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RAM
Loata
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am planning on buying some ram soon. 2 or 3 gigs. But I need to know if DDR2 has to run parallel. Also, any recommendations on getting a particular brand or anything to look out for, I have never bought ram before.
Loata on
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Otherwise, Corsair, Crucial, OCZ are the established brands with G.Skill, Wintec, A.Data, Patriot being the newer brands but also having good reliability.
Personally, I pretty much always buy Corsair Value Select, but you can't really go wrong these days, just don't buy the really expensive stuff, it's never worth it.
Side note: anyone know of Kingston is still around and reliable? I used to buy them too, back when their Hyper-X was the shit.
PSN: TheScrublet
I have 4 slots with two 512 sticks. I don't really want to pay more money if I can just buy a 1g stick and a 2g. (Giving me 4g total)
Also, on ram in the stores I noticed that they have numbers on them, like PCB5200 and stuff like that. Does this really mean anything? Or can I just pick up and ddr2 ram and have it work?
And how much power will this take? I have a stock psu that came with my computer, and I imagine it is being tapped pretty hard by the 8800 GT I just put in it. Would I need to buy a new supply?
Sorry if these seem obvious, but, like I said, I have never bought this before.
I'd add kingston to the approved list too, I've used them several times with good results. Don't buy cheap crap, don't buy expensive crap. I've used several different speeds of RAM and never noticed much difference. Maybe I would between something antique, but so long as its at least 667, you're good.
One last question, any good retail stores to buy from? I have found Best Buy to be ridiculously expensive. Circuit City is a good deal cheaper, but if I can get it for even less, I am willing to drive a bit.
And a quick recap:
1. Buy Corsair/Crucial/OCZ/Kingston
2. I can Mix n' Match sizes
3. The little numbers on the box (PCB5200, etc) don't mean anything as long as I get it at about 670mhz
4. My PSU can handle it. (Nevermind, this one wasn't answerd)
And I'd just buy from NewEgg. 2 gig kit, 35 dollars, yummy
EDIT: you say you have a stock PSU...but what machine do you have? What wattage and efficiency is the PSU? I've seen "stock" PSUs as high as 700 watts (overkill) and as low as 250 (woefully inadequate). Apart from the watts, there's also the issue of the 12 volt rails (how many?), the efficiency, and the quality of the PSU.
But, I'll be very surprised if your memory affects your power supply in any way unless you overclock (which it sounds like you obviously won't be doing).
PSN: TheScrublet
Tossing this out there: I built a beastly gaming computer a year ago and no parts in it have died yet, including the 4 gigs of G.Skill RAM.
Yes. The amperage on the 12vA is important.
PSN: TheScrublet
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. The number absolutely means something. You can't just go getting anything around 670MHz. I can't believe no one has said anything about this...I'm astounded that after so many replies that no one has caught this.
Memory clock speeds are backwards compatible, but they need to at least be compatible with your motherboard. If your motherboard maxes as 667MHz, and you pop 1066MHz in there, it may still run, but you'll be bottlenecked at 667MHz and have paid for speed you can't use. Check the manual for your motherboard or the manufacturers website to see what memory speeds are compatible with your mobo.
You can see an example of this on NewEgg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131196 go to the specifications tab). You should see: Memory Standard DDR2 1066
DDR2 1066MHz is also called PC2-8500. If your current RAM is DDR2 667MHz (AKA PC2-5400) and that's what your motherboard runs, then this is what you want.
http://www.canadacomputers.com/
2 x 1GB OCZ DDR2. I'm going to guess that the speed matches or exceeds your motherboard. Are the timings extreme? No. Are you probably going to notice a difference? I doubt it. And no retailer (BestBuy, Circuit City) is going to beat this $26+shipping price tag.
PSN: TheScrublet
32bit OSes will not address 4 gigs of RAM, so if you are using Windows XP don't bother with more than 2gigs (unless you have the 64bitXP).
Thanks again for all the replies to my questions.
PSN: TheScrublet
No, it won't address up to 4. 3 should be fine and is what I have in my laptop running 32bit XP.
If you put 4 in, it will only display like 3.5 or 3.2 or something like that because it can physically only address up to 4gb, and some of that space at the top is reserved for system devices, etc.