Does the brand of RAM upgrade or replacement matter?

[tsinsf]

I've spent a lot of time googling Ram to find out if one brand is better than another, and all I find is opinions, no data. In my case it is for a new iMac 2020 27". Is there any information about RAM to use to judge which brand to buy, ie, speed and reliability. Or does it matter at all if you just make sure you buy the correct specs?

[kers]

It is better if the timing of all the Ram is the same. So best is to stick to one type if you upgrade.
About quality i can't tell.

[BobShaw]

I think that it does matter.
I have bought from Macsales or OWC in the US and RamCity in Australia.
They basically guarantee it will work and you just dial in the model and order.

[Eric Brody]

On this board I've seen good reports about OWC and Crucial. What matters most is getting the right type and the guarantee. For example, I used 64GB of OWC RAM in my 2013 Mac Pro trashcan and it still works. I just bought a 2020 iMac 27" and purchased 64GB of RAM from OWC for USD$270. Apple charges USD$1,000 for 64GB of RAM. I popped it in in about 10 minutes. That's USD$730 savings! If you go all the way and get 128GB the OWC vs Apple savings is USD$2,000! I've never understood how Apple gets away with those prices. With laptops where it's not user replaceable, you've not got a choice. I also nave not seen data about different brands but if the company's warranty is good, you're likely safe. OWC has a generally good reputation. While they have a lot of my money, I'm not on their payroll. On the few occasions I've had problems, they were responsive. Good luck.

[JaapD]

All RAM chips are manufactured by only 3 factories. These ones do not have any reliability issues what so ever. As you mention yourself just make sure you buy the correct specs, that’s it!

Expensive Apple RAM is in no single way better than the rest.

Cheers,
Jaap.

[FabienP]

On this board I've seen good reports about OWC and Crucial. What matters most is getting the right type and the guarantee. For example, I used 64GB of OWC RAM in my 2013 Mac Pro trashcan and it still works. I just bought a 2020 iMac 27" and purchased 64GB of RAM from OWC for USD$270. Apple charges USD$1,000 for 64GB of RAM. I popped it in in about 10 minutes. That's USD$730 savings! If you go all the way and get 128GB the OWC vs Apple savings is USD$2,000! I've never understood how Apple gets away with those prices. With laptops where it's not user replaceable, you've not got a choice. I also nave not seen data about different brands but if the company's warranty is good, you're likely safe. OWC has a generally good reputation. While they have a lot of my money, I'm not on their payroll. On the few occasions I've had problems, they were responsive. Good luck.

Crucial offer a money back guarantee if the RAM doesn't work. Be sure to select only what they offer in their RAM configurators for your kit, otherwise the compatibility warranty may not be honoured.

Once installed, run memory stress tests for hours or days to ensure the RAM is not defective and well tolerated by the system.

Some RAM sticks that have the right timings can be incompatible with some motherboards but it is a bit of an edge case that is not often encountered. Kingston RAM for instance was silently removed from compatibility lists with Supermicro server boards a few years ago. The RAM was stable with two slots populated but not all slots, hence the removal from the compatibility lists.

Cheers,
Fabien

[PeterAit]

It is better if the timing of all the Ram is the same. So best is to stick to one type if you upgrade.
About quality i can't tell.

Agreed. Get the same as you already have. Can't go wrong.

[Rajan Parrikar]

As someone has mentioned above there are only 2/3 RAM manufacturers. Where OWC excels is in its post-sales service. Should something go wrong with your sticks, they will replace it right away at no cost.

[JeffSD]

I've had good experience using OWC for memory upgrades on numerous Apple devices, including iMacs. Their website makes selection of the correct type of memory easy and their installation videos are very helpful.

My only issue with an OWC product concerned a faulty GPU. They took care of it very quickly.