As promised PC2700 thru PC3700 $68 and up

[sygyzy]

It's funny. Only reason anyone would need any of these high speeds is if they were O/C. I am not sure when the switch over to 166 mhz fsb is, but if that is the case, why would you want cheap ram? Go read reviews about OCZ. They are horrible. Might as well buy Kingston if you are just looking for cheap prices.

Edit: I don't feel anyone needs a gig for their XP machine. More ram starts adding negative value to your system's performance after a point.

 

[Xionide]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
It's funny. Only reason anyone would need any of these high speeds is if they were O/C. I am not sure when the switch over to 166 mhz fsb is, but if that is the case, why would you want cheap ram? Go read reviews about OCZ. They are horrible. Might as well buy Kingston if you are just looking for cheap prices.

Edit: I don't feel anyone needs a gig for their XP machine. More ram starts adding negative value to your system's performance after a point.

ya we wouldnt want to have to buy a new psu over a friggen stick'o ram we will never use

 

[Phunktion]

Umm sygyzy... Ignore the OCZ.. I wouldn't touch that crap with a ten foot pole..

However they list RAM modules that just state they are Winbond which is a company that makes some of the fastest and best RAM on the market next to Samsung (both of which Corsair has rebadged for use in their high performance RAM) so when I see it this cheap I'm happy but not willing to trust this place till I'm sure it's legit.. trust me if it's truly the 4.5 ns Winbond people say they are getting then it's definitely high quality RAM..

however I'd highly advise against buying that OCZ crap they list on there.. buying it and actually getting RAM rated at what the package states is basically like playing the lottery :disgust:

 

[Loricariidae]

I'm interested to see if the Winbond PC3200 CAS 2.0 chips are really 4.5 ns. Has anyone received it and removed the heat spreaders to verify the information, as well as report if they meet the specifications? TIA!

 

[aldamon]

Originally posted by: Loricariidae
I'm interested to see if the Winbond PC3200 CAS 2.0 chips are really 4.5 ns. Has anyone received it and removed the heat spreaders to verify the information, as well as report if they meet the specifications? TIA!

I second that. Heat spreaders make me nervous when the RAM comes from an unknown retailer.

Also, I just went to Googlegeer. If you upgrade the shipping at Hardcore Cooling to Second Day to match the $0.50 Second Day at Googlegear, you're only saving $20.60 over the Googlegear 512MB Corsair XMS PC3200. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather have the Corsair name for resale sake and peace of mind. You also won't have to wait for the RAM to be in stock at Googlegear. Second Day would be Second Day, not two weeks from now.

 

[RobsTV]

Seems like some that got the PC3500 from hardcore cooling are not too happy with performance.
From the thread with AMD motherboard at link below, the PC3500 ran worse than Samsung PC2700.

anyone ever deal with hardcore cooling before? bought crappy pc3500 from them

Also, I thought that perhaps it was an AMD issue, so I looked expecting to see pspada running Intel.
But pspada is running AMD 2200+ at 1800MHz.
Which brings me to a couple questions.

pspada, have you tested this memory yourself, and why are you running so slow in your main system?
Most XP1700+ owners are running alot more than your XP2200+ running at 1800MHz.
Not trying to thread crap, just trying to not get confused...

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
It's funny. Only reason anyone would need any of these high speeds is if they were O/C. I am not sure when the switch over to 166 mhz fsb is, but if that is the case, why would you want cheap ram? Go read reviews about OCZ. They are horrible. Might as well buy Kingston if you are just looking for cheap prices.

Edit: I don't feel anyone needs a gig for their XP machine. More ram starts adding negative value to your system's performance after a point.

Some games gobble that RAM right up. Heck, Everquest *requires* a GB of RAM to activate all textures.

 

[CtK]

whats the diff between CAS 2-3-3 and CAS 2-2-2??
besides the #s

like with the OCZ PC3200 512mb OCZ3200512MB2 CAS 2.0
it says CAS 2.0 but when u scroll down it says 2-3-3
is it really CAS 2.0??

 

[pspada]

Ok, let me help to clear this up. First off, there is CAS, then there is CL, which stands for CAS Latency. But all should become clear if you just go into your BIOS, go to the DRAM control under Advance Chipset Features, you will see numerous settings that can be changed. By SPD, this RAM is automatically "seen" as DDR400, and it runs (at least on my FIC AN19E) at 400Mhz. But the default setting for CL is virtually always set to 2.5. I manually change this setting to 2, as well as enabling a Bank Interleave of 4-bank.

Now, here's where the dash numbers come in. There are settings after these called:

Precharge to Active (Trp)
Active to Precharge (Rras)
Active to CMD (Trcd)

as well as other settings. These are what the 2-2-3 are refering to, and there are others like DRAM Command Rate, Write Recovery Time and DRAM tWTR, all of which have settings of 1T, 2T or 3T. The top setting on this menu is "System Performance", with 4 options, Normal, Fast, Turbo and Ultra, which adjusts many of these settings for you.

Oh, for reference, I don't overclock my equipment. I've got 15 or so computers here, if I need more performance I'll gather them into a linux cluster. Or just buy a faster Athlon XP. But if you want to lend me a chip to overclock, I'm more than willing to give it and this RAM a serious testing.

 

[SecondhandSmoker]

The site doesn't clearly state who made the modules, but notes a manufacturer lifetime warranty. Any names on these pcb's for comparison to other vendorsr warranty?

