Crucial vs. Micron RAM

[joohang]

I thought that Crucial was a division of Micron.

I read some posts around here and it looks like Crucial DDR and Micron DDR chips are different.

So are they? I can get some "Micron" PC2100 for a cheaper price at a local store than that at Crucial. So what would be the catch?

 

[John]

I thought that Crucial was a division of Micron.

It is.

Crucial uses Micron chips (not exclusively) on their PCB. The quality is considered "excellent" and has an outstanding reputation. However, you will find a slew of Micron chips on 3rd party PCB's sold at various price points. Sometimes the generic PCB is low quality.

 

[Brian48]

Crucial is the direct sales division of Micron. Manufacture and assembly of all parts are done in-house and consequently, the quality control is very tight. Micron also has sub-sidiaries (such as Spectek) that manufactures DIMMs for OEM Market. Quality from these plants is generally good, but the consistency may not be as stringent as Crucial since they're not as exposed to the general public and they are a higher volume producer. Micron also sells it's RAM modules to 3rd party vendors who assemble their own DIMMs using 3rd party PCBs. Although these can be just as good, there is no guarantee that the quality is the same. These are generally sold as "Micron" memory or "Micron" generic. In instances like this, the RAM module may be fine, but the PCB may be crap or of a quality that is not very condusive to overclocking.