combining memory

[Kraeoss]

what would happen if i had 2 gigs markvision value select memory and decided to upgrade with another 2x1 kit of corsair memory xms2 4-4-4-15. will they be comptible ?will the value ram die ?

 

[Eric998765]

i recently upgraded ram in my machine and found out (the hard way) that chances are, it won't work. nothing is going to blow up on you or anything, but its best to typically stick with same brand same model sticks. the reason for this is because different sticks run on different latencies and different voltages. you can change voltage settings in your bios usually, but it will change both channels at teh same time, so you most likely wouldn't be able to change the a1 and b1 slot without changing the a2 b2 slot voltages.

i think the best thing to do would be go to tigerdirect or newegg and see what specials they are running. last week i got 4GB (4x1GB) OCZ PC6400 800Mhz DDR2 ram for i think $30 per two sticks, so $60 altogether (with $40 worth of mail-in rebates).

 

[BladeVenom]

I haven't had many problems mixing RAM. Usually it just runs at the slower settings. You might need to make sure you have your memory settings set to the slowest settings in each category for each different type. And check what the voltage settings for both are.

Memory prices are low right now so you might want to just go 2x2GB anyways. It would give the best performance.

 

[18 Is Number 1]

RAM is so cheap right now, get 4x1 or 2x2. Don't let your old value RAM slow down your new stuff.

 

[ChrisScar]

Where is the best place to get a good rate on some ram? I checked newegg, tigerdirect and pcRUSH and they had really good deals but I'm really stingy so is there anwhere to get them cheaper that anyone knows of?

 

[18 Is Number 1]

Newegg usually has the best prices. Be sure to look for free shipping and rebates, but be very careful on the rebates to follow the instructions exactly. These look like a great deals: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227248
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227270

These can go with you to your next build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146755