Kingston 512MB PC3200 HyperX - $90 @ outpost.com

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Basilisk
I can't google either the UPC or the rebate's product code (with the trailing "512R"). I'm inclined to guess the "R" indicates Refurb

No, the (R for "Retail") Kingston dual kits are marked that way. It refers to the packaging. (You did get it in a box, right? Not just in a plastic snap-together holder barely larger than a DIMM, with a small hole for a shelf-hook near the top?

As for whether the product itself is refurbished or not, I can't comment, because I haven't ordered one.

The rebate issue is slightly interesting, as I bought a 512MB dual-kit retail-packaged from a CC B&M a while back, advertised with (I think) a $26 rebate. Well, I was lazy and didn't get it sent out, but then I learned from a post here that the offer number for the rebate, as advertised by CC and as printed out on the register rebate reciept, was in fact wrong, and if I had sent it in, as marked, I wouldn't have recieved it anyway. That to me seems nearly fraudulent. I wonder if (Kingston, I guess?) is pulling the same thing? Then again, it's kind of an old trick among shady retailers to advertise something with a rebate, when in fact the actual product being sold may not be covered by that offer. Seems to happen most often with smaller resellers, when the offer in question only applies to "authorized resellers". I have no idea if that's the case here or not.

 

[Cherub]

You did get it in a box, right? Not just in a plastic snap-together holder barely larger than a DIMM, with a small hole for a shelf-hook near the top?

As I wrote above, mine did not come in a real Kinston box, but in a generic, clear package like you describe. It was not sealed.

 

[Foladar]

mine is due today.

 

[Foladar]

Mine is somewhere in the general area..Here's the reply on the rebate info from Kingston:

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your interest in Kingston Technology.

The rebate form that you have listed below is the correct rebate form. The
form does say Valueram, however the form lists the correct HyperX part that
you have purchased.

 

[russr]

yeah but the part listed is 3200A and we're getting just khx3200 w/o the A.

 

[Foladar]

Well I sent them the Outpost.com urls and they said we would get the rebate, so dunno.

 

[PhilipPip]

I wrote Outpost service the other day and received a response that they were behind in responding to email, and that it might be 48 - 72 hours before they could provide a definitive response. How convenient, especially as the rebate offer ends on the 21st.

At this point, I am far more concerned about the fact that Outpost is shipping products which are not identical to the advertised product (even if the shipped product may theoretically be superior). Worst of all, they appear to be shipping refurbished products, which I suspect constitutes outright fraud.

Of course offering a rebate on the same page as an advertised product which may not even apply to the advertised product or the shipped product also probably constitutes fraud.

I've always been a great fan of Fry's whenever I visited the West Coast. I did notice, however, their tendency to repackage and resell returned goods, which I found a little disturbing at the time. However, in person, one can usually determine whether the packaging has been opened, etc, and so I feel there is a de facto awareness of purchasing a refurbished product. Online, I feel that if a retailer offers a refurbished product, he should clearly label it as such. I am not aware of the legal aspects of this sort of selling, however. I do think that, online or in a brick-and-mortar shop, if one buys a certain item, one should receive precisely that item.

Like others, I received KHX3200 (nonA). My DIMM came in a clear plastic container, not the black-lined plastic holders I associate with Kingston ValueRAM. I'd never purchased HyperX before, so I wasn't aware of their usual packaging. The clear plastic container bore a sticker on the back with a UPC code and some memory details (DDR 512MB PC3200). The Outpost number (3645865) is also on the sticker, so I presume the sticker is from Outpost -- will this even be accepted for rebate fulfilment? There is no 'seal' sticker on the plastic container, nor any Kingston markings.

The actual memory module bears a sticker presumably placed by Kingston:

KHX3200/512
9905193-013.A01
1325978 - 2.6V

ASSY IN USA
Warranty Void if Removed [Thank you, Outpost, for not removing this!]

One side of my heat spreader bears a couple of slight abrasions 1 - 2cm in diameter. The other has slight curving scratches. These are plainly visible in any decent light.

I've not yet tested this memory using Memtest, etc, though I know I ought to do so straightaway. At this point, I am assuming that most of us are receiving refurbished / used memory.

Would there be any point to writing Kingston and asking what liberties their third-party retailers are permitted in selling Kingston memory?

 

[Foladar]

My stick just arrived, in the little container, NO markings at all though..except the normal stickers and such, looks retail and not refurb (atleast mine, minus the container of course) ... stick is in right now and working fine. No complaints as long as I get the rebate, lol..

