cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) (04/11/89)
Now that memory prices are starting to go down, I'm thinking of upgrading my Mac Plus. Does anyone have experience with the mail-order vendors listed in the back of MacWeek? I'm particularly interested in "MacProducts USA", who seem to have pretty good prices. Also, any advice on whether to go with SIMMS made of DIPs (cheaper) or with SIMMS made from surface-mount devices (lower-profile)? Reply by e-mail - I'll summarize to the net. Sam
twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman) (04/13/89)
Sam, If you value your SIMM sockets, stay away from MacProduct's SIMMs!!!!
I purchased 2 SIMMs from MacProducts at SF MacWorld. They had the best price.
The chips are duel inline packages with the pins running through the SIMM
board and soldered on the bottom side. The problem is that the lowest
row of pins stick down low enough below the SIMM board to cause interference
with the lip of the SIMM socket.
If you have not seen one, the SIMM socket is long, slim and holds a SIMM
at about a 45 deg angle. The pins are little wires that look reminescent
of JAWS and clamp down on both sides of the SIMM. The SIMM is located in the
socket by 2 posts near each side of the socket that fit into holes on the
SIMM. There is an arm on each side of the SIMM that locks the SIMM down
into the socket and causes the JAWS pins to clamp down on the SIMM & make
a connection.
Now what is common with MacProduct's SIMMs is that the lowest row of pins
interfers with the lip of the socket, and you may not be able to press the
SIMM down enough for the locking arms of the socket to lock the SIMM into
place. Almost, but not quite. Just a little mpre pressure results in a
broken socket arm :^(
I had this happen to me recently, & made an inquiry to the net. I recieved
several mail replies from MacProduct's home turf area saying that they are
a very low quality slip-shod orginization {Their opinions, I'm just passing
them on}.
MacProducts will replace a broken SIMM socket for $50 & you pay shipping
both ways.
If I purchase another 2 Meg, I will NOT go back to MacProducts but will
probably purchase from a well known low cost supplier like Dove.
Just a very dissatisfied MacProducts ex-customer
TeriAnn cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) (04/14/89)
I asked >Now that memory prices are starting to go down, I'm thinking of upgrading >my Mac Plus. Does anyone have experience with the mail-order vendors >listed in the back of MacWeek? I'm particularly interested in "MacProducts >USA", who seem to have pretty good prices. > >Also, any advice on whether to go with SIMMS made of DIPs (cheaper) or with >SIMMS made from surface-mount devices (lower-profile)? I received the following responses to my query. It sounds like it makes sense to buy surface-mount SIMMS if there is any possibility that you might add an accelerator or display to your Mac Plus. Thanks to all those who responded! ------ From: Mike Kranzdorf <mikek@boulder.Colorado.EDU> I just bought a bunch from Technology Works, and am perfectly happy. At the time (3 weeks ago) they were by far the chaepest. $190/SIMM for low profile 100ns NEC chips. They will buy your 256K SIMMS (if <= 120ns) for $25 each. I bought low profile because I have a full height drive in my Mac II, and they were cheaper anyway. Technology Works offers a LIFETIME replacement garantee, even if your Mac gets hit by lightning! --mikek ------ From: newman@emx.utexas.edu (David Newman) I have only had experience with MacProducts at their retail store here in Austin. They were rude, not helpful, and they basically jerked me around for 3 weeks while I was trying to buy a modem. I have heard rumors that the only SIMMS they sell are NOT the low-profile kind that is desirable. >>Dave ------ From: rrw%naucse.UUCP@arizona.edu (Robert Wier) We bought a couple of 1 m simms from Mac Connection about a month ago. I installed 'em yesterday, and they work find. I'd strongly suggest the surface mount devices, although we got the DIP... but the fit was VERY tight. --BW ------ From: James Fitzwilliam <syap@vera.cc.rochester.edu> I ordered my upgrade to 2.5M from Mac Products -- they were fantastic. The man on the phone was very helpful, they charged the whole thing to my Amex without problems, and the order came by courier within days. When I ordered, the low-profile chips were an extra $20 apiece. I got them because I eventually want an accelerator for my Plus, and most of these in-the-box expansions depend on having no bigger than standard SIMMs. If you are on the cheap are sure that you'll NEVER, ever, want to put an internal upgrade in your plus, get DIP, but I would say get the 120ns low-profile. They cost practically the same, and they'll be much easier to sell if you ever want to unload them. James ------ From: claris!ames!jade.berkeley.edu!lauac%QAL.Berkeley.EDU@apple.com For a Mac Plus, it probably doesn't matter whether you use DIP or surface-mount chips. Unless you have some sort of accelerator board or funky fan that DIP SIMMs will conflict with. BMUG has had good ratings on the Chip Merchant in San Diego. They've consistently had the lowest prices in the back of MacWeek, and they've got a pretty good service reputation. --- Alex ------ From: claris!ames!rutgers.edu!lafcol!buyskes@apple.com Message-Id: <8904131102.AA21156@lafcol.UUCP> To: oliveb!sun!cramer@apple.com I ordered 100ns DIP 1-meg SIMMS from MacProducts last November (for $300 each, sigh . . .), and had no problems whatsoever in my Mac II. They shipped them promptly, but the shipping was a little pricy. Sam
