Need advice on picking RAM (Beginner)

[jimmycarr]

Hi all.

About a year ago i bought myself an asus p7p55d-e build with the i5-750 processor. I bought all the right things but I went for cheap unbranded memory which I believe is the cause for ocassional freezes and crashes in my computer (more frequent when playing games)

I need to know what RAM I can buy that will not cause these issues, can I buy any decent DDR3 as long as i set the timings right? Or is it absolutely essential it's in the Qualified Vendors List.

I've tried selecting one from the QVL but as I'm from the UK it's difficult to track down a place selling the one I want.

Also if it makes any difference i'm looking to have 4x2gb or 4x4gb if possible. Price is not really an issue as long as I can be certain it works at a fair speed

 

[Blain]

Buy an 8GB Crucial kit.

 

[tommylommykins]

If you're not overclocking your system, then it is very unlikely that the cheapram is causing system lockups -- chapram is in almost every computer that isn't an enthusiast machine, and it's normally very, very reliable.

If the system is overclocked, then before buying new gear, you should do two separate things.
1) Stop overclocking and see if stability returns. If your machine remains stable, then consider leaving it unoverclocked and leaving it as it is. You will not make your system noticably slower by having slow memory -- http://www.anandtech.com/show/2792/1

2) Run memtestx86 (with the overclocked setup) and see if it gives you any errors. If it does, then stop overclocking and see what happens before you go out and buy more RAM.

http://www.memtest86.com/download.html -- you want the first link. Burn the iso to a CD and boot your computer from it.


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Additionally, feel free to ignore the QVL. It's an advertising gimmick designed to make you buy expensive RAM.

 

[lehtv]

Also, check http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2195063 to make sure that your setup is stable (OC or not). Especially the HCI memtest part.

 

[jimmycarr]

Thanks for the advice all.

I'm unable to run memtest as I can't actually burn it to a CD due to using a really old and broken CD drive, and for some reason it wont burn to my memory stick either.

Nevertheless I shall get a friend to burn it for me and try it out.

And in case of confusion no i am not overclocking my system, I had to turn up the voltage on the RAM to make that work though, which is making me think it is the weak link in my system.

I'm only running 4gb of RAM right now anyway and I have the funds to buy more so i'll just replace that regardless

Thanks for all the help guys i appreciate it

 

[Blain]

Crucial search results for your MB are the same CT2KIT51264BA1339 kit.
Crucial states that it's "Guaranteed-compatible with the ASUS P7P55D-E"