What kind of memory stick for powermac g5 ?
  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    Brumiga
    Posts: 249 from 2004/4/3
    From: France
    Hello all,

    Since 6 month I own a powermac g5 2x 2.0 ghz. It was sold with 4 memory sticks of 512 mb. I took off my non working powermac g4 mdd 4 other memory sticks of the same size. From day to day it did not want to boot, the power led flashes 3 times. A quick search on internet indicated to me a problem with the installed memory. It indicated that by resetting the pram the problem would be resolved. I tried and the powermac g5 started and booted correctly. But the next day the same problem occured again and a try to reset the pram did not work. I asked the previous owner, who used this machine with morphos, he answered me to use specific memory sticks. According to him I should search for memory sticks ecc and buffered. I looked at crucial what king of memory sticks they propose for this kind of powermac g5, they propose non-ecc and unbuffered one.

    So, to your advice, what kind of memory sticks should/would I have to search for my powermac g5 ?

    Brumiga
  • »05.10.17 - 14:35
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  • Jim
  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
    From: Delaware, USA
    You probably have mixed DDR400/PC3200 memory that was in the G5 originally with DDR333/PC2700 memory from the G4.
    You can try installing pairs of identical memory in each set of slots starting from the inside out, and try to continue to use the memory from the G4, but it just may not want to run with that.
    Generally, I use 1GB strips of PC3200(DDR400) memory, but that can be harder to find, so 512MB strips like the four you started with would work as well.

    G4s and G5s work well with either DDR333 or DDR400, but I'm not sure about mixing the two (could be problematic).

    Anyway, first step, remove the G4 memory, under MorphOS you can't use more than 2GB anyway (unless Andreas corrects me on this as I haven't checked lately).

    Good luck.

    [ Edited by Jim 05.10.2017 - 14:59 ]
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »05.10.17 - 17:27
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  • Jim
  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
    From: Delaware, USA
    Quote:

    Jim wrote:
    You probably have mixed DDR400/PC3200 memory that was in the G5 originally with DDR333/PC2700 memory from the G4.
    You can try installing pairs of identical memory one strip each in both set of slots starting from the inside out, and try to continue to use all the memory (including the memory from the G4), but it just may not want to run with that.
    Generally, I use 1MB strips of PC3200(DDR400) memory, but that can be harder to find, so 512MB strips like the four you started with would work as well.

    G4s and G5s work well with either DDR333 or DDR400, but I'm not sure about mixing the two (could be problematic).

    Anyway, first step, remove the G4 memory, under MorphOS you can't use more than 2MB anyway (unless Andreas corrects me on this as I haven't checked lately).

    Good luck.
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »05.10.17 - 17:32
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    koszer
    Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8
    From: Poland
    Of course Jim meant GB, not MB.

    Generally look for PC3200 modules (ECC, or non ECC - I believe it doesn't matter, as long as they come in pairs of identical modules). One thing you should know about - avoid the "high density" modules you can find on various eBay's - they surely won't work. No "High Density", no "AMD chipset compatible". Look for "Low Density" or "Intel chipset compatible" and you'll be fine.
  • »05.10.17 - 18:01
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  • Jim
  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
    From: Delaware, USA
    Quote:

    koszer wrote:
    Of course Jim meant GB, not MB.

    Generally look for PC3200 modules (ECC, or non ECC - I believe it doesn't matter, as long as they come in pairs of identical modules). One thing you should know about - avoid the "high density" modules you can find on various eBay's - they surely won't work. No "High Density", no "AMD chipset compatible". Look for "Low Density" or "Intel chipset compatible" and you'll be fine.


    Yes my posts tend to be lesdexic.
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »05.10.17 - 18:54
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12199 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > under MorphOS you can't use more than 2GB anyway (unless Andreas corrects me
    > on this as I haven't checked lately).

    Without a new OS release it's hard to introduce new features anyway, isn't it ;-) At least current MorphOS released as "lately" as 2⅓ years ago still has this limitation and there has been no announcement that the next release won't (just that the usable RAM will increase from 1.5 GiB to 1.7 GiB).
  • »06.10.17 - 17:50
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  • Jim
  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Jim
    Posts: 4977 from 2009/1/28
    From: Delaware, USA
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > under MorphOS you can't use more than 2GB anyway (unless Andreas corrects me
    > on this as I haven't checked lately).

    Without a new OS release it's hard to introduce new features anyway, isn't it ;-) At least current MorphOS released as "lately" as 2⅓ years ago still has this limitation and there has been no announcement that the next release won't (just that the usable RAM will increase from 1.5 GiB to 1.7 GiB).


    Hmm, 200MB, considering my first hard drive was a 40 MB Seagate, that should have excited me, but 32 bit memory support would be more exciting.

    [ Edited by Jim 06.10.2017 - 20:55 ]
    "Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
  • »07.10.17 - 00:54
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