PC800 RDRAM for Dell Dimension 8200

[imported_Pablo]

This summer I was gifted with a Dell Dimension8200
It has a pretty sweet setup. Except it only has 128MB of RDRAM!
I thought it would be a quick easy cheap upgrade, but turns out
the memory is alot more expensive than I thought. I've had a couple
of people tell me that it would almost be better to switch mother-
boards as opposed to add memory. That seems a little extreme to
me. I want about half a gig of memory to be able to run the newer games
(bf1942 especially) easily.

Here are some other specs

Pentium IV 1.8 GHz
80 gig hard drive
NVidia GeForce 4600 VidCard
Anybody have any ideas about what I should do? Or good deals on PC800 RDRAM?
Let me know
Thanks

 

[kendogg]

I have some extra rambus.. pm me

 

[Mani]

I assume you mean a Dimension 8200?

 

[imported_Pablo]

Yeah that's what i said!

I'm a noob. How do you PM?

 

[dullard]

Thoughts.
1) To PM (personal message) you need to click on the oranged colored lock icon (second from the right) on the post of the person you want to pm. You might have to change your settings to allow pm to work - try the profile button near the top of this screen.
2) Dell advertizes such low prices but then sells computers with such little memory. 4 years ago 128 MB was becoming standard and Dell still uses it as default.
3) You already have two sticks of 64 MB RDRAM. I think it would be a waste to throw them away - so that leaves you with two choices. (A) 384 MB or (B) 640 MB.
4) I think bf1942 requires 256 MB of RAM and will run great with 384. But I've never played it myself so others might be better help. I'd strongly consider 384 MB if your budget is tight. You can always upgrade later down the line and throw away your current 64 MB sticks then. I purchased a computer last month and got 384 MB myself.
5) If you go the 384 MB route it will probably cost only $100 depending on the RDRAM maker and the company you buy from. I doubt you can get a whole new motherboard and memory for $100. Plus changing a motherboard on a Dell computer is not an easy task.

 

[dexvx]

Dell uses Samsung RDRam.

If you want to upgrade, I would consider getting Samsung RDRam from a third party OEM. I think they're around 90 per stick for 256MB. Kingston is around the same price. For some reason, RDRam prices have gone up a lot since about spring time. You'd need a pair also.

Would it be better to switch motherboards? Probably not. Name brand PC2700 DDR CL2 [Samsung, Corsair, Crucial] will cost about 70 a stick for 256MB.

 

[imported_Pablo]

Thanks... two more questions... where can i get that memory online for a good price, and also a buddy of mine said that my kind of RAM is being discontinued... is that true? I can't imagine it being discontinued while dell is still producing computers for it....

 

[ElFenix]

rdram is slowly dying off, but it still occupies the high end for the moment. newegg and googlegear have good prices, usually.

 

[imported_Pablo]

Gotcha... what's the next big trend for memory?

 

[dullard]

It depends on your definition of discontinued. EDO ram was the standard 5 years ago. About 4 years ago SDRAM took over as the standard. Now it is DDR SDRAM. So in the last 4 years no new motherboard using EDO ram has been produced. Yet go to pricewatch.com and look at the first page that appears. Links to places selling new EDO ram is on that page right along with SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, and RDRAM as well as some even more obscure memory types. So yes EDO was discontinued with new computers but yes you can still buy it today (at a much cheaper price than it was before, I think it was $50/MB back in its days of glory). So PC800 RDRAM is dying from new motherboards and computers. However I'd expect history to repeat itself and you'll still find PC800 RDRAM for many years to come. Very likely the price may plummet too like EDO did once the demand drops but the supply is still there.

As for places online to buy, pricewatch.com lists the best prices. You can buy from any of those, but I'm a cautious buyer. I'll only buy from places I trust. Newegg has slightly higher prices than some of those companies that have unrecognizable names, but I guarantee they aren't a scam.

There are two things competiting for the next big trend in memory. Both were originally developed by the same company Rambus (anything with DRAM in the name was from Rambus). But Rambus had help with developing DDR SDRAM and is losing some patent battles. Thus Rambus now strongly pushes RDRAM - which it has firm grip on the patents. However DDR is more frequently used. DDR is moving towards dual channel DDR - meaning that you need to install two sticks at a time but then the CPU can access twice as much information at once. RDRAM is already dual channel (you already have to install two sticks at once). The upcoming things with RDRAM are faster memory and putting two sticks on the same stick (meaning you would only have to install them one at a time). Which will win? No one knows for sure. RDRAM is the better technology but it comes with a steep pricetag since Rambus gets a lot of patent royalties on it. DDR is almost as good but is quite cheap since Rambus only makes a small royalty with the patents it has left. Thus at this point DDR has the definate edge - but I don't have a crystal ball into the future.

 

[imported_Pablo]

Really helpful posts... thanks guys!