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| Thread ID: 63427 | 2005-11-09 04:57:00 | Recommend a brand of RAM | Lizard (2409) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 402918 | 2005-11-09 04:57:00 | Hi again, Looking to replace my RAM, as it seems to be the most likely cause of inexplicable random shutdowns and error messages. DDR 400, 1 Gig. Mobo (MSI K8N Neo Platinum - Nforce3) supports Dual Channel, but I'm not sure about it - it seems to me you buy two 1 Gig sticks, and they run in parallel to give you total 1 Gig of memory. Have I got it right? I'm not sure the dual channel will give me best bang for buck, but if someone can recommend an affordable pair, I'd consider it. But ultimately, I'm looking for a reputable brand of memory to go with, as my Transcend Jetram memory seems to be a little... ahem... poor. Cheers Lizard |
Lizard (2409) | ||
| 402919 | 2005-11-09 06:01:00 | nope, 2x 1gb ddr400 pc3200 in dual channel would run 2gb at 800mhz rather than 400mhz, just speeds it up immensly, depends on your socket though, socket 754 for one doesnt support dual channel ram | Tux (606) | ||
| 402920 | 2005-11-09 06:02:00 | Kingston (including the valueRam line) and Kingmax seem pretty good brands. When you buy dual channel kits the are usually listed like so 2x512 - which means you get 1 GB in total, comprised of two 512 MB modules. You don't "lose" any memory. As always run checks on memory by running memtest86 or memtest86+ over a very long period of time. Even then it may not show up defects. Personally, I'd borrow some other memory first before spending $$$ on what be another problem (such as a defective motherboard). |
gibler (49) | ||
| 402921 | 2005-11-09 06:06:00 | good advice about testing some other ram in the board...........as for type of memory i personally like TwinMos | drcspy (146) | ||
| 402922 | 2005-11-09 06:56:00 | following on from gibler : test before you buy (http://www.memtest86.com/) | andrew93 (249) | ||
| 402923 | 2005-11-09 07:08:00 | Nforce3 chipset doesn't incorperate dual channel Dual channel kits just mean's 2 identical sticks bundled together, Might as well just buy 2 sticks... Memtest86 is pretty much crap, that is to say it is good, but spits out the wrong result too many times to be considered useful (imo), Nothing better then swapping out the ram for known good items. Transcend make fine ram, Personally I consider most of the cheapies as good as the more expensive brands, Timings won't be as good but thats all fluff....In my opinion anyhow, Any barely measurable performance increase means nothing unless you also have the OS gutted down to its barebones, the specific drivers that work best for your hardware, and you just run benchies all day long..... |
Metla (12) | ||
| 402924 | 2005-11-09 07:36:00 | Thanks for all the advice guys. When I first had problems I ran Memtest86 and it came up with all kinds of weird stuff that looked like errors, but later tests showed nothing. I was pretty much none the wiser. I don't have any other sticks of memory to try, nor anyone closeby to exchange with. The way I figure it, if the current memory sticks aren't busted, then the worst case scenario is I'll have 1.5gig of ram, instead of .5gig of ram. To sum up, recommended brands are Kingston, Kingmax and TwinMos. Any others people think I should check out? Lizard |
Lizard (2409) | ||
| 402925 | 2005-11-09 08:18:00 | You might look at Legend or Hynix. I did have a problem with one stick of Legend RAM which was replaced under warranty some three years back. Currently and for the last couple of years I have been running 2 X 512 Meg Hynix sticks for a total of 1 Gig on a dual channel M/B. Brand is Hynix. Just noticed I can get 1 X 1024 Meg Hynix stick for around $200 GST included. I have an empty RAM slot. This system runs quite happily on 1 Gig RAM though even though I'm into editing photos. AMD3200 and an FX5700 Video card. I'm telling myself I don't NEED two Gigs of RAM. When I started 2 Megs of RAM was all I could afford. DDR or dual data rate in my opinion is overated. Most of us would not notice the difference. |
Elephant (599) | ||
| 402926 | 2005-11-09 08:40:00 | Memtest86 is pretty much crap, that is to say it is good, but spits out the wrong result too many times to be considered useful (imo), Nothing better then swapping out the ram for known good items. Interesting. What issues have you had? I've always found it ok - usually the messages scroll right off the screen when there has been problematic RAM & discarding it usually fixes the BSODs and random hangs. Mind you, I am talking about older PC's though.... Is there anything else you would recommend for the job? A |
andrew93 (249) | ||
| 402927 | 2005-11-09 11:02:00 | I can't believe that no one has said GeiL. But they aren't cheap... if you're not doing anything major, such as gaming, etc. then everyday brands like Hynix and TwinMos will do just fine. | techie (7177) | ||
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