The best and the worst RAM and motherboard in the world

[WaiWai]

The best and the worst RAM and motherboard in the world
Hi.
I would like to know which RAM and motherboard you think is/are:
- the best
- the worst
And why if possible?
(NB: you may mention the best/worst chipsets of the motherboard as well)

I have a bad experience about my motherboard and RAM.
I would like to choose a better ones next time I upgrade or buy a new computer.

Feel free to air
Merry Xmas.

 

[LordPhoenix]

Mind posting what socket/chipset?

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: LordPhoenix
Mind posting what socket/chipset?

As you wish.

 

[BentValve]

This is just way too broad of a subject. ...how about narrowing it down a tad?

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: BentValve
This is just way too broad of a subject. ...how about narrowing it down a tad?

I think the topic is not too wide.
Just to say which motherboard/RAM is the best and the worst.

 

[LordPhoenix]

Asus A7N8X Deluxe.
Abit NF7-S
DFI Lanparty UT-250GB nForce 3.

Corsair Value Select.
Mushkin Basic Green.

 

[WaiWai]

I used Asus A7N8X/VM 400 previously, but its compatibilty is very low.
Now changed to Asus A7N8X (non-deluxe one). But still get some problems. Not sure who's faults, my motherboard, or my RAM.

The first time buying Asus, the first time getting troubles... >_<

 

[UsandThem]

The worst:

MSI motherboards. Why? Because they are MSI.

Generic ram that has a one year warranty

The best:

Asus and Gigabyte motherboards

Name brand ram (Crucial, Kingston, etc.)

 

[WaiWai]

Unfortunately, Asus doesn't give me any good impression. I get 2. Both seem to have problems...

 

[BentValve]

Yep, Asus is statistacally the best but thats probably because they sell the most.

Though I tend to stick with Soltek and will be back on the MSI bandwagon again if my Neo2 holds up.

But boards vary from chipset to chipset and are every changing...3 years ago I though MSI sucked and stayed away from them until now. Its funny how 1 or 2 bad experiences can sway a person so strongly though it really makes no sence to do this.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: BentValve
Yep, Asus is statistacally the best but thats probably because they sell the most.

Though I tend to stick with Soltek and will be back on the MSI bandwagon again if my Neo2 holds up.

But boards vary from chipset to chipset and are every changing...3 years ago I though MSI sucked and stayed away from them until now. Its funny how 1 or 2 bad experiences can sway a person so strongly though it really makes no sence to do this.

It doesn't say I will never buy Asus anymore. But when here comes to a choice of Asus products, I will think twice before buying. I become alert to Asus products.

My best bet is Gigabyte motherboard because it seems to have very good compatibility.
In fact, I don't know which chipset is the best/worst?
Any recommendation?

 

[Sunner]

What RAM do you have?
I've bought a whole bunch of A7N8X's(-X, Deluxe, vanilla) for myself, friends, and relatives, and I've used them with a whole bunch of memory brands, Kingston, Kingmax, Samsung, Crucial, never had a problem.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Sunner
What RAM do you have?
I've bought a whole bunch of A7N8X's(-X, Deluxe, vanilla) for myself, friends, and relatives, and I've used them with a whole bunch of memory brands, Kingston, Kingmax, Samsung, Crucial, never had a problem.

KingMax DDR400 512MB*2

A7N8X/VM400 is said to have a compatibility issue. This motherboard is picky.
I changed one due to the above fact, still get problems.

The problems are described at http://forums.anandtech.com/me...4649&amp;enterthread=y

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

Originally posted by: WaiWai
I used Asus A7N8X/VM 400 previously, but its compatibilty is very low.
Now changed to Asus A7N8X (non-deluxe one). But still get some problems. Not sure who's faults, my motherboard, or my RAM.

The first time buying Asus, the first time getting troubles... >_<

Asus is highly over rated, I had terrible luck with poor design in the A7N8X. The people that write good reviews for that board are the ones that hardly do anything with it and use all the onboard stuff instead of actually adding hardware.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

I always had good luck with all the MSI, Shuttle, and DFI boards I got.

Had terrible luck with a few Abit boards and personally only one bad Asus board but i've watched 4 friends/family members go through a lot of sh*t because of Asus. I'd never touch an Asus again.

