Worth buying 4GB DDR2-800 DIMMs (for $24.99 ea, from China)?

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2V52C44538

Claims that they are new, but won't work on Intel systems. I wonder if that includes P45 / Q45 chipset systems too? Those do support 4GB DDR2 DIMMs. I assume that the wiring is Jedec?

On ebay it appears that they have the same things for under $14.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-4GB-PC2...931?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4188226203
"Non-ECC,Non-Registered,Unbuffered"

Here's another HK ebay listing, with more technical details. Apparently, these DIMMs are made with "high density" DRAM (x4, rather than x8) and cannot work with Intel chipsets.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-4GB-PC2...362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ed146192

 

[tortillasoup]

why not go on ebay and get used memory? Memory should have a lifetime warranty.

 

[redzo]

You should be a little careful as this could be ecc buffered memory. This is the only logical explanation for For AMD System (Not compatible with Intel system) that I can find.

I found those hynix HY5PS1G431C chips used in ecc buffered ddr2:
http://www.kontron.com/downloads/compatibility_matrix/s5000phb_memlist_rev_2_3.pdf

No ecc support for q45 and p45 express!
http://ark.intel.com/products/35133/Intel-82P45-Memory-Controller-Hub
http://ark.intel.com/products/36527/Intel-82Q45-Graphics-and-Memory-Controller-Hub

Later edit:
I can see that some sellers list them as unbuffered non-ecc. Still they seem too chinese for my tastes. Quality checking may be an issue and you brake compatibility with too many ddr2 platforms. I would rather buy used more standard modules.

 

[Charlie98]

I wouldn't do it...

 

[soccerballtux]

ebay has this stuff. on an old system I would try 1 and see if it works and then jump. but it was like $15/2GB I thought.

newegg is dumb to be carrying this stuff

 

[Blain]

Worth buying 4GB DDR2-800 DIMMs (for $24.99 ea, from China)?

Absolutely not... but I know you have a weakness for old, cheap, discounted hardware.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, the reason that I was interested, was that I have these two Q45 ITX boards with two DDR2 DIMM slots, that explicitly support 4GB DIMMs.

Now, a 2x1GB kit of name-brand DDR2 at Newegg is almost $40, and a 2x2GB kit is $70-80.

4GB DDR2-800 DIMMs used to be exorbitantly expensive, much more than 2x the price of a 2GB DIMM. So I was really surprised and taken aback by the fact that they would be selling a 4GB DIMM for $25. I figured, perhaps it's because the market is smaller for 4GB DDR2 DIMMs, as not as many systems could take 4GB DDR2 DIMMs. (Intel P45 / Q45 could.)

So I ordered some of those in the OP, before I checked ebay. Could have gotten them for a bit less, I guess.

I hope that they work out in the Q45 boards. If not, then I have a friend still rocking an AM2+ board that takes DDR2, I'll try to work out something cheap with him to get him an upgrade, I guess.

I have an AM2+ board too, with like 4 PCI-E x16 slots, that I could always upgrade too.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Can't you also use DDR3 with the Q45 chipset?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Can't you also use DDR3 with the Q45 chipset?

P45 / Q45 chipset memory controller does support both DDR2 and DDR3, but it's up to the board which one(s) it supports. My board(s) in question only support DDR2.

 

[XavierMace]

Absolutely not... but I know you have a weakness for old, cheap, discounted hardware.

This. I mean, I'm no stranger to buying used servers, but they are all DDR3 at least.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Followup: I guess they weren't lying when they said that they won't work on Intel. I couldn't get them to work on my Q45 board. So I'll try them next in an AM2+ board.

 

[tcsenter]

How many chips are on that sucker? Both sides?

 

[VirtualLarry]

16 chips on each side.

 

[tcsenter]

1Gbit x4 (bit wide) chips. Definitely not supported by Intel chipsets with memory controller on the Northbridge, prior to 32nm "Core i3/5/7". Not sure about later processors with IMC.