 

[russr]

if it doesn't come in the box, how on earth do you send the upc for the rebate?

 

[PhilipPip]

... 'if it doesn't come in the box, how on earth do you send the upc for the rebate?'

Presumably Outpost would instruct us to send in their sticker which is on the back of the clear plastic container. As I mentioned in my post above, I believe this is Outpost's sticker and not Kingston's. In any case, the UPC (at least on my container) does not match the UPC listed in the rebate form. Examining the rebate form, I am uncertain whether it is Kingston or Outpost that is sponsoring the rebate. It will, of course, go to a third-party fulfilment centre for processing regardless. Their address is in Niagara Falls, NY, and they use the website www.rebatestatus.com.

Am currently writing a fairly lengthy letter to Kingston regarding this issue, which they will probably ignore, helas.

 

[imported_raulinigo]

I just got mine, and it is KHX3200A/512R. No bh5 chips for me. But mine came brand new in box and has no marks on it.

 

[PhilipPip]

I visited Newegg and Zipzoomfly to examine their HyperX listings. Neither has KHX3200/512 in stock anymore. Newegg's photo of the module shows it inside a plastic container with a black 'backing', sealed by a wrapround sticker bearing the memory name and model as well as UPCs in several locations. The KHX3200A/512 comes in similar packaging, and Newegg's photo is even larger, permitting one a close look at the packaging and module. Unfortunatley I could not make out the UPC clearly in their photo. Interestingly Newegg lists KHX3200 as taking timings of 2-3-2-6, same as KHX3200A.

The $40 - 50 price difference between Outpost's 'deal' and the major online retailers does bother me quite a bit.

I also have written Kingston. Whilst poking round their site I noted that, as KHX3200 is discontinued, Kingston will only 'repair' and not replace the memory. A poster on Newegg claims Kingston has pulled KHX3200 from their 'support list', but I don't know what he means by that.

How many people have rigorously run this memory through Memtest at aggressive timings? What have been your results?

 

[xenolith]

It's a well known fact BH-5 chip inventories have run out long, long ago. IMO, the chances of a large cache of new HyperX w/BH-5 were suddenly found by someone like Outpost is highly unlikely. And considering Outpost's past practices with refurbs, it's rather easy to draw the obvious conclusion.

With that said, if you end up getting a stick that overclocks to 250MHz/2-2-2/3.3V, you did good.

 

[thelanx]

I just got a stick, it's the non A version. To all of you claiming you got refurbs, are there marks on the gold plating over the pins? Mine seems to have unscratched gold plating over the pins, while ram that has been inserted into a board usually show scratches from the contacts.

Edit: nvm, I looked at it closely under the light and there are slight marks from the contacts, so these could be refurbished, or maybe they tested it in the factory.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Outpost has long been extremely shady with rebates and patchy support long before Fry's took it over. I think Fry's just bought it to put their name on it, I'm not sure they have much to do with Outpost's business practices. Fry's is barebones service as well as are their rebates, but at least they mark their returns before putting them back on the shelves. Best Buy & CompScrew reshrink/repackage alot of their stuff, without labeling it as a return.

$90 is still a good price for CH-5 and not bad if it's a refurb, but I would not count on the rebate at all. There was a similar deal lately on Outpost and someone contacted the rebate center and were told that w/o the UPC, rebate was not happening.

 

[PhilipPip]

At this point, I'd rather be in raulinigo's situation. I'd prefer new, Kingston-labelled and sealed KHX3200A for $80 (with proper packaging, the rebate might work!) to something I didn't order and can't authoritatively identify. B^gger and blast, Outpost!

And I'm such a sucker, I might actually go ahead and place another order, in hopes of getting KHX3200A and a $10 rebate! :Q

 

[MrPeacock]

The stick I got was in the plastic holder, with the kingston seal on it. No scratches on the ram itself. And since it was the KHX3200\512 (bh-5,) I guess I got lucky.

I upgraded to the latest memtest86, and I'm now running 2-2-3 on it stable. After a little more I think my timing issues with it may be the result of my althon64 processor. Mushkin has a special report on the A64 on the A64, part of which says:

There are, however, still some peculiarities of the Athlon64 systems in how they are handling memory which effects memory compatibility.

