Any thoughts on Transintl vs. Crucial RAM?

[Jim]

Both have lifetime guarantees. Crucial is priced lower - 75-80%.

Has anybody had issues with Crucial RAM and/or with them honoring their guarantee?

[mikehalloran]

I don't know Transintl at all.

Crucial is the retail arm of Micron. Micron is an OEM supplier to many companies including Apple and OWC's house brand. Their warranty house is in Nampa Idaho.

Never a good idea to buy Micron branded RAM or SSDs. These are sold without warranty of any kind—this is built into the price and the OEMs & VARs who buy them are expected to eat any that come back. This is posted clearly on Micron's web site. So, if you buy Micron branded as OWC, it's OWC that will back it up (and they have an excellent reputation for that) but Micron will not do anything.

Although Crucial is the same thing, the price includes the stated warranties. A number of years ago, I bought a large number of SSDs for one of my clients and myself. After a couple developed problems within the 3 year warranty period, I tested them all and the majority showed signs of potential trouble so I got an RMA for the entire lot. Crucial sent back new SSDs with better specs and 5 year warranties and not one has given me grief since. I could have saved a few $$ buying the identical SSDs under the Micron brand on Amazon or eBay but it's possible that I would have eaten every one.

[Jim]

Thanks for the information, Mike!

[Tritonemusic]

Transintl had a great reputation many years ago. I purchased some RAM from them and had no problems, FWIW. I don't know how they're doing nowadays, though.

[Jim]

Transintl had a great reputation many years ago. I purchased some RAM from them and had no problems, FWIW. I don't know how they're doing nowadays, though.

Same here. All good experiences with Transintl. I haven't bought any from Crucial. I bought some and received bad RAM from OWC in Dec. 2019, which they replaced and is still working. But, they shafted me on my last transaction, and no longer under consideration for any future business from me. That's why I'm looking for alternatives.

Thanks for your comment, TTM.

[kimber1]

interesting information

[HCMarkus]

If the RAM is backed by a good guarantee, I'd shop price from a solid provider, one likely to remain in the game. So, Crucial sounds like a winner.

You can get used RAM for cheap on eBay if budget is a huge issue. I've never had RAM go bad on me once installed.

[Jim]

I've never had RAM go bad on me once installed.

I have, but it was a long time ago. The computer just stopped working altogether. This is why you should hang onto your stock RAM after you upgrade. You may need it later to boot your computer.

[HCMarkus]

I've never had RAM go bad on me once installed.

I have, but it was a long time ago. The computer just stopped working altogether. This is why you should hang onto your stock RAM after you upgrade. You may need it later to boot your computer.

Or start pulling sticks (assuming you have more than one) and re-booting until you find the bad one.

[mikehalloran]

… I've never had RAM go bad on me once installed.

Oh I certainly have but always was able to get it replaced quickly and easily. There was also the time when a MacOS update made a lot of 3rd party RAM fail—OWC rushed replacements to me overnight. It's been at least 15 years, now.

…Or start pulling sticks (assuming you have more than one) and re-booting until you find the bad one.

Yep!

Despite the buyback offers from OWC, I never sent back the original stick(s). First, I've always bought AppleCare and those sticks let me restore the machine to stock. Second, sometimes a bad stick was the problem.

Bad RAM can cause all sorts of issues—sometimes, "weird" was the only real symptom. I no longer remember which Mac nor how long ago when one of mine exhibited random problems. i could reproduce only two symptoms: Norton Utilities (remember that?) was crashing my machine and I couldn't rebuild the desktop without crashing. I'm on the phone with a rude person in Norton Support who kept saying, "it's not us…" over and over till he finally barked, "Listen, Pal, I've seen bad RAM cause this!" When I thanked him for helping me, he lost it in a most unprofessional way and I hung up the phone mid-rant. Having experienced bad RAM before, I knew that was the culprit and reinstalled the original stick till OWC replacements arrived.

I maxed out a couple of old MacBooks and my non-pro iMacs a few years back but with soldered and integrated RAM, those days are over for me.