Generic PC2100 DDR Memory vs. "Brand Name" -How is Frys Generic Memory?- Any personal comments/tips by you users?

[GotSomethingCheaper?]

Hi Guys,
I am planning to put a long awaited upgrade for my current P2-400mhz System, I will be purchasing
a KT266a Mobo (Epox 8KHA+) and a Athlon XP 1600+. I am trying to decide because of the big jump in memory prices, mainly DDR memory, whether or not i should go for the Crucial memory that was once so cheap, and instead go for the Fry's Generic PC2100 256mb DDR memory.
In comparison, the Crucial would cost me $68 (s/h + tx) while the Fry's generic memory would cost about $56 with tax.

I am planning to purchase all these with my Amex (American Express) Blue Card, in hopes that when prices do go down, i can easily price match the Fry's generic memory as it is shown often in their weekly sales ad.

My primary question is, Are there any of you out there who have used Generic PC2100 memory (even more specifically Fry's Generic memory), and if so would you say the performance difference is miniscule or significant.
I would very much appreciate any feedback related to your personal thoughs on generic memory vs. "brand name" (Micron, Mushkin, Corsair) memory.

Thanks for taking your time to read this.
🙂

 

[Cosmo3]

Don't use junk memory, why buy good parts like you have and skimp on memory which can cause big problems. Most of the cheap memory I have seen at Frys looks like a 2 year old put it togeather. Go to crucial.com and get some good stuff you will not regret it. Don't get the no name cheap stuff as that is looking for problems.

 

[S0me1X]

Often times, it really depends on your motherboard. Some motherboards are more forgiving of cheap RAM than others.

 

[veryape]

It all depends on what chips they use on their memory but generally cheap memory is just that, cheap memory. Haven't you heard the expression "you get what you pay for" ? Go for the good stuff unless you are really strapped for cash, in which case you shouldn't be upgrading anyhow, right.

 

[Mavrick007]

Try going to the link where Anandtech subscribers get a discount. You get a good 15% discount right now on Crucial Ram.🙂

 

[GotSomethingCheaper?]

Sadly... that very crucial ram has more then doubled in price. It was at a low of $28,
and then now it is $66 dollars. hence my concern 🙁

 

[neutralizer]

Don't get Fry's generic ram, I once shoved in a stick and showed up as half the ram I paid for.

 

[gnef]

I have use the fry's ram, bought two sticks of 128 DDR for k7s5a, working fine now.

BUT, i did have a bad stick of ram, but it was easy to return and get a new stick.

i think it is easier to get it at a B&M for the sake of returning if anything goes bad, but crucial is known for it's quality (and RMA service), and only a few complaints by sporadic people.

what you could do now is get cheaper smaller amounts of ram for now, and when (or if... heh..) prices come down, get the larger *quality* stuff - you may also have more money then, who knows?

-Mel

 

[Nack]

Actually, generic RAM varies a LOT. That is the problem. The last cheap generic store brand RAM I bought was CompUSA brand PC133 128MB SDRAM. Actually, it was free after rebate. I was expecting real crap, but I figured it would probably be good enough for a second computer. They turned out to be Siemens/Infineon originals (per the SPD eeprom) that I run at 2-2-2 at 133MHz. Solid as a rock. As it turns out, the second computer got the 256MB of Micron -8E that I was previously overclocking to 133MHz (which was also very stable there), and I put that "cheap, generic, store brand memory" in my own box and ran it at CL2! Of course, your mileage may (and probably will) vary, a LOT. If you can afford it, buy the good stuff. If you can't, roll the dice. The nice thing about retail stores is that if the ram is crap, you can always return it. 🙂

Nack

 

[jamarno]

The only time Fry's generic memory hasn't worked for me was when the manufacturer's marks on the chips were removed and replaced with the module maker's own marks, like "PC133" or the delta triangle that's also etched into some of the circuit boards. When the original marks are removed, it indicates that the chips are mixed brands (not necessarily bad), factory rejects, used or don't meet advertised specs.