 

[WaiWai]

My first choice was Gigabyte at first. Unfortunately the model I wanted was fading out. The guy introduced me with another motherboard (that is Asus A7N8X/VM400). This all-in-one motherboard was horrible. After I bought it, I relaised it was very picky about RAM . Bad...

I also felt my Kingmax RAM is flaky... I should have gone for Kingston. How silly I am >_<
I chose this because it was just a bit cheaper plus its latency is said to be a bit better than Kingston.
Oh... But... My memtest told me there were errors. I don't know which one to blame - my motherboard, or my RAM...

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

motherboard. i had the same problem with my Geil ram. I sent the crappy Asus back, slapped it into my DFI and got 500mhz out of it while my Asus couldn't even full 400mhz in dual channel mode. Its just a poor design.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: AWhackWhiteBoy
motherboard. i had the same problem with my Geil ram. I sent the crappy Asus back, slapped it into my DFI and got 500mhz out of it while my Asus couldn't even full 400mhz in dual channel mode. Its just a poor design.

Someone says a seller will usually recommend buyers to buy pile-up crappy stock.
In my case, it was Asus A7N8X/VM400.
So next time, never buy what the seller is recommended.

 

[Mem]

I always had good luck with all the MSI, Shuttle, and DFI boards I got.

Can`t complain with my curent DFI Infinity board or my ex-MSI board(which was solid for 3 years before it died),as to ram I always stick with Crucial,which I find solid on compatibility with most boards and excellent customer service.

Worst board and ram,hmmmm never had a bad board/brand or ram(even my old generic ram was ok years ago).

Guess I build them right .

 

[WaiWai]

Oh. I got the STOP code DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1) again from my computer...

Up till now, it seems Kingston and Crucial are regarded as the best
The brand of motherboards seem to be Asus and Gigabyte and DFI, altohugh there're negatives voices relating to Asus too (including me :> )
Still no common trend relating to which chipsets of which motherboards are the best.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Mem

I always had good luck with all the MSI, Shuttle, and DFI boards I got.

Can`t complain with my curent DFI Infinity board or my ex-MSI board(which was solid for 3 years before it died),as to ram I always stick with Crucial,which I find solid on compatibility with most boards and excellent customer service.

Worst board and ram,hmmmm never had a bad board/brand or ram(even my old generic ram was ok years ago).

Guess I build them right .

It is just my first time to experience the feeling of STOP codes and hardware troubles (although I am unlucky with monitors too - their life are short, raning from 1-3years). Some friends told me they can use more than 5 -8 years. How unlucky I am.

The monitors I use(d) by the way are Philips LCD(currently used), ViewSonic CRT(3 years), generic CRT(1 year).

 

[Mem]

Oh. I got the STOP code DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1) again from my computer...

Normally a driver problem(I had it few years back, was in my case my Nvidia drivers)however it can be anything from bad sectors on HD to ram etc.... and even overclocking, so you have to start ruling things out,you can test ram with memtest86.


More info here from Microsoft`s website.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Mem

Oh. I got the STOP code DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1) again from my computer...

Normally a driver problem(I had it few years back, was in my case my Nvidia drivers)however it can be anything from bad sectors on HD to ram etc.... and even overclocking, so you have to start ruling things out,you can test ram with memtest86.


More info here from Microsoft`s website.

I never overclock or I should be the one to blame, not my hardware.

I wonder if I should follow the motherboard newest drivers, or each manufacturer's newest ones.
Eg: if motherboard provides a chipset driver update which is 4.5, but the chipset manufacturer provides a 5.0
Which one should I choose>

Do you know if there're any porgrams which can test the health of a HDD?

 

[Mem]

I wonder if I should follow the motherboard newest drivers, or each manufacturer's newest ones.
Eg: if motherboard provides a chipset driver update which is 4.5, but the chipset manufacturer provides a 5.0
Which one should I choose>

Do you know if there're any porgrams which can test the health of a HDD?

Personal preference on drivers ,but I like many go with chipset manufacturer(unless they give you problems) ,since they normally have newer versions.

There are programs to test your HD,start with your HD manufacturer`s website to download the HD test programs ie (Seagate,Maxtor etc...)you can also run the basic Chkdsk command
which is in Windows.

 

[JasonandBecky]

I have had wonderfull luck with Asus and MSI motherboards.

I have had total crap luck with Abit and Epox motherboards.