One of the most critical issues in this resepect relates to the first step in the memory access sequence, that is, the opening of a memory page and subsequent steps until a read command can be issued. All of these steps fall into the time frame referred to as RAS-to-CAS delay or tRCD. In a typical system, the memory controller on the chipset is running at bus speed. On the Athlon64, it is running at CPU speed, which means that it is A LOT faster. That means that the internal sequence of commands also goes faster, and that's where all systems are getting hiccups if the memory chips used can only run at a high tRCD.

A very trivial explanation is that the controller expects that the memory is as fast as it itself but we don't have memory yet running at a 2 GHz and beyond clock rate. What it comes down to is that, depending on the BIOS tuning (by the manufacturer), the read command is issued a bit too early and violates the tRCD. The workaround is to add one additional cycle to the actual memory latency, that is, a 2:2:2-rated DIMM will run stable at 2:3:2; a 2:3:2 rated module will, most likely, need to be set to 2:4:2 in order to run stable (where the latencies are CAS:tRCD:tRP). Bottom line is that when shopping for memory for the Athlon64, it is highly advisable and in most cases mandatory to only consider memory with a tRCD of 2 or, to make it simple, memory that is rated at 2:2:2 a the designated speed..

So they want you to run really, really fast memory. Which just happens to be the most expensive type.

 

[sleepeeg3]

^ Which doesn't surprise me. Winbond switched to CH-5 because of incompatabilities with BH-5. I figured it was an issue with your board.

Okay I'll fold, since the secret seems to be out.

Clear plastic holder, KHX3200 (BH-5), minor bits of glue, etc. that show it must have been used. Even though it's exactly what I was hoping for, it's not what I ordered and they're getting a very dissatisfied rating from me.

There's no way that rebate is going to work.

 

[imported_raulinigo]

Ok, I am the one (and only one it seems) to get the A version. So I just put it in and am trying it out. At 400mhz, the settings by SPD are 2.5-3-3-8 ??? I tried setting them to 2-3-2-6 and my computer wouldnt boot (nf7-s ver.2). Ran Aida32 and it tells me that the following:

Highest CAS Latency 2.5 (5.0 ns @ 200 MHz)
2nd Highest CAS Latency 2.0 (6.0 ns @ 166 MHz)

What gives, I thought even the A version was rated at CAS 2 @ 400mhz?

 

[sleepeeg3]

Sheesh, you'd think no one overclocks on this forum

raul, when did you order yours?

You have CH-5. Set the clocks to 2-3-3-x and it should run fine. Actually far less compatability issues with your RAM. You got what you ordered (unless it's used)

Other good news is, you may actually get your rebate. Bad news is, I think their BH-5 stock finally dried up.

Oh and the guy who said OCZ Plat Rev.2 was a better deal is wrong. There's tax on that RAM as well. You're looking at about a $100 difference. Plus BH-5 runs tighter timings at higher fsb, which is better for XP/939 systems.

 

[imported_raulinigo]

Originally posted by: sleepeeg3

raul, when did you order yours?

I ordered mine Monday.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Originally posted by: raulinigo

Originally posted by: sleepeeg3

raul, when did you order yours?

I ordered mine Monday.

Sorry, bro. Anyone else order their's recently and get 'A'?

 

[russr]

Raulingo, sorry that you got CH-5 version. I have the same motherboard as you, the NF7-S and I can tell you that the motherboard does not like CH-5 at all. You're not going to be able to run it at 2326 even at 200mhz, you're going to have to run it at 2336 and with cpc on you're not going to be able to overclock far at all unless you loosen the timings big time or turn CPC off.

On my right, increasing the voltage to the CH-5 stick to 2.9v(3v overvolted) only added more instability.

If I were you and were interested in overclocking past 210mhz, I'd sell that stick and buy some samsung TCCD chips memory.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Overclocks are never set in stone. I have CH-5 that does 2-3-3-x, 232 @ 2.9v on a board that shares the same faults as the NF7 series.

 

[PhilipPip]

Outpost.com has updated their rebate form. Unfortunately it still features all the confusing details of the previous form ('ValueRAM', photo of DIMM sans heat spreader, 'KHX3200A/512R' model). The rebate deal has been extended till 26 October, however, and the rebate number and department have changed (still Niagara Falls, NY). And it still lists a UPC different to KHX3200: as the rebate requests 'original UPC label from package', I don't know how we're going to comply, especially as our memory seems to be refurbished and stuck inside no-name packaging. I'm starting to think of becoming one of those 'I will tattle on you to the Better Business Bureau' cranks.