 

[tweakboy]

Also add shipping.. Youll sort it out. gl

 

[tweakboy]

I wouldn't touch that 800Mhz used without a heat spreader. Its probably defective RAM or dying RAM. Grab a 1066 , your mobo will support that. gl

 

[VirtualLarry]

OK, I installed two of these DIMMs, with mixed success in a friend's machine.

First pair of two:
POSTed fine, ran Win7 64-bit boot-time memory test fine, twice. But was Blue-screening.

Put in the other four:
Did'nt want to POST properly, sometimes wouldn't boot, sometimes wouldn't go into BIOS.

Removed the third pair, leaving in the second set of 4GB:
POSTed fine, boot Win7, ran HDTune and surface-scanned the SSD, which crashed it twice before. No issues leaving it running for several hours, while we all went out to eat.

Friend complained about web sites "loading" after the RAM upgrade and after a reboot, but were solved after a pass with CCleaner.

Then, initially he said he was plugging his charging cord for his e-cig into the frond case USB ports, and he said his computer just shut off.

So I figure that the front USB ports are a little loose, and he shorted one of them. I remember that happening before once, when I was plugging his webcam into the front ports.

So then a little later, he changed his story, and he didn't actually plug anything in, he was feeling around the front of his case, and it just coincidentally shut down on him. (Thus making it "my fault", and not his.)

Anyways, then he restarted, and some time later it froze up on him too, and he had to switch the PSU off.

I think that he shorted the mobo USB leads out, by plugging something in his front ports sloppily.

He thinks I F'ed up his computer by working on it, of course.

Last I knew, tonight, it was working OK now. If he wants, I'll swap his old 4GB of RAM back in, but I'm not sure that's going to help.

 

[Joepublic2]

Try running memtest86 or memtest86+ for at least 2 passes, 1 DIMM at a time for all the memory. Tedious, but eliminates variables. Sounds like bad/possibly counterfeit modules. As far as the USB/short thing that's kind of hard to diagnose over the internet.

Can't find any info on this "sochox" company so it could be some outfit buying modules that don't pass other company's binning processes, remarking them and building DIMMs with chips that should have gone into the trash or low end electronics like toys etc.

edit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-8GB-4X-...16489362&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined <- same store/dude selling memory that isn't even branded. I don't have a good feeling about this, dawg.

 

[chamji]

i also bought 4 sticks of kingston from below site.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bran...emory-For-AMD-mainboard-ONLY/32273513205.html

i have dell optiplex 755
when i put only one of these ram pc wont post.. using two wont post..

if i insert one 2gb module and use 4gb modules then my pc would load windows. but in bios it shows it detected 4 gb in those 3 slots .. but also bios shows total ram as 2gb. then in windows total ram is shown 2gb . but cpuz shows 14 gb and it does detects all chips .. shows same parameters for all .. strange ..

why ?

 

[tcsenter]

OptiPlex 755 = Intel chipset and CPU. From product advert:

For AMD System

This memory can not support For INTEL CPU's mainboard

 

[chamji]

So was anyone able to find a cheap 4gb ddr2 ram module for cheap?

 

[tcsenter]

So was anyone able to find a cheap 4gb ddr2 ram module for cheap?

Is this for the Optiplex 755? The Intel 3-Series chipset used in this system cannot support 4GB modules, anyway. Only supports modules up to 2GB, which are not that expensive.

 

[chamji]

thanks .. i found another 4gb single sticks and now my system is at 12gb .. working flawlessly.

 

[tcsenter]

thanks .. i found another 4gb single sticks and now my system is at 12gb .. working flawlessly.

Optiplex 755 with Intel Q33/G33 chipset? Not possible. Max 8GB for the chipset. Some utilities that read from the SPD might report more than 8GB but it isn't available to the system.

 

[Shawn]

I have used these strange Chinese DIMMs a few times now and they do indeed work on AMD systems. No memory issues the few times I've used them. I can also confirm that Intel boards will not POST.

Its too bad these don't work with Intel boards as most of the old systems I usually upgrade are Intel based Dells. A 4GB DDR2 DIMM usually goes for about $50-60, while these ones go for $15.