# Upgrading My Computers RAM... What Brand? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 17, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136 "2013-03-17T00:41:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iDavidW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ac91a4/32.png) [@iDavidW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iDavidW)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136/1 "2013-03-17T00:41:47Z")
Hey guys! I’m looking to upgrade the RAM in my Mac Mini from its current 4GB to a total of 8GB after my less than stellar results trying to run Windows games on virtualization software… 😛 My Mac Mini uses DDR3 RAM and is running an Intel Core i5 Processor and OS X 10.8.3 (Mountain Lion) My question is, what brands of memory have you guys had good experience with, especially Mac specific experience. I don’t really have much experience with this, but I’m sure there’s a Doper on here that does 🙂 If it makes any difference, the Mini only has two RAM slots so it’ll be a replacement of the existing memory rather than adding additional memory. Luckily, the Mac Mini has the easiest to access RAM of any computer I’ve ever seen, so I think this will go smoothly… Wish me luck! Thanks in advance! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136/2 "2013-03-17T01:31:21Z")
I’ve always had good luck with OCZ. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136/3 "2013-03-17T03:06:17Z")
Back when I was building my own PCs, I always went with [Corsair](http://www.corsair.com/us/). That may be a bit overkill for a Mac Mini, though. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136/4 "2013-03-18T13:47:06Z")
I always buy my memory from [Crucial.com](http://Crucial.com). The ONE time I bought OCZ RAM it failed on me, and they were a pain in the ass to deal with. Now, in interest of full disclosure, I’ve also had RAM from Crucial fail. I called them on the phone and said “My RAM is bad, here’s how I know” and they said “We’ll send you a new one, send the old chip back in the same box.” and that was that. They offer a wide selection. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-my-computers-ram-what-brand/653136/5 "2013-03-18T14:13:43Z")
Bear in mind: All RAM in the world is made by three plants. They supply everyone from the OEM to the smallest third party sellers. Brand matters a lot less than from whom you buy it. Buy it from a reputable seller with a good track record of customer service, so if you do get a bad chip you can get it replaced without a huge headache. I also recommend [Crucial.com](http://Crucial.com), but places like NewEgg and TigerDirect are usualy pretty good at doing an exchange for bad sticks.