RAM brands...need help deciding

[Lusty_Muffins]

I have precious little money atm (<100 dollars CAD) and I'm QUITE sick of only having 512MB of RAM. So I'm taking the plunge and upgrading this POS computer. It's against my better judgement because I COULD be buying parts for my own computer....but that could be in awhile.

Anyways, after browsing ncix and tigerdirect I've found two possibilies. Both 512MB sticks of PC2-3200. However the brand name of the cheaper of the two is what I'm not sure of.

Kingston - $74.00 (http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=15014&vpn=KVR400D2N3/512&manufacture=Kingston)

US Modular - $54.00 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1717412&Tab=11&NoMapp=0)

I've never heard of US modular but this stick has some good reviews. Anyone know anything about this brand?

[whuh?]

whats your current ram chip brand and what speed is it(im guessing its the same)?

[siddy]

I've never heard of US modular. I'd go with kingston, although it does cost a bit more, if you have to RMA it, i'm willing to bet a brand name would be a lot easier than a no-name brand...however, I have been wrong before.

it depends on if it's worth the extra money to YOU or not.

[StandingCow]

Check out corsair also.

[lucky644]

Corsair.

Kingston.

OCR.

[Steadman]

Check out corsair also.

What he said

[Enforcer]

OCZ.

You mean?

[whuh?]

yes I recommend OCZ but I dont think they have any chips of what hes looking for.

[Steadman]

I have a Cosair and mah Gawd is it a beaute

[lucky644]

You mean?

yes

[Agent Law]

yes I recommend OCZ but I dont think they have any chips of what hes looking for.
But, beware, OCZ RAM can be really hit or miss.

[whuh?]

really? I got a 1gb platinum and 2 512mb values and they are running just fine and in dual channel(says on boot up). My mobo has only 3 slots and runs on dual channel as long as the ram is balanced.

[siddy]

But, beware, OCZ RAM can be really hit or miss.

i've not had much problem with OCZ ram, and i've used at least a dozen sticks...only 1 RMA so far, and their RMA process is fantastic!

[lucky644]

All ram is hit and miss.

No experience with OCZ rma, but I know corsair is excellent, and for life.

[Enforcer]

But, beware, OCZ RAM can be really hit or miss.

Yes, you have a point. Compatiblity check is a must.

[Agent Law]

OCZ DDR may not be such a problem, but OCZ DDR2 gets fubar'd when it goes near nForce5 boards.

[Lusty_Muffins]

whats your current ram chip brand and what speed is it(im guessing its the same)?

Brand is most likely some generic Dell crap.

I've never heard of US modular. I'd go with kingston, although it does cost a bit more, if you have to RMA it, i'm willing to bet a brand name would be a lot easier than a no-name brand...however, I have been wrong before.

it depends on if it's worth the extra money to YOU or not.

Okay this post has made my mind up. I'm gonna get the cheap shit. That way if it fails in a few months it doesn't matter because I'm abandoning this PC in a sewer anyway (when I get enough cash to build my own). Don't know why I didn't think of this before :confused: I guess I'm just a foo'.

[spartan]

I've never heard of US Modular, so I'd go with Kingston if you had to get one of those two. Value RAM aint the greatest but it ought to work.

[Prowl]

so what part did this forum play in your decision making process? if everyone tells you not to get the cheap shit, why would you buy it?

You would really be better off saving the money until you can afford what people have recommended, eearing in mind the sensible people like to re-use old components where possible. Pissing money down the drain is a bad habit to get into.

Corsair value select if money is really tight, if you are mainland USA their RMA procedure can't be faulted, I'm in the UK and even I got no problems on the one RMA I had to arrange.

[StandingCow]

so what part did this forum play in your decision making process? if everyone tells you not to get the cheap shit, why would you buy it?

You would really be better off saving the money until you can afford what people have recommended, eearing in mind the sensible people like to re-use old components where possible. Pissing money down the drain is a bad habit to get into.