jyen@cs.utexas.edu (John Yen) (04/14/89)
In article <430098@hpcea.CE.HP.COM>, twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman) writes: > Sam, If you value your SIMM sockets, stay away from MacProduct's SIMMs!!!! -- [slurp chomp (burp)] -- > > If I purchase another 2 Meg, I will NOT go back to MacProducts but will > probably purchase from a well known low cost supplier like Dove. > > Just a very dissatisfied MacProducts ex-customer > > TeriAnn Having known several MacProducts employees for years, I must reluctantly agree. If you value your money, time, and temper, spend it elsewhere. According to all the employees, MacProducts is a money sink. Disclaimer: this being a private opinion on a 'net in a nominally free-speech nation, what's this disclaimer doing here? John Yen (jyen@cs.utexas.edu)
xdaa374@ut-emx.UUCP (William T. Douglass) (04/14/89)
In article <430098@hpcea.CE.HP.COM> twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman) writes: >Sam, If you value your SIMM sockets, stay away from MacProduct's SIMMs!!!! I have no personal experience with their SIMMs, so I will refrain from commenting here. >I had this happen to me recently, & made an inquiry to the net. I recieved >several mail replies from MacProduct's home turf area saying that they are >a very low quality slip-shod orginization {Their opinions, I'm just passing >them on}. Since we are passing on opinions, I thought the net would like another :-). We (my agency) have done a fair amount of business w/ MacProducts, and have had no problems with them. In fact, they have made getting into the Macintosh game a lot easier the last 2 years. As you well know, there are going to be horror stories relating to experiences with just about any retailer, some more than others. What I want to point out is that MacProducts has not proven to be either a low-quality or ship-shod operation for us, and that covering several years of business with them. Disclaimer: I get no money or favors from MacProducts (or just about anyone else, for that matter.) Just a satisified customer from their home turf. -- Bill Douglass, TCADA "I dreamed I was to take a test, in a Dairy Queen, on another planet." L. Anderson
clye@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Christopher Lye) (04/15/89)
Wow, all this about nasty SIMM dealers. Anyways, I recently upgraded to 2.5 megs using SIMMS from an outfit in Austin Texas called Technology Works. Their prices are competitive and they provide good support. The SIMMS are 100ns, low profile and cost me $190 /meg. They also come with a lifetime warranty. The instructions included with the memory were pretty clear with good diagrams and even provides for the new motherboard. All in all it took me (and my friend Lisa) 20-30 minutes to install. They have an ad in the back of MacWorld, and they do have a toll free number which you can probably obtain through the 800 operator. Chris ====================================================================== | "I wish all the virus-writers in | Christopher Lye | | the world had one pair of nuts | CLYE@PHOENIX.PRINCETON.EDU | | and that I had my hands around | 73407,3140 on COMPUSERVE | | it." | | | - Doctor Rorscharch | * * * * * | ======================================================================
nghiem@ut-emx.UUCP (Alex Nghiem) (04/17/89)
About June '88 we bought one meg simms from MacProducts. Shortly afterwards, we began to have constant system board errors. When we had our Mac diagnosed at one of the University's Macintosh service centers, they found that the MacProducts simms had sloppy tinning on the contacts which made them thicker that the Apple standard. As a result, the simms broke the simm sockets. We contacted MacProducts about the problem and presented our Mac II for warranty repair. To get our Mac back, we had to pay $70.00 . MacProducts said that they had sold thousands of simms, and never had any problems. Our repair was not covered under their warranty because the Apple service people in the University's Mac shop had scraped excess solder off one of the simms when evaluating our problem. We filed a complaint with our University's lawyers. I have not heard anything about the problem since. nghiem standard disclaimer