swaaye on 8/9/2009 at 19:49
Quote Posted by Koki
Bad RAM is cheap, yes.
I'll take 2GB of FSB-speed Corsairs over 6GB of Wal-Mart any day.
Cheap RAM as in GSkill, Transcend, Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, Crucial, PQI, etc. (I build quite a few machines) Almost all of them are close in price. I try to get stuff with free shipping and with lots of positive customer reviews. :)
I used to buy the fancy stuff with the low timings and extra-spiffy heatspreaders. And then I decided to save money and buy some of the plain stuff. I've found that the fancy stuff is generally bullshit, especially if it needs more voltage to do its tricks. I have some cheap RAM that can handle substantially higher speeds than rated for.
Renzatic on 8/9/2009 at 21:27
I always buy the higher end stuff for two reasons.
1. I'm awesome, and appreciate the finer things in life.
2. I've got this theory that if I buy high end ram designed for overclocking and run everything at default clocks, it's more likely to last me a while without any flakiness. So far the theory has panned out. I used to get the middle of the road stuff, only to watch 4 sticks die on me right in a row. Yet I haven't had a single problem since I started buying Corsair and Gskill (who have the most awesome Engrish ladden boxes ever).
To use an analogy here, it's like buying a performance tuned European car and using it to drive around town. It might be a waste of money. But if you treat it right, it'll be ages before you have to take it to a shop for a tuneup.
swaaye on 8/9/2009 at 21:51
I have never heard of RAM dieing unless the owner decided to overvolt like crazy. Also consider that the OEM system builders usually don't even buy their RAM with heatspreaders, let alone buy low-latency stuff requiring extra voltage. I've really started to see that sort of thing as just the memory companies trying to create market segmentation with enthusiasts in order to increase margins.
Renzatic on 8/9/2009 at 23:29
I wouldn't doubt it. When you're talking about CAS latencies and tight clock timings, the only difference between the top dollar stuff and your normal Wal-Mart ram is a thousandth of a second access advantage. That's only good if you're going for the best benchmarks. In real world situations, you won't notice a damn bit of difference.
For ram, I just look at max FSB clocks, see what they're tested stable at, and get the best of the bunch there. A good heatspreader never hurt anyone, either. It's always good to have stuff that can dissipate heat in your computer.
gunsmoke on 9/9/2009 at 09:37
The only RAM I have had trouble with is the no-name stuff. Especially with regards to compatibility with certain chipsets.
Koki on 9/9/2009 at 10:10
Quote Posted by Renzatic
I wouldn't doubt it. When you're talking about CAS latencies and tight clock timings, the only difference between the top dollar stuff and your normal Wal-Mart ram is a thousandth of a second access advantage.
:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
