I'm thinking of upgrading the 4mb of ram in my LCIII to 8mb.  So far
$110.00 (for used ram) is the best price I've found.  Is this a good deal?

12 responses total.

The LC III uses 72 pim SIMMS. The 4mb upgrade to 8mb is available
from MacWarehouse mail order for new RAM at $179, but their price is kinda
high. The best price (for New RAM) is always the Chip Merchant 1-800-426-6375
They want $131. 

So $110 for used RAM seems like not a great bargain. I'd hold out for $90.
It's not a rip-off, though.

Right.  The biggest complaint I've seen about used RAM is that you
won't get any guarantee that it is in working order (you might luck out
and find someone who will sell you the RAM and install it for you, then
take it back if it doesn't work, but I doubt it).  Whatever, my
impression of this deal was that it wasn't a rip-off, but might be
a tad on the high side, as srw says.

I ordered probably over 200 chips for our depts computers 4 years ago.  None
of them has failed.  If they start up the first time, they'll probably
last a long, long time.

Indeed.  I even prefer known working chips over brand new.  Most electronic
stuff, under normal operating conditions, fails in the first 48 hrs. of use.

How do you know it is "known working"?  Well, it may have been working
for the previous owner in their machine, but gotten zapped when removed
or transported.  You pays your money and takes your chances...

Chip merchant also sells used.  Call their memory buy-back number for the
used stuff though.
(Get used stuff in the summer.  Higher humidity levels significantly reduce
the posibility of blowing chips during removal/transport/installation.)

        Thanks for all the responses.  I shall ponder the situation a little
        while longer.

        Ok I've got the memory know how do you get it to fir in the slot?
I just can't get it ti fit at all.

Hmm. I have never been inside an LC III, but I have replaced 72 pin SIMMS.
On other machines.  It's not too hard. In what way does it not fit? 

You must be sure you have 72 pin SIMMS (36 connectors on each side of the 
SIMM, all in a straight line.

You must have selected the proper slot on the Motherboard. I don't know
what kind of other slots might be on an LC III motherboard, but
if it is the right slot it should fit.

I'm pretty sure there is no VRAM SIMM slot, but if there were, it would
be best avoided. Also avoid ROM SIMM slots. (probably arent any, tho).

If the SIMM has the right number of connectors and the right length for the
slot, then you lay it in the slot at about a 75 degree angle
and then push down until all of the connectors are seated, then rotate 
the simm 15 degrees to vertical, and it clicks in place.

It has been a while, for me - I hope I got that right.
It's a good idea to have instructions, especially if you haven't done it
before. Be very sure to stay grounded while handling SIMMS. A wrist strap
makes this easy. Ground yourself to the power supply case.

        I did finaly get the SIMMS installed (with the help of a friend)
though not before a harrowing night when I thought I had fried them,
and my computer made an omnious chiming sound when I turned it on.

re #9 Thanks for the advice, actualy the LCIII does have a VRAM slot
(which I avoided).  The weird thing about the SIMM slot in the LCIII
is that the SIMM stays at an angle after you clip it into place.
It's runnning aOK now, no thanks to the instructions I recieved with the
card which were worse than abysmal.

Great! I know how scary it can be. I added RAM in my Powermac.
It's a screwy design that requires you to remove the motherboard
to get access to the simm slots. 

I'm glad you got it installed. More RAM is always a GoodThing.

Update: in 1994 1 MB RAM cost ca. $33 (see #1 above). I just added 16 MB
to my PowerMac at $4/MB. 

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