Need RAM advice!

[debasser]

I need some advice on RAM. I'm looking to upgrade my RAM to 8gb from 4gb. I don't think I would need much more than this and it's pretty cheap. Anyway I'm curious because I'm not too sure what the difference is between the different types of RAM. If someone could explain it to me I'd be really appreciative. Also is there certain brands that are recommended over others? If it helps my current specs are: GA-MA78LMT-S2 Motherboard, AMD Athlon 2 645 quad core processor, current 4gb of RAM (Not sure what make, sorry) and a GTS 450 although I am planning to upgrade to a GTX 660 very soon.

Thank you!

 

[master_chen]

What the difference is between the different types of RAM.

Could you be a little bit more specific in your question? What exactly do you wish to know?
There are many details that can be taken into consideration, so you should be specific when you're asking questions like that.
Do you want to know the difference between form-factors, or do you want to know about speed? Or maybe about frequencies, or heat-spreading, or TjMax, or Voltage?....specify please.

 

[manofchalk]

That board you have will support up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333Mhz. So that exactly what you will get. This kit should be compatible with your hardware.

G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz CL9 1.5v. $42
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
Note that this RAM is actually rated for 1600Mhz, your mobo will automatically downclock them to make it compatible.

As for your questions on different types of RAM, need a bit more info on what you are asking. But in a nutshell, there is DDR2 and DDR3 RAM. DDR2 was the previous standard and has been phased out of computers since around 2009, and DDR3 has taken its place. Modern motherboards don't support DDR2 anymore.

The two big players in RAM are Corsair and G.SKill. There are other like Mushkin,Kingston, OCZ and Patriot which are fairly good as well but Corsair/G.Skill are the ones to go for.

 

[Sakkura]

OCZ has more or less left the RAM business, and Kingston is probably a bigger player than either Corsair or G.Skill. Also, I hear a lot of bad things about Corsair RAM recently.

 

[manofchalk]

I can understand OCZ dropping out of the memory market, most of their kits were only average and the SSD market is where the biggest growth is happening.

I dont see how Kingston are all that big anymore, their insistence on selling 1.65v kits in an Intel dominated market cant be a good move for them.

 

[abekl]

I need some advice on RAM. I'm looking to upgrade my RAM to 8gb from 4gb. I don't think I would need much more than this and it's pretty cheap. Anyway I'm curious because I'm not too sure what the difference is between the different types of RAM. If someone could explain it to me I'd be really appreciative. Also is there certain brands that are recommended over others? If it helps my current specs are: GA-MA78LMT-S2 Motherboard, AMD Athlon 2 645 quad core processor, current 4gb of RAM (Not sure what make, sorry) and a GTS 450 although I am planning to upgrade to a GTX 660 very soon.

Thank you!

Can you look and see how your current ram is arranged? Is it two two Gigabyte sticks, or one four gigabyte stick.?

That will help me recommend a ram upgrade package for you.

 

[debasser]

Can you look and see how your current ram is arranged? Is it two two Gigabyte sticks, or one four gigabyte stick.?

That will help me recommend a ram upgrade package for you.

Yeah it is 2x 2gb sticks, thank you that would be a great help.

 

[abekl]

Yeah it is 2x 2gb sticks, thank you that would be a great help.

Well, because you only have two ram slots, and are using two GB sticks, the only way to get to eight GB is to remove your existing memory and put in all new memory.

The fastest memory your system supports is 1333MHz @1.5 volts. So buying anything faster would be a waste of money.

Here's a good recommended eight GB kit:
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

 

[Sakkura]

Well, DDR3-1600 is only a little more expensive than DDR3-1333, and since it would be running at a lower clock than it's designed for, there's a chance you would be able to run it with tighter timings than usual. Thus making it faster, just in a different way. Still, it's not like DDR3-1333 CL9 will really hold you back.

 

[debasser]

That board you have will support up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333Mhz. So that exactly what you will get. This kit should be compatible with your hardware.

G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz CL9 1.5v. $42
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
Note that this RAM is actually rated for 1600Mhz, your mobo will automatically downclock them to make it compatible.

As for your questions on different types of RAM, need a bit more info on what you are asking. But in a nutshell, there is DDR2 and DDR3 RAM. DDR2 was the previous standard and has been phased out of computers since around 2009, and DDR3 has taken its place. Modern motherboards don't support DDR2 anymore.

The two big players in RAM are Corsair and G.SKill. There are other like Mushkin,Kingston, OCZ and Patriot which are fairly good as well but Corsair/G.Skill are the ones to go for.

Ah thank you very much for clearing that up. So I know what RAM to get for my motherboard.

 

[debasser]

Well, because you only have two ram slots, and are using two GB sticks, the only way to get to eight GB is to remove your existing memory and put in all new memory.

The fastest memory your system supports is 1333MHz @1.5 volts. So buying anything faster would be a waste of money.

Here's a good recommended eight GB kit:
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

Thanks, I can get those at a nice price here in Australia. Thanks a lot!

 

[manofchalk]

Good to see a fellow Aussie on these forums!

Heres a supplier that's based in Melbourne, but this kit is fairly common and most shops should supply it.
The kit I recommended above. $49
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=19632

 

[debasser]

Good to see a fellow Aussie on these forums!

Heres a supplier that's based in Melbourne, but this kit is fairly common and most shops should supply it.
The kit I recommended above. $49
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=19632

Thanks a lot, I live in Melbourne so it's quite convenient. I usually go to MSY. It's $2 cheaper there but it's further away and the customer service is terrible. Thanks, I'll definitely be going there in the future.