[X-HW] When is a 1 GByte 3200 DIMM not a 1GByte DIMM

[Jim Robertson]

I've just had my very first experience with mail-order memory that didn't
work as I expected. I've been installing memory in Macs since BEFORE
customers were supposed to do it (back when I had to solder on the
motherboard to enable my Mac Plus to read its then-HUGE capacity of 4
megabytes).

I ordered two generic PC3200 400 MHz 1 Gbyte DIMMs, installed them in my
first generation dual 1.8 GHz G5, expressed satisfaction when the machine
booted and passed its boot-up tests, but when I checked System Profiler, it
told me I'd installed 512 Mbyte DIMMs, not 1 Gbyte sticks, and that my total
RAM had bumped from 512 Mbytes to 1.5 Gbytes.

The mail-order house where I purchased the memory told me they're "not
programmed to be read as 1 Gbyte modules. They're cross-shipping me
replacement sticks (at a slightly higher price), but I've never encountered
this problem before. Am I just lucky? Does this make sense?

Jim Robertson
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