Micron RAM from Crucial or "Generic" Micron worth the difference? (UPDATE)

[apoppin]

I currently have 128 MB PC133 CL2 Micron RAM (CT16M64S4D7E) in my BX board with a P3 600E @ 800Mhz. Works fine.

I was thinking of getting another 128MB stick. From Crucial it's $77. From websites advertising Micron 7.5 NS RAM it's around $50.

Will it make any difference, practically speaking to get an idental stick? Or will the generic Micron RAM work well enough?

UPDATE: It's $58.14 for 128 MB CAS2 RAM!!! (today Thurs 01/25/01 - check Hot Deals thread). Definitely worth it.

 

[JellyBaby]

apoppin,

Small world! I just received my 128 MB Crucial RAM today, same exact part number. I'm OCing a 650E to 866 and wanted to make sure I used quality RAM so as to maintain that OC. I plan to install it right after I post this.

Quite probably you can get away with generic RAM even when OCing but your odds of getting a bad stick are increased if you go generic. That's about it. Buying name-brand memory just means your odds of getting a bad stick are lessened. It's a quality control issue. For me it's worth the extra money -- had I bought $45 generic RAM then experienced the occassional lock-up that didn't happen before, I'd be kicking myself. And I hate to kick myself.

Btw, I paid $73 (15% off list) for that RAM using the web promo link. PM me if you need it.

 

[apoppin]

Thanks, JellyBaby, PM is OTW.

Anyway, I wasn't asking exactly the same worn-out question - "generic" or "namebrand". Both sticks use Micron chips. One is identical to mine (costs 50% more) and is completely made by Micron the other is assembled using Micron Chips and other components.

Is it worth the difference for that?

 

[Fandango]

The only difference I knoww of is that the generic ram may use the micron chips but only the crucial ram uses the micron PCB, which is of a higher quality. Hope this helps.

 

[JellyBaby]

Yep, it's my understanding that quite a bit of generic ram actually uses individual Micron chips. So technically Micron is a "brand name" but in the minds of many it really should be considered "generic". But that's debatable I suppose.

Crucial chips are found on Crucial dimms. As far as I know they don't use any other chip-type. In every memory review I've ever read Crucial received high marks across the board.

Hehe, just installed the new 128 MB stick. I was a bit worried that it's double-sided while my first stick of Infineon is single-sided. So far no problems and my preliminary testing shows all is well. Hehe, cacheman reports 198K FREE physical memory with zero swap file usage after I loaded 10 fat programs into memory. CSFU=1 is a beautiful thing.

 

[JellyBaby]

If it's between one stick with micron chips and a micron stick with micron sticks, I'll assume they are effectively the same memory. However in the back of my mind (and probably yours), the fact micron is selling its own product under its own name might mean the odds of getting better memory with the micron/micron are better. But how much better? 1%, 5%, 10%?

 

[apoppin]

Considering that Crucial now is $73 (plus tax for me). And the cheapest generic Micron is about $20 less, I just ordered the Crucial. I figure I will keep my present computer for another year until 800Mhz is embarassed.

Thanks, JellyBaby!

I owe I owe, it's off to work I go . . .

 

[apoppin]

Crucial's Price has dropped again!!! $58.14 (after 5% web promo)for 128MB CAS2 RAM of what I paid $73.09 on Saturday. They were nice enough to credit my card $15.30. At any rate they have a 30 day money back guarantee.