Odd Memory Upgrade Question

IAM27

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Jul 15, 2006
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Okay, this may sound a bit odd, but I need to upgrade my memory in this computer. Right now it is my best computer. Its a Dell E510. It works great, but is a bitch to upgrade. In the next 6 months or so I will be building a new conroe computer. Until then the memory in this computer isn't cutting it.

So I have two choices, I can buy a good 2 GB (2x1GB) and stick it in here and have 3 GB, and then transfer over the good stuff when I start building my conroe, or I can buy a cheap 1(2x512) for this computer and just buy new memory when I build my new computer. I realize that if I buy good memory and stick it in this computer it won't run like it should in this machine, due to the FSB and the other high latency memory thats in here, but it'll just be until I start my new computer anyway. That way I figure I'll only have to buy memory once, since after I upgrade to the conroe system I'll be fine having just 1GB on this machine for DVD viewing and burning and the few other things I plan on using it for.

I'm just not sure if I can find memory thats compatible with this computer that will also be good to put into my new system...
 

ecosoft

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Jun 23, 2004
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IAM27 Dude :)
Check this: All six of the brands tested in High- Performance DDR2 were based on the latest Micron memory chips. All six reached DDR2-1067 and most also hit DDR2-1100 or higher. The real key here is the memory that can do 4-4-4 or near 4-4-4 timings at DDR2-1067. Those timings at DDR2-1067 can actually improve performance and make it worth running 1067 instead of running the DDR2-800 3-3-3 all of these DIMMs could run. Three of the memories stood out for slightly better timings, a bit more headroom, or slightly lower voltages required than the others. These are the Mushkin PC-8000 Redline, Corsair PC2-8500C5, and OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL. Any of the six memories will satisfy a high-end DDR2 buyer, but these three are the best of the best. At $400 to $450 for a 2GB kit the price is steep, but if you want the best DDR2 you can buy these should be your choice.

The Value DDR2 tests comparing seven 2GB DDR2 kits at less than $200 provided quite a few surprises. ALL of the seven brands reached DDR2-800 with a voltage increase to around 2.2V. This performance was a complete surprise for DDR2 memory kits rated at DDR-533 or DDR2-667. Most of the value kits also reached DDR2-800 memory timings of 4-3-3. This is only slightly slower than our High-Performance DDR2 group at DDR2-800 3-3-3. This means performance of this group is almost exactly the same at DDR2-800 or DDR2-667 as the High-Performance DDR2 - at less than half the price! We will have additional Conroe performance test results from this group in a future article.

If you want the absolute top performance in DDR2 you should still choose from the High-Performance group, but Value DDR2 on Conroe is shaping up to be remarkable in performance. Unless you have to have the absolute best, you can save $200 to $300 by buying one of these value DDR2 2GB kits instead. The Wintec AMP 3AXD2675-1G2S-R and AData Vitesta ELJKD1A16K both stood out in this group by providing slightly better timings and/or slightly lower voltages than the others. They also cost $147 and $144 for a 2GB kit. ANY of the seven memories in this value roundup that are based on Elpida chips should perform similarly. We were not as impressed with Infineon chip value memory. The Infineon did mange lower voltages than the Elpida DIMMs, but at the price of slower memory timings. There is also the PQI PQI25400-2GDB memory, which at $117 with rebate is the cheapest we tested. It required a bit more voltage to reach the timings of the other Elpida value DIMMs, but if price is your guiding light $117 for 2GB of DDR2 that will do DDR2-800 is a steal.