Inexpensive PC2700 DDR RAM - Is it a good buy?

Right now I'm running 256MB of PC133 SDRAM in my ECS K7S5A. I have more SDRAM, but it won't even run at 133MHz, let alone the 147MHz that I'm running right now. So, because games need more RAM, and also because it's faster, I'm looking into DDR RAM. Looking on PriceWatch, I can get 768MB of PC2700 for about $90, which is really all I can spend right now. I'd like to see if I can overclock my 1600+ to a 166MHz bus, but even if that doesn't work out, PC2700 appears to be cheaper than PC2100 right now anyway. Basically, I'm just wondering if this PC2700 RAM is any good. It should theoretically run at 166MHz even if it's cheapo quality, right? I'm looking at buying it from pcboost.com - the "Broker Grade" RAM. In the PriceWatch listing, it says "True PC2700." Am I correct in assuming that I'd only want to bother with brand-name memory if I wanted to overclock past 166MHz? Anyways, pcboost.com seems to have a decent rating on resellerratings.com, so I'm not too worried about buying from them. Also, should I just save 30 bucks and go with 512MB? My reason for wanting 768MB is to eliminate WinXP's paging file, and of course to be able to run today's massive games with high texture detail on, without a pause every 3 seconds while the hard drive loads textures (as is my situation now). Any help/advice is much appreciated!


Edit: pcboost.com also offers a memory heatsink for about $10 per memory stick - is this necessary/worth the money? Does the memory really produce that much heat, and is the heatsink effective?

do NOT buy generic ram, crucial.com have cheap ram.

It's $90 at crucial.com for 512MB PC2700. As I wouldn't be doing another upgrade for probably a year and a half, give or take a bit, I'm not entirely sure that that would be enough RAM. 256MB is already starting to show its age, and given that I want to eliminate the paging file and such, I would really like to go for 768MB. What exactly would be the downsides of going for the cheap RAM? Basically, as long as it will run at the rated speed, I'll be happy (especially considering that getting my CPU to run at that speed will give a nice overclock over what I'm getting now. Do CAS ratings affect performance a lot? I've seen some CAS3 sticks for sale, as well as 2.5 - of course, I'll be trying to get 2.5 if it falls within my price range. As always, any more replies and input are appreciated.

512 MB is plenty, unless you're running some hardcore graphics software. There are several other factors that could be the cause of your system running slower than previously..can you post all of your hardware, and O/S for us?

I would not recommend generic either, when you can get a good brand for another twenty dollars.

Here are my specs:

Athlon XP 1600+ @ 1540MHz (1800+, 147MHz bus)
256MB PC133 SDRAM
WinXP Pro w/ SP1
Radeon 8500LELE (250/230)
IBM 40GB 60GXP Deskstar HD
Lite-On 40x12x48 CD-RW
Sound Blaster Live! MP3+
ECS K7S5A

That's all the important stuff. Basically, I'm experiencing slowdowns and obvious paging with several programs open, and there are almost always 2 users logged on to this computer (I share it with my brother). And of course, in UT2003 and Unreal II (as well as less frequently in other games), there is a ton of pausing as the textures and such are loaded and paged out. I have to turn the texture detail way down to be able to play stutter-free, and if I have to do that, I might as well have not upgraded at all. I know my video card isn't the fastest in the world, but it's decent. I wouldn't expect to be able to o/c to more than 166MHz bus with my current CPU, so PC2700 should be fine. For whoever is reading this, and has 512MB of RAM, does that always seem like enough? I guess that since my RAM budget has a $100 upper limit, I want to get the best deal possible. That's why I'm initially inclined to get 768MB of no-name PC2700. Actually, it's not exactly "no-name" - I have run across this memory made by TMTC: http://www.deltalustore.com/camera/pendrive/256MBpc2700.asp
The 256MB stick is $40, and the 512MB is $62. A real quick search through these forums shows that there is evidence, though limited, that this RAM overclocks decently. At the very least, it should work well at stock (since, again, I'm not expecting a miracle overclock out of my 1600+). I am really tempted to go for the TMTC - then I would get fast performance AND 768MB for only $102. I believe shipping is free on this. If anyone has any thoughts, particularly experiences with this TMTC RAM, please post here. Thanks again!

I've been using 512MB DDR on my iwill xp33r and it REALLY helped reduce the paging problems and "chirping" when running multiple programs on windows ME. I was using Generic ddr rated at true 2700 cas 2.5, I sold the stick soI don't know who made it, especially after I put a thermaltake heat spreader on it. I was able to get it to run as CAS2 at 166mhz after bumping the voltage to 2.7. I don't know if your ECS board lets you adjust DDR voltage, and yes !!! I did notice a difference running CAS2 on reducing my average SETI times. My current system at least till my 2 new Epox boards come on tuesday Is An Iwill xp333r 512MB of Samsung PC3200 ddr running at 333/CAS2 normal timings 2.7volts ddr. AMD t-bred b 1700@2000, 166X12, 30 gb hard drive-maxtor, Goldenfield 485W true P.S., and yes I got a great deal on an ATI 8500LE 64mb, nice card for the money. The heatspreaders ARE necessary when OVERCLOCKING since you usually have to push the DDR voltage past the spec. of 2.5 volts. I would hate to see someone try overvolting without a spreader, too much of a risk of blowing a single Ram module.

if your only going up to 166 fsb then any cheap PC2700 ram will do. Buy quality ram if u plan to overclock to 180-200 fsb or more.
Your 1600+ might be able to work at 166 fsb but your ECS K7S5A
could hold u back. I think the ECS doesn't support a 5th divider when its set to 166 fsb and that will mean your PCI bus will be over stressed. Based on your current setting of 147fsb /4 divided your already at 36.75 mhz from default at 33mhz. Same goes for your AGP bus, it getting overclocked also, and your video card might not like that when set too high. So watch if your mobo can support running at 166 fsb safely. For running memory hungry games like UT2k3 having at least 512 ram is a must if you dont want long load times and smooth gameplay.

That's what I had assumed, about cheap PC2700 being sufficient. Of course, looking at all the nice overclocks that people are getting out of 1700B's, I'm really wishing I had gotten one of those, but I'm not gonna drop another $60 that I don't have, and have a perfectly good 1600+ that I can't do anything with (my other system is a Celeron 566). Maybe in 6 months as a graduation present to myself . Anyway, I hope to get about 1700MHz, maybe a bit more, from my CPU. Anything beyond that would just be icing on the cake, so to speak. And, the K7S5A isn't the greatest overclocking board in the world, but from what I've read on other boards, and looking at the available settings in SpeedFan, it does in fact have a 1/5 divisor - setting the bus speed to 166MHz keeps PCI at 33MHz. And, actually, if my crappy SDRAM wanted to work at 150MHz, the 1/5 divisor would kick in at that point, bringing the PCI bus to 30MHz. But, from what I read, the K7S5A doesn't like to boot at 166MHz - one person on another board mentioned that he has to boot at 133MHz, then use SpeedFan to o/c to 166MHz in Windows. That would be fine with me. Although....my next mobo purchase is definitely not coming from the bargain bin! Anyways, unless someone can change my mind soon, I will most likely go for the 768MB for $102. Hopefully the price doesn't suddenly shoot up right before I buy it.

By the way: unfortunately, my mobo won't let me change the mem voltage (or actually, any voltage at all) without a mod. I can only hope for the best at stock voltages....

Thanks for all the help! I'll post if I find anything else, or otherwise when I receive the RAM and I have tested it.