OT: New PC! - Page 8

Renegade 13 · #71 December 21st, 2005, 03:51 AM

Since this has become a general tech thread, I've got a question about RAM.

I'm looking to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB. The question is, do I need to buy the extra Gig from the same manufacturer or is RAM compatible across manufacturers? As it is, I could end up with 2x512 from one manufacturer, and 2x512 from another...would this work fine?

Another separate yet related question; is there any way to determine the manufacturer of a particular component without physically cracking open the case and checking the labels? I have the idea there is a way and spent a while poking around the various device managers, but couldn't seem to find it. If anyone knows, please help!

Instar · #72 December 21st, 2005, 04:03 AM

Dunno if it was suggested or not, but get a 10,000 RPM SATA hard drive, the WD Raptors at 74 gb are great.

Fyron · #73 December 21st, 2005, 05:24 AM

Renegade 13 said:
I'm looking to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB. The question is, do I need to buy the extra Gig from the same manufacturer or is RAM compatible across manufacturers? As it is, I could end up with 2x512 from one manufacturer, and 2x512 from another...would this work fine?

As far as I know, RAM is RAM is RAM. It shouldn't matter who made each chip, unless it is some shoddy Chinese junk manufacturer... Just make sure to get them all the same clock frequency, since the motherboard will run all RAM at the frequency of the lowest chip.

Another separate yet related question; is there any way to determine the manufacturer of a particular component without physically cracking open the case and checking the labels? I have the idea there is a way and spent a while poking around the various device managers, but couldn't seem to find it. If anyone knows, please help!

Device manager is not always helpful, especially if you have components using generic drivers. Try Belarc Advisor, which I believe reads all the identification bits for each piece of hardware, as well as driver info:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Raging Deadstar · #74 December 21st, 2005, 06:05 AM

And, it may seem obvious to us Techmonkeys but i've seen it happen, make sure you have enough DIMM slots to place 4 sticks of RAM in.

Renegade 13 · #75 December 21st, 2005, 11:20 AM

Thanks Fyron! That's pretty much what I thought, but wanted to be sure.

RD:

Wouldn't that be the first thing one would confirm before thinking about an upgrade!?!?

AgentZero · #76 December 22nd, 2005, 09:15 AM

Speaking of RAM, does anyone have any suggestions for a good mix of performance & price? I'm looking at some nice Corsair stuff, but it's about eur250 for 1GB, and I want 2GB, but don't really want to spend eur500 on RAM.

Renegade 13 · #77 December 22nd, 2005, 11:28 AM

250 Euro's!?! Is it gold plated and encrusted with diamonds?!? There's really no need that I can see to spend anywhere near that much on a Gig of RAM. Something a little lower down the price spectrum should still do you just fine. Then again I'm not horribly knowledgable, so you'll probably want some better opinions than mine.

Thermodyne · #78 December 22nd, 2005, 12:14 PM

What kind of ram are you looking to get. DDR PC2700?

AgentZero · #79 December 23rd, 2005, 06:37 PM

DDR PC3200, if memory serves. Had a lovely spreadsheet done up but left it at work, and won't be able to get it back until the 3rd.

Would PC2700 do fine for a system geared primarily towards gaming?

Baron Munchausen · #80 December 23rd, 2005, 08:04 PM

Heh...

It probably depends completely on the game. Some FPS games might need every little thing to be as fast as it possibly can be in order to perform best. Others might only need enough memory to keep from having to use disk swapping.