RAM question about DDR2

[atomik9274]

i'm going to upgrade my desktop but im wondering what kind of ram i need. i know its DDR2 but are there catergories inside of DDR2 that i need to look at?

the label on my current ram says 3AXT 6400C5-1024 1G/PC2-6400

can i just get any desktop DDR2 ram?


thanks in advance for the help

 

[abekl]

no you can't just get any ddr2 ram, you need to get specifically pc2-6400 speed ddr2 ram

 

[willard]

Without knowing which motherboard you have, we can't tell you what memory it supports. DDR2-800 (means the same as PC2-6400) is by far the most common DDR2 memory I've seen, and we know your board will support it.

I'd strongly recommend DDR2-800.

 

[InvalidError]

can i just get any desktop DDR2 ram?

Considering how much more expensive DDR2 is today relative to DDR3, you might want to consider a platform upgrade instead of only a RAM upgrade on your existing platform depending on how much RAM you want to upgrade to.

In my case, I want to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB which would mean replacing all my existing RAM (4x2GB DDR2) by 4x4GB DDR2 at a cost of ~$350 when 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) only costs ~$120. The $230 difference covers the cost of an i5-3470 + half the cost of a new motherboard so in my case, a platform upgrade makes a whole lot more sense.

If you are only planning to add 2-4GB, upgrading your existing platform is still economically viable if you are otherwise satisfied with its performance. Since 800MHz DDR2 is the lowest common denominator, it should be relatively easy to find compatible modules.

 

[willard]

In my case, I want to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB which would mean replacing all my existing RAM (4x2GB DDR2) by 4x4GB DDR2 at a cost of ~$350 when 16GB DDR3 (2x8GB) only costs ~$120.

I know this is off topic, but might I ask why you want so much memory. There is literally do difference between 8GB and 16GB (or 160GB for that matter) for the overwhelming majority of uses. Basically it's only useful for things like heavy duty video editing.

 

[InvalidError]

I know this is off topic, but might I ask why you want so much memory.

Multi-tasking multiple programs that use 1-2GB a piece so I don't need to waste as much time closing/reloading programs every time I need to do something else and not have to endure horrible performance degradation from disk cache misses and swapping.

I am very patient with initial load times but have very low tolerance for disk-IO lag/hiccups once my stuff is loaded. I have always preferred builds with large amounts of RAM over faster CPUs and almost always end up upgrading platforms mainly due to running out of room to add RAM. I build around a new platform with double the RAM from my previous system and so far always ended up doubling that due to feeling disk-bound again before I start looking at a new platform. As long as I have enough RAM for everything to run with minimal disk IO, I rarely notice the side-effects of my platform's age... slow(er) but steady.

A slower system with smooth performance is much more pleasant to use than a very fast system that gets bogged down by disk IO.

 

[smorizio]

if you have a pre built system crusial has a great system tool that reads your pc and pops up the memory (make model and price that you need for your upgrade. it also tells you the default ram that the unit was sold with and it max ram.)
so it stop you from ordering more ram if your pc already maxed out.

 

[InvalidError]

so it stop you from ordering more ram if your pc already maxed out.

That is nice but due to the high prices on DDR2 (2-3X the price of DDR3), upgrading a DDR2 platform by a significant amount (more than 4GB) today does not make too much sense since the cost difference would pay a large chunk (about 80% in my case) of the platform upgrade needed to use cheaper DDR3 instead.

If the OP only has 2x1GB DIMMs, there should be no problems adding 2x1GB or 2x2GB. 2x4GB is likely also an option but that's a rather large investment in an end-of-life platform.