RAM question

[CDC Mail Guy]

Looking to get 2 sticks of 1GB RAM. Now a simple question. Does the maker/brand REALLY matter that much? I mean would cheap DDR 2 PC4200 (like Crucial/Kingston/Corsair) be just as good as say, OCZ or one of the other "high performance" brands. Mainly a gamer, but also do a bit of video editing/burning.

I'm looking to but inexpensive...but not CHEAP memory.

 

[onetroubledguy]

I can't answer your question and I don't mean to get off topic, but since when is Corsair considered cheap? I was under the impression that Corsair is a top brand for gaming. Reason I ask is because I'm getting Corsair XMS.

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: onetroubledguy
I can't answer your question and I don't mean to get off topic, but since when is Corsair considered cheap? I was under the impression that Corsair is a top brand for gaming. Reason I ask is because I'm getting Corsair XMS.

Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston are all considered premium brands of RAM. Corsair XMS and Crucial RAM brands in particular are recognized as the best you can buy. OCZ is a relative newcomer to the RAM business although is very popular with many overclockers.

To answer the original question, basically RAM is RAM if it works. So a generic no-name stick of DDR2 PC4200 would be the equivalent of a name brand if it worked.

If you want to overclock or run at extreme timings then the different brands might make a difference but to the average user, no.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: onetroubledguy
I can't answer your question and I don't mean to get off topic, but since when is Corsair considered cheap? I was under the impression that Corsair is a top brand for gaming. Reason I ask is because I'm getting Corsair XMS.

Sorry...didn't mean to offend! 🙂 There is a difference between cheap and inexpensive though, and that's what I meant. It's just that some RAM is a LOT more expensive than other brands for the same thing.

 

[n7]

Not OCing?

Then cheap is fine.
Even a lot of cheaper DDR2 OCs well.

But if you're just running stock speeds, there's no real need to buy expensive RAM (unless you have money to burn, of course 🙂)

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: Beachboy

Originally posted by: onetroubledguy
I can't answer your question and I don't mean to get off topic, but since when is Corsair considered cheap? I was under the impression that Corsair is a top brand for gaming. Reason I ask is because I'm getting Corsair XMS.

Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston are all considered premium brands of RAM. Corsair XMS and Crucial RAM brands in particular are recognized as the best you can buy. OCZ is a relative newcomer to the RAM business although is very popular with many overclockers.

To answer the original question, basically RAM is RAM if it works. So a generic no-name stick of DDR2 PC4200 would be the equivalent of a name brand if it worked.

If you want to overclock or run at extreme timings then the different brands might make a difference but to the average user, no.

Thanks. As for the overclocking, all I've done so far is OC my CPU from 3.6 to 3.97.

I know that Corsair and Crucial are brand names, but I meant less expensive than like RAM specifically made for like extreme gamers etc...but you cleared that up for me.