I am looking at buying an inexpensive (?Value?') or moderately-priced 2 GB RAM kit (2 X 1GB) for a computer I plan to build using a Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301
Are there any RAM-compatibility charts anywhere for this board?
Where to find?
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I was going to just buy a 2 X 1GB = 2GB 184-pin DDR SDRAM Corsair Value RAM kit from Newegg, but there are a lot of unhappy reviewers in regards to the 2GB Corsair kits (people are a lot happier with the 1GB Corsair Value RAM kits).
The highest review patterns on Newegg for 2GB RAM kits without heat spreaders (heat spreaders apparently do not fit well on this motherboard) are for the Kingston Value RAM. Newegg sells two different Kingston Value RAM 2GB kits ? considering that they quote 3-3-3 timings for the second, I am strongly considering the second:
Kingston Model #KVR400AK2/2GR (?Cas3?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141308
Kingston Model #KVR400X64C3AK2/2G (?Cas3? ?timings 3-3-3?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141465
Any other RAM (without heat spreaders) you would recommend. instead?
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Issues:
(1) The Gigabyte motherboard has four RAM slots. They are a tight squeeze ? I apparently need to buy RAM that does not have heat spreaders.
(2) For my situation, 2Gb of relatively inexpensive RAM is probably a better choice than 1 GB of expensive RAM. I would like to leave my options open to add another 2 GB of RAM later on.
(3) I am not into overclocking or gaming. It might be interesting to try a minor overclock if the situation can handle it for the learning experience, but overclocking is a relatively low priority for me.
(4) I run Linux ? I doubt that that makes any difference in regards to RAM.
Background knowledge - I have read the following RAM articles on Anandtech: "Value RAM Roundup: Computing On a Budget" and "FAST 2GB DDR Kits."
Thank you,
Suetonius