Buying Ram (I know this has been covered many times)

[IamDavid]

I want to buy a stick of PC-133.. I have seen prices anywhere from $42 up to $150... Why is there such a price difference?? Can someone tell me the basics to look for when buying new RAM.. Thanx..

 

[Gumpboy]

mighty fine question!!

 

[w74656]

Difference in brand and the retailers set the price. Most $42 sticks are generic, not the best chips and PCB, usually the chips that doesn't completely pass strict quality control get sold as generic. Not that they don't do their job, but they might fail earlier or not have as much o/c potential. Usually brand names like Mushkin, Micron (Crucial), Infeneon, Corsair, etc... have good modules that o/c well. Also look for the chips them selves, what are they rated? 7.5ns or lower is the PC133 standard. also look at resellerratings.com to see how each retailer rank.
Hope it helps.

 

[IamDavid]

So if I'm not lookin to O\C a mid priced stick should be good?? Or do ya think I should always spend a little more and go for the good names?? Is this like most things, ya get what ya pay for???

 

[Vicky]

Go with the micron 256 mb for @$70.

 

[Shagga]

As a general rule when considering RAM, I personally would pay that little bit more for the named variety. Micron/Crucial, Infinion etc....

 

[IamDavid]

Can someone tell me what the difference between High density and Normal is???

 

[Shagga]

<< Description:

Is there an advantage to buying higher density modules?

Solution:

Whenever you upgrade your memory, you should take into consideration the number of slots you have, whether you plan to upgrade again in the future, and the current prices for memory modules. Because the memory market can fluctuate quite a bit, it is sometimes less expensive to purchase a higher density part, like a 128MB module, while at other times it is less expensive to purchase two lower density parts, like two 64MB modules. If you are planning to keep your system for several more years and think you might want to add more memory later, look at how many open slots are left in your system. If you have quite a few open slots, it probably doesn't matter whether you buy the low- or high-density modules. However, if you only have one or two open slots left, you may want to purchase the higher density module now. >>

 

[IamDavid]

Kewl, thanks peoples..

 

[Quickfingerz]

cheap PC150 will be a good solution as well.

 

[IamDavid]

PC-150???

Would I benifit any in using PC-150 over 133?? I am running on a MSI K7 Pro.. Would it run the same as the 133 if my board don't support it??

 

[Killer Ape]

Th RAM will run at whatever FSB you set it to that it's capable of. So yes, the PC150 will run the same as the PC133 at 133MHz FSB because it IS running at 133. Most good quality PC133 will hit 150 or close to 150 at CAS3, some at CAS2. Most PC150 RAM is CAS3. My Corsair PC100 CAS2 runs at PC133 CAS3 (but not CAS2, sigh) for example.

PC150 is really for overclocking above 133 if you don't want to gamble that your PC133 can take it.