Finally mkaing the jump to 1GB memory.. but is PNY ram that bad?

M

Moloch

God of Wicked Games
Veteran
Bestbuy has a deal goin 50 bucks for 512ddr pny, but I've read some bad stuff about the memory.
It has the loosest timings JEDEC allows, but is it able to take tighter timings with a bit more voltage?
I'll be using the ram with my XMS 3200 C2.5 512 stick with an nforce 2 400 mobo, should I run it in dual channal (timings make less difference dual chan?) or seperate?
 
Mixing RAM on the NF2 400 chipset may cause you problems.. as to whether it can handle tighter timings - unlikely if the RAM is the cheapest PNY do.

With RAM you really do get what you pay for...
 
Exactly that is why I never go cheap with any sort of electronic gadget. More often than not there are many reasons why certain products are much more expensive than their competitors. I would go OCZ or Corsair if I were you.
 
I have used cheap ram before without any problems when it is at STOCK speeds. Having said that, usually there is little if any room for overclocking it.
 
if you aren't overclocking it should be fine. personaly, i usualy go for qualtity over quality (speed) when it comes to ram. i'd rather get consistant performace in games (ie no hitching because of drive access) than getting a few extra FPS in benchmarks.

but at the same time, i guess i'm a hypocrite, because i'm rocking a pair of corsair XMS pro's (CMX512-4000PRO).
 
Umm, how is that a deal? Do you live in Canada? I'd really advise you to look at Newegg, much better ram for a cheaper price. You can get 1GB (512x2) kits these days for only $80, $50 for a 512MB stick is overpriced.
 
Skrying said:
Umm, how is that a deal? Do you live in Canada? I'd really advise you to look at Newegg, much better ram for a cheaper price. You can get 1GB (512x2) kits these days for only $80, $50 for a 512MB stick is overpriced.
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It isn't a deal frankly, it's a deal according to best buy, the regular price is over 100 I believe.
I got a gift cert from my neighbor for spending an afternoon cleaning up his pc...
 
radeonic2 said:
It isn't a deal frankly, it's a deal according to best buy, the regular price is over 100 I believe.
I got a gift cert from my neighbor for spending an afternoon cleaning up his pc...
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Ahh, that makes sense. Then going up to 1GB will help a lot, shouldnt be real bad with a latency drop (what's the CAS? 3?) but I think the amount will help a lot more in settings.
 
Skrying said:
Ahh, that makes sense. Then going up to 1GB will help a lot, shouldnt be real bad with a latency drop (what's the CAS? 3?) but I think the amount will help a lot more in settings.
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Well the game that I'm really into atm (GT legends by simbin.. same guys who made GTR) loves ram and my system's fast enough for it nearly maxed, but at high texture settings it's doin tons of swapin.
I also like quake 4 lots.. more than doom 3 and the expansion.
 
Tahir2 said:
With RAM you really do get what you pay for...
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I completely disagree with this statement. I think RAM is more like water. You can buy exclusive imported mineral water from some legendary source, but in the end, what you need is H2O (and some of the minerals).

Sure, there are some modules that are better than others for running outside of JEDEC specs, but then it becomes a complex scenario where other factors become important, most notably the mainboard. If you are not into overclocking, most RAM, will work. The occasional dud happens everywhere so make sure that if you pay a premium, you are paying it for a brand with widespread availability and good returns policies. This, of course, may vary from country to country and city to city, being dependent on what shops carry what brands.
 
I haven't had enough experience with PNY to say this is normal, but I can tell you the one time I called PNY's customer support line, they offered just about the best phone support I've ever seen.

On a related note, if you go to newegg be careful what you order. The reason I had the customer service call to PNY support was because Newegg had advertised a stick of 1GB PC3200 PNY as CAS2.5, but looking up the chips on the module I found out they were CAS3. Turns out PNY doesn't even make CAS2.5 PC3200 1GB modules. I verified this with PNY and they must have contacted Newegg and got the description corrected, because it was changed to CAS3 by the time they received my RMA.
 
With experience with many different brands, types, speeds and timings. I must say I disagree Wireframe. Quality RAM is well worth it, IMO. You do pay what you get for. If you want a CAS of 2 then you're going to pay more, and it is worth it IMO, especially if you have a processor that is very sensitive to low latency (A64 for example). Also, if you want to include overclocking then quality RAM is very important, if you want to OC your A64 then you need to get good RAM, easy as that.
 
Ok got the ram.
Running it at 3,3,2.5,11 in dual chan mode.. it didn't work when I tried it in single- only showed 512MB.

So what's some winxp opts I can since I got 1GB now?
 
I don't really think there are many different ones after 512Mb.

I just got lucky today and salvaged 2x512Mb Kingston Value PC3200 from my old mobo and got it running in tandem with some 2x512Mb OCZ Platinum PC3200 and both are running just spiffy at 240FSB. :D (Or HTT, or whatever! ;) )
 
different whats?
Anyway I ran the 3dmark05 demo with not probem.
Damn the canyon scene is mightly impressive, when the serpent thing or whatever first opens his mouth it's fucking amazing.
So ya.. 1GB windows tweaks...
 
Skrying said:
Why you need to tweak windows for 1GB? Lol, now you have plenty of memory for it.
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I mean like settings like large system cache or whatever.
 
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