Despite the misleading title I simply wanted to ask anyone who knows if all ram is really the same? No, I don't mean is every stick of Ram the same cuz that's just silly but does manufacturer make a difference? When you see 'generic pc2700 256 ddr sdram' as opposed to the same stick and type made by Samsung for example, is there really a difference? Do the generic hold up well or has anyone had any bad experiences i.e. durability? Cheers!

P.S. When shopping for Ram does the mhz amount make a difference even if you have the right model? My ram currently looks like it is 166mhz but all I can find are 333mhz...

[ 04-30-2004, 12:24 AM: Message edited by: SpiritWarrior ]

Check out www.tomshardware.com and review the memory articles there. I was just looking at them ('cause I'm getting ready to build a new machine), and one of the things mentioned is that it does make a difference. Generic RAM may not be made to the same test specs as name-brand RAM, and may not perform as well.

And the speed makes a difference. I bought memory for one of my PCs a couple of years ago, and it would not work. Turned out the motherboard was too old and couldn't recognize it... but it's now working fine in a new machine.

Ahhhh okay thanks, mate. In my manual it says that the kind of ram needed is DDR 333 (non-ecc) only on computers with 533 mhz clock speed. From what I can find there is only one type of DDR 333 and that's 333mhz...should I get that then? Also, in your experience what is a good brand?

Kingston, is arguably the best you can buy

You should also look at the latency of the ram, not just its speed.

I would also agree that Kingston ram is some of the best. I would also recomend Crucial.

In a nutshell. Freaking aye right it matters. Cheap RAM is just that.
Bungleau gave you a link to 'Toms' don't let it get away from you.

333Mhz is pretty common now.

Brands. Shh. Secret ahead. All top of the line memory is made at the 'Samsung' plant, only the top 2% is branded 'Samsung' the next 5% is branded 'PMI', then all others fall into line. These include your pop-up, in your face adds from folks like; Crucial, Kingston, OCZ and the like. If you want top of the line performance, then you will have to spend top dollar.

I had a kid bring me a rig that would not load WinXP on a new MB with DDR he had been using for 6 months. It had some off the wall markings on it. I swaped DDR with a brand name and it loaded.