A few notes about RAM:
The "compatibility lists" are *inclusive*, not *exclusive*. In other words, if your exact module is on the list, it should work. If your module is NOT on the list, it MOST PROBABLY will still work. The MB companies don't have the time and money to test everything, so they just test a few different modules to show that their board works OK.
A great basic stability test for your system, before you try to install OS X, is to burn a memtest86 bootable CD, boot the system from that and let it run to test your RAM for at least a few hours and preferably overnight. If it shows *any* errors, you've got some sort of config or hardware problem.
Here's the link:
http://www.memtest86.com/download.html
Also, if your BIOS has any overall memory performance settings that allow normal/turbo/extreme modes (or similar), make sure to set this to "normal" (mine had a default of "turbo").
Along those lines, make sure your BIOS is using the standard memory settings from the module's SPD, not EPP/SLI or XMP "performance" profiles.
One other thing to note is that memory module makers often market their modules as having better performance by using higher-than-standard voltages when they spec module performance. Essentially, they are selling the modules by the overclocked specs! The standard voltage for DDR3 modules is 1.5V, for DDR2 modules it's 1.8V. If your module's specs note a higher voltage, it's being sold under an overclock spec. If you are having memory problems, you can try boosting your memory voltage setting in the BIOS a little bit, as the RAM standard voltage allows for plus/minus 10%. Thus, you can set DDR3 voltage to 1.65V (1.50+0.15V) and DDR2 voltage to 1.98V (1.80+0.18V) without worrying at night. Sometimes, this is enough to "stabilize" otherwise marginal memory modules.
