i need help buying ram

stryder2929

Senior member
Oct 23, 2002
324
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i ordered a stick of samsung pc3200 ddr ram 512mb for $144 at pcspplysource and i just got an email telling me they're sold out and wont have it for another few weeks, but i need to asap...

so im looking on pricewatch and stuff for it but i cant find any rated vendor with a decent price....someone help please!


im looking for pc3200 ddr ram 512mb stick....doesnt have to be samsung, just acnt be a housebrand
 

RalfHutter

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2000
3,202
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Corsair XMS3200c2. Best RAM you can get, but you'll pay for it.

DDR prices have been going up hourly for the past few weeks. Whatever you decide to get, jump on it. If you wait a few hours/days you'll cost yourself monet.
 

Technonut

Diamond Member
Mar 19, 2000
4,041
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CDR Express has 512MB Winbond W942508BH-6 sticks (lifetime warranty) for $139.49 with free ground shipping. 2nd day shipping is only $6.00. Corsair uses the same chips in some of the XMS memory.

EDIT: Here is a pic of naked Corsair XMS 3200

EDIT: I ordered a couple of sticks from CDR Express yesterday. I paid for 2 day shipping, and they were shipped on the same day. (FedX) :)
 

bbrontosaurus

Senior member
Oct 25, 2002
469
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stryder2929,

The Samsung PC3200 DDR RAM at pcsupplystore looks like it is on a Third part PCB board......though the chips may be Samsung, this isn't a geniune Samsung OEM module. I have heard that these third party PCB's are kinda shady. It also looks like the price for a 512 mb stick of PC3200 has jumped up since you last posted!

 

Ilmater

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2002
7,516
1
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No no no no no no. Listen closely... PC3200 IS ACTUALLY SLOWER THAN PC2700 IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES. If you have a budget, then you're not going to get PC3200 CL2 sticks, you'll get CL2.5 or CL3 PC3200 and you won't get the performance of PC2700 CL2. Until Athlons run at a FSB of 400MHz, the extra bandwidth won't get you anywhere. There is no reason why anyone on a budget would get PC3200 DDR RAM in the first place. No offense, but don't look at the top of the line products if you have a budget; that's not what top of the line is for. If you decide to go without a budget, then get either Geil or Corsair PC3200 RAM that's rated for CL2 operation. Otherwise, do what smart people that want real performance (not just bragging rights) and get PC2700 RAM (from either of the aforementioned vendors) that is rated at the most aggressive timings. Googlegear.com apparently has Geil 512MB PC2700 Ultra (rated at 2-2-2-5-1) selling for $169.50, however, I can't post a link because the site's down right now. Just go to Googlegear's main site and find it from there. Remember, get the Ultra, which is rated at 2-2-2-5-1. That will get you a lot more than PC3200 at 2-3-3-6-1. I've not only heard good things about Geil, but I have personally installed Geil on the last two systems I built for friends (I only use Corsair, but they have a budget) and it ran at 333MHz with the most aggressive timings with no hiccups whatsoever. Both computers are stable as a rock (Thanks Win2k!!). I know that it's not $144, but it's worth the price. It comes in a nice, thick, hard plastic container, with a fancy copper heatsink surrounding it. It's really a nice-looking stick of RAM if you've got a window, and even if you don't.

PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE!!! IF YOU HAVE A BUDGET, GO WITH PC2700!!!

I should also mention that companies like Crucial and Samsung also make good sticks of RAM, they're just not at the top of my list. Kingston is towards the top as well. Just avoid anything from OCZ like the plague along with any Samsung stick that you aren't 100% sure contain not only actual Samsung chips on an actual Samsung PCB. Many people sell Samsung chips on non-Samsung PCBs, and let me tell you, they're bloody shite in my book.

If you would like, I'd be happy to explain why PC2700 CL2 is better than PC3200 CL2.5 or CL3 in more depth. Just ask.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
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Check out this thread. Someone has been putting together a good benchmark comparison of Corsair memory at various speeds and CL settings. You might find it useful in your search.

techfuzz