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[WHOAguitarninja]

Not really sure which forum to put this in, but since it's gaming related I'm putting it here.

I'm upgrading my computer to 2 1gb sticks of ddr2 ram. I currently have 2 512's, but one is faulty and I can't tell which, so I need to swap out both. My question is right now I know that they are 400mhz, but I don't know the latency or any other specs. Will any ddr2 ram work in my slots, or do I need to find out exactly what I have? I see a huge list of ram choices on pricewatch, and 1gb ddr2 sticks cover quite a wide margin.

I'm looking at this on newegg, will this for sure work, just because it's ddr2?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145527

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and another question...what are the good brands? I've heard that ram is something you should avoid cheap brands on...what brands should I look out for? I've heard Corsair is good, any others?

 

[Deg]

How many pins? Speed(400mhz) etc. What do the 512 sticks say on them. You could take a picture for us?

Value is fine. Very tiny difference unless you overclock.

Are you using an intel P4 or dual core chip?

 

[Gahiggidy]

Not really sure which forum to put this in, but since it's gaming related I'm putting it here.

I'm upgrading my computer to 2 1gb sticks of ddr2 ram. I currently have 2 512's, but one is faulty and I can't tell which, so I need to swap out both. My question is right now I know that they are 400mhz, but I don't know the latency or any other specs. Will any ddr2 ram work in my slots, or do I need to find out exactly what I have? I see a huge list of ram choices on pricewatch, and 1gb ddr2 sticks cover quite a wide margin.

I'm looking at this on newegg, will this for sure work, just because it's ddr2?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145527

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and another question...what are the good brands? I've heard that ram is something you should avoid cheap brands on...what brands should I look out for? I've heard Corsair is good, any others?

Don't bother. 88MB is all you'll ever need.

 

[Diablos]

Not really sure which forum to put this in, but since it's gaming related I'm putting it here.

I'm upgrading my computer to 2 1gb sticks of ddr2 ram. I currently have 2 512's, but one is faulty and I can't tell which, so I need to swap out both. My question is right now I know that they are 400mhz, but I don't know the latency or any other specs. Will any ddr2 ram work in my slots, or do I need to find out exactly what I have? I see a huge list of ram choices on pricewatch, and 1gb ddr2 sticks cover quite a wide margin.

I'm looking at this on newegg, will this for sure work, just because it's ddr2?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145527

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and another question...what are the good brands? I've heard that ram is something you should avoid cheap brands on...what brands should I look out for? I've heard Corsair is good, any others?

Download this program:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

When you run it, go to the memory tab, and under timings you will see the speed, latency, etc.

Also, if you want to test to see which stick is faulty, use this program: http://www.memtest86.com/

It boots off of a floppy.

Test ONE STICK AT A TIME or results will likely be inaccurate and therefore useless. Also, test each stick overnight so it can go for a few hours for good results.

 

[Deg]

Nice one Diablos

Don't bother. 88MB is all you'll ever need.

:lol

Corsair are popular. Generally just make sure they have good warranty. I ussualy go for the prices. I went for Samsung last time.

 

[Gahiggidy]

:lol
...

Laugh all you want, buddy. But he is just going to make his gaming less efficient by adding more RAM.

 

[Sysgen]

Not really sure which forum to put this in, but since it's gaming related I'm putting it here.

I'm upgrading my computer to 2 1gb sticks of ddr2 ram. I currently have 2 512's, but one is faulty and I can't tell which, so I need to swap out both.

Take out one stick and run memtest86. Then swap it with the other and run the test again. Maybe they're both bad?

ah!

Test ONE STICK AT A TIME or results will likely be inaccurate and therefore useless. Also, test each stick overnight so it can go for a few hours for good results.

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

here is a picture of my ram



I've done memtest (although probably not for long enough), but what I've decided is the problem is that as the ram heats up one goes out of sync with the other. it only happens when I play games and it only happens after 5-10 minutes. if I run it with a single stick of ram it runs fine and never locks up, no matter which stick i use. i figured i'd take the oppurtunity to upgrade my computer a bit and get it a bit smoother in battlefield 2 and other more recent games, as well as preparing for future games.

i noticed it says pc2-3200 on my ram. is that the grade of ram that i can use, or is that number not very important?

thanks in advance

 

[EGM92]

It just means is PC2 (DDR2) 3200 (400mhz) You have to make sure you buy DDR2 that has matching clockspeeds ie 3200 + 3200. If you can buy it in a dual kit it's bette. Not mixing & matching different rams together is key to getting better preformance the latency/timings of different brand rams can really screw up your system sometimes.

I have 2 sticks of PC3200 512MB DDR ram. One is Crosair Value select and the other is OCZ Platinum ram. When both are installed in the DIMM the computer only reads them as PC2700 333Mhz. I have to force the rams to be read as 400mhz. It's all because the latency at that speed is off by like .5 on one of the sticks.

 

[Hooker]

That number is the speed of the RAM, 400MHz = PC3200 RAM (1 * 8 - byte / bit)

The stick you provided the link with is PC4200, 533MHz effectively. You're able to use that in your mobo, it just won't work at the 533MHz, as it'll step down to the maximum your motherboard supports (assuming that is 400MHz, if you can give us your mobo model# we're able to check that as well)

One thing that's nice though, is that when you use the RAM at a lower clock speed, you're able to archieve faster access times, but that's another story

So my advice, look up what the maximum speed RAM tour motherboard supports, and buy a kit based on that. As slower kits are cheaper. (and you're not planning to upgrade anytime soon ie. taking the RAM to your new computer)

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

Thanks so much, is there a way to check the mobo model # through software, or do I have to go in and look at the mobo? If it helps, it's a dell dimension 8400 that I bought in august/september 2004.

 

[EGM92]

You can use Everest home edition. It will give you every little bit of info you need on your computer and your components. But usually it doesn't give you the maxium settings of the hardware so you won't be able to check out what the max FSB of the mobo is or the DIMM slot Mhz max compatibility is.

Here's the link:

http://www.lavalys.com/

I think the home version is free.