Corsair value select if money is really tight, if you are mainland USA their RMA procedure can't be faulted, I'm in the UK and even I got no problems on the one RMA I had to arrange.

Yep, have had that in my system for a while now, its awsome.

[Enforcer]

I'd go for the neural net processer with brain storage.

[Lusty_Muffins]

so what part did this forum play in your decision making process? if everyone tells you not to get the cheap shit, why would you buy it?

You would really be better off saving the money until you can afford what people have recommended, eearing in mind the sensible people like to re-use old components where possible. Pissing money down the drain is a bad habit to get into.

Corsair value select if money is really tight, if you are mainland USA their RMA procedure can't be faulted, I'm in the UK and even I got no problems on the one RMA I had to arrange.

Lets see:

- Save money (lol) until I can afford a new computer, which (without a job) could take a helluva long time

- Spend a measley 50 dollars on no-name brand RAM on this computer I hate but am forced to put up with? The RAM can be returned if it doesn't work and if it craps out in a few months so what? I spent 50 dollars on it and this computer sucks.

[Enforcer]

Lets see:

- Save money (lol) until I can afford a new computer, which (without a job) could take a helluva long time

- Spend a measley 50 dollars on no-name brand RAM on this computer I hate but am forced to put up with? The RAM can be returned if it doesn't work and if it craps out in a few months so what? I spent 50 dollars on it and this computer sucks.

That's actually not a bad system, want to sell it?

[Lusty_Muffins]

Not mine. It's my mother in-law's. Explains why I hate it so much + there's a Dell in this house. If I had it my way the word "Dell" would be banned from the house....nay, from the WORLD.

PS - How much would you pay for it, out of curiosity.

[spartan]

I'd appraise it around $600 without keyboard/mouse/monitor.

I hope US Modular does you proud.

[Lusty_Muffins]

I was teeling Enforcer how I wouldn't let anyone pay $1 for this hunk of garbage.

RAM is the ONLY thing I can add to this PC aside from maybe one more optical drive. There's no more HD bays, no floppy bay (but the case has a covering for a "floppy bay", 3 DIMM's, 2 PCI slots but you can't use one of 'em because it's so god-awful close to the GeForce 6800 that the GPU doesn't get any airflow of you put a card in next to it (seriously, there's probably no more than 1mm of space between a PCI card in the adjacent slot and the heatsink of the 6800).

[Enforcer]

I was teeling Enforcer how I wouldn't let anyone pay $1 for this hunk of garbage.

RAM is the ONLY thing I can add to this PC aside from maybe one more optical drive. There's no more HD bays, no floppy bay (but the case has a covering for a "floppy bay", 3 DIMM's, 2 PCI slots but you can't use one of 'em because it's so god-awful close to the GeForce 6800 that the GPU doesn't get any airflow of you put a card in next to it (seriously, there's probably no more than 1mm of space between a PCI card in the adjacent slot and the heatsink of the 6800).

All Dells suck like that. If you just do parts and toss the case, you could raise about $450-$500 on eBay. (and build a pretty serious rig if you pitch in a little more)

[Lusty_Muffins]

All Dells suck like that. If you just do parts and toss the case, you could raise about $450-$500 on eBay. (and build a pretty serious rig if you pitch in a little more)

Hmmm...interesting idea.


GeForce 6800 w/256MB of RAM PCI-E - Stock cooling unit

P4 3.2Ghz w/HT

2x256MB of PC2 3200 RAM

DVD-RW+/- (don't know the speed but it's probably as fast as the most popular units out there today)

17" flat-panel LCD monitor


I'd say the mobo as well, but I give it a 98% chance that it wouldn't fit in any other non-dell case. 80% chance it doesn't fit in anything BUT the Dimension 4700 case.

[Enforcer]

I'd say the mobo as well, but I give it a 98% chance that it wouldn't fit in any other non-dell case. 80% chance it doesn't fit in anything BUT the Dimension 4700 case.


You'd be suprised how many people need to buy a spare motherboard :rly: