Shopping for New RAM

DayTrader

DayTrader

New Member
Hi, 3 of my 1GB Crucial Ballistix are showing errors on memtest. I've been getting the blue screen randomly for some time now and just recently figured out it's my RAM. So, I'm using this as an excuse to upgrade my system from 4GB to 8GB. I'm trying to decide which brand to go with. I have read a lot about Crucial RAM going out quickly like mine did. Is this really that common for this brand? If yes, then I assume buying more Crucial RAM would not be a great idea! Can someone recommend a solid brand that I won't need to replace in a year? Money isn't really an issue for RAM, but I hate overpaying for something that adds no additional value, so if there are some non-name brands that are just as good as the big brands, I'd be glad to hear about it.

And while I have your attention, I'm about to change my OS because I'm tired of Vista. Is Windows 7 a good investment? Will Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade suffice? I simply need it to run my trading programs, that's all.

Thanks!
 
Corsair RAM will last you, I've had my 8GB for close to a year now, with no issues at all.
 
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Corsair, OCZ, Kingston, Mushkin, Patriot, G.Skill, Geil

I would strongly recommend Corsair or OCZ, OCZ'd DDR2 memory is second to none, and their support is excellent. I've had 12GB of PC6400 Gold series and had no problems with any, and from what others have said, none of their other stuff is different.

As for your OS, I would say 7 is a good upgrade, yes.

Your Crucial memory should still be under lifetime warranty, so get it replaced with them and sell it to get some money towards your new set of memory
 
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It seems Corsair is a crowd favorite. This has been suggested to me time and time again. I was looking at the RAM on their website that is compatible with my MoBo and I noticed that all of them had 2T in the latency. I thought 2T was slower than 1T. I'm far from an expert on this but this is just what I read somewhere. Is it true?

Also, I'm trying to decide between the 6400 or the 8500. Is there a noticeable difference? I read on NewEgg many reviews of several different brands and many reviews say they were able to achieve 1066 only if they had 2 sticks (4GB) but once they later added 2 more and tried to run 8GB they were only able to reach stability at 800. Now, honestly I don't fully understand what this means. But I think 8500 is supposed to be 1066 and 6400 runs 800, right? So if I planned to run 8 full Gigs, should I just opt for the 6400 since I'll probably only be able to stably run at 800?
 
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DayTrader said:
It seems Corsair is a crowd favorite. This has been suggested to me time and time again. I was looking at the RAM on their website that is compatible with my MoBo and I noticed that all of them had 2T in the latency. I thought 2T was slower than 1T. I'm far from an expert on this but this is just what I read somewhere. Is it true?

Also, I'm trying to decide between the 6400 or the 8500. Is there a noticeable difference? I read on NewEgg many reviews of several different brands and many reviews say they were able to achieve 1066 only if they had 2 sticks (4GB) but once they later added 2 more and tried to run 8GB they were only able to reach stability at 800. Now, honestly I don't fully understand what this means. But I think 8500 is supposed to be 1066 and 6400 runs 800, right? So if I planned to run 8 full Gigs, should I just opt for the 6400 since I'll probably only be able to stably run at 800?
Click to expand...

PC6400 = 800MHz
PC8500 = 1066MHz

Say you didn't know that, you can work out what it means by having 1 piece of information or the other by x8 or /8, depending which you are given, For instance, 1600MHz DDR3 is PC12800, 1600x8 = 12800

As for the speed difference between 800MHz and 1066MHz, 1066MHz is quicker, but not noticeably so. I would go for 800MHz, unless you can afford the price difference between the 2.

For the price, I would go with any of the following 3:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227199

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144073

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267

Corsair do make good memory, however it isn't by any stretch of the imagination outstanding compared to all the others, you won't be able to tell the difference between any of them. The only thing going either way for any of them is the timings and the support, Corsair have excellent customer services, that is from personal experience and from experience of others, and from using the OCZ customer services, I can say they are just as good. I've not used any others, apart from Crucial, who were alright but didn't keep contact as well as the other two and took a little longet
 
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Aastii, thanks for the great info! I'm inclined to go with the OCZ Reaper since the price is the lowest and the reviews are great.
 
Okay, now I'm trying to decide between the GeIL and the Reaper. I see that the GeIL is 1.8 V with timing of 5-5-5-15 and the Reaper is 2.1 V, 4-4-4-15.

Since they are evenly priced, I am trying to decide which of these specs are more desirable. I think heat may be a concern for me, especially in the summer time since my computer room is the hottest room in the house and I think the higher voltage produces more heat, correct? As for the timing, is the difference really that substantial?

And for a dumb newb question: Is all DDR2 RAM compatible with my motherboard or are there more factors that I must consider with regard to compatibility? Any info on that would be much appreciated.

I'm not only trying to make the best purchase ,but I'm also trying to learn something while I'm at it :)

Thanks!
 
It's DDR2 so don't worry.

More volts always produces more heat, you're right about that.
If I were you I'd get the reaper because of the price. But the OCZ reaper isn't a bad product just because of the price, it lasts.
But if you're that worried about the volts then consider getting the OCZ Gold. It does cost 8 bucks extra over the Reaper but in addition it produces just as much volts as the GeIL RAM (1.8v).

Edit- You'll get bang for the buck with Gold.
 
DayTrader said:
Okay, now I'm trying to decide between the GeIL and the Reaper. I see that the GeIL is 1.8 V with timing of 5-5-5-15 and the Reaper is 2.1 V, 4-4-4-15.

Since they are evenly priced, I am trying to decide which of these specs are more desirable. I think heat may be a concern for me, especially in the summer time since my computer room is the hottest room in the house and I think the higher voltage produces more heat, correct? As for the timing, is the difference really that substantial?

And for a dumb newb question: Is all DDR2 RAM compatible with my motherboard or are there more factors that I must consider with regard to compatibility? Any info on that would be much appreciated.

I'm not only trying to make the best purchase ,but I'm also trying to learn something while I'm at it :)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

ice said:
It's DDR2 so don't worry.

More volts always produces more heat, you're right about that.
If I were you I'd get the reaper because of the price. But the OCZ reaper isn't a bad product just because of the price, it lasts.
But if you're that worried about the volts then consider getting the OCZ Gold. It does cost 8 bucks extra over the Reaper but in addition it produces just as much volts as the GeIL RAM (1.8v).

Edit- You'll get bang for the buck with Gold.
Click to expand...

It will produce more heat, however notice that the geil doesn't have a heatspreader, where as the OCZ will. Neither will be overheating if that is your worry with the difference in voltages, they are tested, and tested, and tested some more to make sure that won't happen, so it will be fine.

However, with the OCZ gold series, should you have 4 sticks together (8GB total), you usually have to raise the voltage anyway to 2.1V, otherwise you will be facing problems; either BSODs, or system just won't post at all. I know that from experience, and got told it by an OCZ engineer. It isn't the case with all motherboards, but with the vast majority, having all 4 DIMM slots populated with the memory needs the voltage bump.

You won't warranty because of that though, the OCZ gold has EVP (Extreme Voltage Protection) meaning you can go 10% above 2.1V (~2.3) and you will still be under warranty; it is to try and get more overclockers to buy the memory, because they can do so knowing that it is still covered

the reaper has 2.2V EVP though, so you can set the voltages to ~2.4V and still have it covered. It has been tested up to there, and all was fine
 
Hmm, my last comment didn't post. Oh well, I appreciate everyone's helpful information. I've decided that the Gold is the way to go.
Thanks!
 
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