Does PNY make quality memory?

[Arkitech]

I bought a couple of 1gig PNY sticks and I'm having problems booting into XP again. I don't know if I need to put the memory in one stick at a time or if I need to adjust a setting in my BIOS.

Can anyone confirm whether PNY memory is good or bad?

 

[Engraver]

I use Patriot for all the computers at work and have never had any problems from that brand.

 

[humanure]

Never had trouble with PNY memory. I would try loosening the timings first see if that helps.

 

[Schadenfroh]

The only memory that has ever gone bad on me is Corsair XMS. But, they have a lifetime warranty and it is out on RMA right now... we will see if they make it good.

Memory that I have used in the past:
[*]Crucial
[*]Kingston
[*]Random generic sticks from pricewatch with samsung or micron chips
[*]Corsair XMS

 

[tcsenter]

PNY is probably third-tier, doesn't make or assemble anything of its own. It probably buys the commodity module du jour, which doesn't necessarily make its products bad, just inconsistent.

 

[nweaver]

crucial.com is where I get all my memory.

 

[Lemon law]

I agree--PNY hawks generic memory and you never know who actually made that memory. But if you go to almost any ram memory forum, the stock advice will be not to mix memory---with the ideal being matched pairs. Simply because even ram from the same maker, and with the same memory designation, can differ if the modules were manufactured at different times.

The other thing worth noting is that most mobos are capable of taking two or more memory modules. And if you are dealing with just one memory module on your rmobo, getting ram settings right is not all that big of a problem---but its becomes exponentially more difficult when you mixu ram. And the last thing to understand is that computer bioses just are not very smart---and if mixing memory makes your computer bios gag and vomit---you are going to have to have more smarts than the average bear to compensate--and failing that knowledge and self education, its very probable that many a computers ram is not working as well as it should.

 

[JustaGeek]

PNY has always worked fine for me as a replacement memory for major brand computers, e.g. HP laptop, where not a lot of tweaking is required.

I would not use them for a high performance machine. (Corsair)Meant Crucial and G.Skill are at the top of my list.

 

[Skott]

PNY is average quality IMO. Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill, OCZ, and etc., are of better quality. Get the modules that have the Micron D9 makings.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Before we ask you to get the latest greatest memory.....as in all D9 chips etc...

whats your budget for the memory??

I have usd pny with no issues at all!!

 

[Lemon law]

As long as your pny ram sticks have no conflicts with the other ram in your system and run well at the speeds and timings your bios wants to run them at, virtually any brand ram will do as well.

Its really only the overclocker who needs that faster and better ram. And as ram speeds go up, so does the heat generated---and the life expectancy of the ram goes down. And the wise overclocker will slowly increase speed until they start getting memory errors---and then back off some from that setting. And faster and better ram can just be pushed further than a generic ram like pny. And if you visit overclocking forums---you will see some pretty amazing speeds---and the elaborate riggings necessary to keep the processor and ram from total overheating.

But my point is and remains---one should get at least stock speeds and timings out of your ram---and a free program call cpu-z will tell you what speeds your ram runs at---and I was totally ram ignorant until I learned my bios was really downclocking my ram---and it became necessary to learn to help my bios run the ram at the rated speeds---which got me a 50% better memory throughput for zero money.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: nweaver
crucial.com is where I get all my memory.

Cruicial is my own preference, too. Micron (Crucial) makes their own memory and their own modules, which is key to quality control.

No matter who you buy from, I suggest running a memory test overnight with it to ensure that it's error free.

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
I bought a couple of 1gig PNY sticks and I'm having problems booting into XP again. I don't know if I need to put the memory in one stick at a time or if I need to adjust a setting in my BIOS.

Can anyone confirm whether PNY memory is good or bad?

Well, going back to basic asked and unasked questions--you have bought two one gig sticks of PNY memory--and now you are having problems booting into XP.---and problems booting almost always mean memory errors---and when you are dealing with new ram---memory errors usually mean the memory is being run at the wrong timings rather than the ram is defective.

Now let me ask you some questions.

1. Are these two one gig sticks of PNY memory the only memory in the computer--or are you running other memory also?

2. What gives you the idea they are correct modules for your system. And what are their advertised stock speeds and timings?

3. Unless you know how to psychoanalyze computers---what sort of benchmark programs do you have to tell you what your memory is doing---but a freebie minimalist set might be cpu-z, memtest86, and something like everest 2.2 or PC Wizard 2007. And the other important tool is a pdf of your mobo manual which will cover bios settings. Once you know what your ram is doing now, you can ask if you are getting stock timings or something else? And do memory errors go away when you force the bios to use the proper stock settings? It often just takes trial and error to get things working right.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've never had a problem with PNY memory. In fact, as far as "value ram" goes, I rather like it. I was able to get my pair of CAS3-rated modules to run at CAS2.5 PC3200 in my A64 rig. I've also never had a problem with them, like I've had problems with Kingston ValueRAM and Centon-branded RAM. In fact, the Centon-branded RAM was incompatible with my A64 for some reason, but seemed fine with my Intel rigs.

 

[edmundoab]

So far I have used
Crucial, Mushkin and Corsair..
None had given me problems.

PNY should do just as good if you are not over clocking.

 

[Zepper]

As others have said, PNY are generic modules generally sold at high margins (except when on special) in big box stores. I've had bad luck with Kingston Value DDR modules too (targeted for the same market as PNY) - I've not had one here that hasn't had to be RMAd. I like Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin, Samsung and I've heard good things about OCZ, PQI, Patriot and SuperTalent (mainly that ST is decent for a budget price). Currently using Corsair that I bought used from the FS/T section here so I can have better than I would normally afford - so far, so good...

But as others have written above, make sure your modules are running at the correct timings and voltage. You may have to clear your CMOS for the correct settings to get set automatically - I recommend to always clear the CMOS when installing new memory so that none of the old memory settings get left behind. Reseating the modules in the sockets can help too.

.bh.