you by stating that their RAM is something special by being labeled "Mac compatible".

     I hope this post was informative and helpful! Write me if you have any similar topics in mind!

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