What type and/or brand of memory should I be looking for?

[TheBrewmaster]

Well, I'm off to another computer show in a couple weekends (Rockingham Park in NH if anyone knows where that is) and I've begun researching components I plan to buy. The one thing I have no idea on is memory.

I have an Abit KT7 with a gig T-Bird, currently with two unknown 128 MB DIMM's. I want to get a good single 256 MB one on which I know all stats and settings, and can more comfortably tweak. Also, I have a 32MB DDR Radeon, which I hear can be picky about what kind of RAM you have.

Are there any specific brand names I should be looking for? What price range should these chips be in a computer show setting? Three names I keep hearing are Crucial, Mushkin, and Corsair. How do these compare in performance versus price?

And I might be getting a new hsf since I'm not sure if I like the one I have. What's a good one that's not too loud? (noise is an issue).

Thanks for any replies and/or help.

-TB

 

[fireball_8877]

vc133 or pc150/175

 

[stool]

Most of the time, at TriState Computer Fairs, most of the RAM is generic, with the better quality stuff advertised as Micron. The same vendors seem to be at shows every month, and most give guarantees. I have rarely seen Crucial, Infineon, and only once Crucial. You really won't be able to tell til you get there what is available.

 

[Vector]

Crucial ram is some of the highest quality ram on the market...but it is a bit more expensive than most other ram types...

Mushkin is also very good ram...but if you want ram rated at or above 150MHz, then you may want to go with Overclockerz RAM

 

[TheBrewmaster]

Thanks for the replies.

How is Micron RAM? I seem to see it pretty often and it doesn't seem too expensive.

I'm not sure how much overclocking I'm going to do to the RAM since I'm mostly working on getting a stable system with a stable CPU temp right now. I'm pretty much looking for the best quality RAM that I can get in the sub-$100 market (256 MB).

The main things I'm concerned with are it being PC133, good quality (decent speed, no shoddy workmanship), and most importantly not causing any incompatibilities with my KT7 (thus this being in the AMD forum).

Like I said, the stats of my current RAM are completely unknown so I'm also looking for a product with a spec sheet I can look at, so I know what I'm working with when tweaking.

I saw an ad for Mushkin RAM around $85. Is this a good deal? I wish I could remember the URL, it was posted in the rage3d.com forums somewhere.

Anyway, back to work.

-TB

 

[ReNeG@dE]

Crucial RAM is (as far as I know) Micron RAM, Crucial is a subsidiary of Micron. I just bought 256MB of Crucial PC133 CAS 2 RAM for $112US, so far I've got it up to 145MHz still at CAS 2. I've heard Crucial is very good from many different people/sites.

 

[TheBrewmaster]

Where did you get the RAM from? Crucial is selling it from their website for $118 with free shipping (although they're currently out of stock). I found a price list at http://www.sharkyextreme.com which is where I got the Crucial price.

I think I've decided that I'm going with PC133, CAS2, 256MB, most likely Crucial as long as it stays under $120.

Another brand I see a lot is Siemens (or something similar). I've never heard of them, are they good? It's advertised with the same specs as Crucial memory, but they make sure to point out its a 6-layer PCB.

-TB

 

[ReNeG@dE]

I bought it off the crucial website, there was a link on this site one day saying $112 for 256MB, etc. so I clicked on it and bought it... it may have gone up since.... I've heard of Siemens but don't know anything good/bad... not sure about the 6 layer PCB either...

 

[einy]

I just bought two Micron PC133 256Mg stics from http://cnetpc.com final price came to $178 + Free Shipping.

einy

 

[g.nEUz]

i think the mushkin ram you're refering to is the rev2 but the rev3 is out there which is more o/cable it costs about 125$ astick of 128mb single sided. you can run it at 150mhz and cas2 with no problems.

 

[TheBrewmaster]

Well, I picked up some Micron memory for $89. The guy said it was PC133 CAS2 memory. I took it home and couldn't get the computer to boot, just got CMOS errors. I set it back to all the default settings, booted to Windows, and ran a SiSoft Sandra test on it. It was, in fact, Micron, but it's PC133 CAS3/PC100 CAS2. So I called the guy up and said I'd like to exchange it for what it's supposed to be and all he had to say was it's all the same and their vendor said it was PC133 CAS2. He could barely speak English and so eventually I gave up arguing with him. I'm not too pissed because it's still not a bad price for what I got, but I'm not happy about getting fed lines like that. Unless I can get a better deal from someone local, I'll probably keep it.

So if you're in the Woburn area, stay AWAY from GeneralTech Computers Co., unless you're willing to risk not getting what you asked for.

 

[Tachyon]

Ouch