question for ram experts

jonnyb

I know enough to build my own pc, but not enough to be a real techy geek.

Any of you geek:p experts able to help with this quick question :

is there any major difference (in performance) between a 1GB unbranded DDR2 667 PC5300 module, and a branded DDR2 667 PC2 5400 module ?

I ask because there is a small cost difference, and I am a tight yorkshireman.

[Deleted User]

Nope no difference in speeds really, but I'd always go for a quality brand with a decent warranty on it.

isofa

99% likely not to make a difference, and if it did it would be virtually untestable. Go for the cheaper, both have a peak transfer rate of 5333 MB/s.

tomsolomon

Ive not realy noticed much difference between unbranded and branded to be quite honest, unless I'm overclocking or high end gaming, milliseconds can be the difference between killing your opponent and getting disemboweled.....:D
The memory timings may be a little faster on the branded, if you can force yourself go for the better stuff...

fwor

What you need to check is the timing that the modules are spec'd to run at. For a given clock rate, the lower the figures, the faster the memory will run.

So for example a CL4 (4,4,4,12) module will be faster than a CL5 (5,5,5,15) one. IIRC, each of the numbers represents the number of clock cycles needed for a particular type of memory operation, so the former require less time for each operation to complete.

Having said that, I must admit that I don't know how much difference you would see in terms of actual performance at the keyboard...

Conor_3

jonnyb wrote: »

is there any major difference (in performance) between a 1GB unbranded DDR2 667 PC5300 module, and a branded DDR2 667 PC2 5400 module ?

I ask because there is a small cost difference, and I am a tight yorkshireman.

Yeah. The ones from Crucial will be 100% guaranteed to work and have a lifetime warranty.

Stick with Micron, Crucial, OCZ, Geil and Kingston.

The unbranded ones you'll be lucky if your computer even boots with them. For the extra couple of quid, I'd go with Crucial every time. Been using them for a decade now for all the system builds I do, never had a problem, never had one fail. When I've been daft enough to buy generic, it's bit me in the !!!! every time.

The cheap generic ones are built from chips put in a bin that've been scavenged off sticks of RAM which have failed quality tests. A company will buy all the sticks which have failed the QA tests from the main top tier manufacturer . They'll find the faulty one on the strip, take off the working ones and recycle them. They're second rate components made by second rate companies.

Conor_3

isofa wrote: »

99% likely not to make a difference, and if it did it would be virtually untestable. Go for the cheaper, both have a peak transfer rate of 5333 MB/s.

If he's lucky enough to get it to work...