 

[pspada]

I'll check the chips/PCBs as soon as I have a chance, and let you know what I find.

 

[Lizardman]

paspada check under the heatspreaders make sure you note which model #s are on the chips.

 

[Jaxidian]

I'm VERY MUCH interested in hearing who the manufacturer is on these as well.

EDIT: Bah, just called them up to see if they would tell me who the manufacturer was. Apparently they close at 4:30pm EST (called at 4:40)

 

[pspada]

Yea, they have great hours if you work there, but it's really bad for us West coast folk

 

[CtK]

Originally posted by: pspada
Ok, let me help to clear this up. First off, there is CAS, then there is CL, which stands for CAS Latency. But all should become clear if you just go into your BIOS, go to the DRAM control under Advance Chipset Features, you will see numerous settings that can be changed. By SPD, this RAM is automatically "seen" as DDR400, and it runs (at least on my FIC AN19E) at 400Mhz. But the default setting for CL is virtually always set to 2.5. I manually change this setting to 2, as well as enabling a Bank Interleave of 4-bank.

Now, here's where the dash numbers come in. There are settings after these called:

Precharge to Active (Trp)
Active to Precharge (Rras)
Active to CMD (Trcd)

as well as other settings. These are what the 2-2-3 are refering to, and there are others like DRAM Command Rate, Write Recovery Time and DRAM tWTR, all of which have settings of 1T, 2T or 3T. The top setting on this menu is "System Performance", with 4 options, Normal, Fast, Turbo and Ultra, which adjusts many of these settings for you.

Oh, for reference, I don't overclock my equipment. I've got 15 or so computers here, if I need more performance I'll gather them into a linux cluster. Or just buy a faster Athlon XP. But if you want to lend me a chip to overclock, I'm more than willing to give it and this RAM a serious testing.

THANKS!!!! for the info

 

[Jaxidian]

Still waiting to hear who the manufacturer is on those sticks with Winbond chips...

 

[zoiks]

Looks like they shipped my order.

 

[pspada]

Ok, I got a crowbar, chainsaw and sledgehammer, and ripped the heat spreader off - and found nothing but cardboard underneath, where someone used a felt pen to draw rectangles and wrote "RAM" inside of each! Oh, wait, that's the ram I got off of e-bay......:disgust:

Seriously tho, I pulled one of the DIMMs out of the machine. Even after the box had been off for several minutes, the chip/heat spreader was still very warm - and I'm afraid you guys are going to have to wait for someone more adventurous to pull the heat spreader off. While I am certain that I could remove it without damaging the RAM, I am considerably less confident that I'd be able to get it back on. And it's pretty obvious that the heat spreader is necessary when running at 400Mhz, so I just put the chip back. Sorry about that.

 

[Jaxidian]

Anybody else with better luck confirming chip?

 

[Lizardman]

Originally posted by: pspada
Ok, I got a crowbar, chainsaw and sledgehammer, and ripped the heat spreader off - and found nothing but cardboard underneath, where someone used a felt pen to draw rectangles and wrote "RAM" inside of each! Oh, wait, that's the ram I got off of e-bay......:disgust:

Seriously tho, I pulled one of the DIMMs out of the machine. Even after the box had been off for several minutes, the chip/heat spreader was still very warm - and I'm afraid you guys are going to have to wait for someone more adventurous to pull the heat spreader off. While I am certain that I could remove it without damaging the RAM, I am considerably less confident that I'd be able to get it back on. And it's pretty obvious that the heat spreader is necessary when running at 400Mhz, so I just put the chip back. Sorry about that.

THe heat spreader actually just makes the ram stay warm longer. Go figure huh. They don?t help with cooling any. If you need proof of this just ask since 200mhz Dram has been out for a while (vidcards) with no passive cooling. Its the thick thermal pad that is doing all the damage here. There are 2 main reasons that companies use heat speaders on DDR mem.

1. TO look pimpin and cool (corsair)
2. To hide the actual markings on the chips (most shadey internet companies)
Its easy to stick a 25 cent piece of metal on the ram stick so that the majority of people who buy it wont know what they are getting.

Pspada please try again. Take one for the team

 

[oldfart]

What does SiSoft report the mem as in the "Mainboard information" field? CPUz also can report mem type.

 

[alchemize]

I second Lizardman...Heat Spreaders are a gimmick....there are articles out there confirming this.

Take one for the team!!!

 

[Jaxidian]

Originally posted by: oldfart
What does SiSoft report the mem as in the "Mainboard information" field? CPUz also can report mem type.

I don't think this information is always 100% accurate. Occassionally, I have seen this "field" left blank when buying generic RAM. So this may or may not help.

 

[xenolith]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Some games gobble that RAM right up. Heck, Everquest *requires* a GB of RAM to activate all textures.

If that were true, won't you need a video card with 256MB texture memory and a motherboard that allows 768MB AGP aperture size?

Just asking.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: xenolith

Originally posted by: alchemize
Some games gobble that RAM right up. Heck, Everquest *requires* a GB of RAM to activate all textures.

If that were true, won't you need a video card with 256MB texture memory and a motherboard that allows 768MB AGP aperture size?

Just asking.

Well I'm probably mis-stating it by saying "textures". It was so you could see all the other "new" character models. I remember reading all sorts of violent technical forums about this, and Verant basically saying "the only technical solution is gobs of ram". I haven't played in months and months, but AFAIK it is still the case. I've also heard that BF1942 really gobbles up whatever ram you will throw at it.