Ram Purchase Advise Please - Want To Match My Existing Pair.

[MisterE68]

Hi, I am looking to buy another 2Gb RAM for my PC and if possible would like to match my existing pair. My understanding of RAM technology and the particular specifications for RAM is very limited, so I’m not having much success with my research so far.

Firstly, please advise if the RAM I’m considering will match my current pair (I have confirmed on the Corsair forum that this RAM will work ok on my system – the question is limited to whether it’ll work well with my existing RAM. Note that I got my question wrong when asking Corsair. I Meant 'timings', not 'speed' AND at the time I thought I had Legend memory installed. Uber Noob!). If it’s evident that it won’t match, perhaps you could advise what other products are available (if any) that would work effectively with my pair?

It might also help if you could explain WHY the product I’m looking at is/isn’t compatible with my current set? The grey area for me is around the RAM timings (I really don’t understand these at all) and just how close they have to be to mine to maximise the chance that they’ll work together. (Note, I’m working on the assumption that if all the other specs are the same, it’s the timings that will decide if the memory is compatible? Please correct me if I’m wrong) i.e. "240 Pin Unbuffered DDR2 4200 533MHz NECC SDRAM" + matching RAM timings?

Besides the RAM timings one other thing that confuses me is that CPUZ tells me my RAM is PC2-4300 (266MHz), but whenever I search for RAM for my system it advises using “4200”? Is there a difference?

I will list below as much relevant info as I can about my PC & current RAM specs and also provide a link to a pair that I’m interested in buying.

My PC Specs:

Dell Dimension 5150
Intel Pentium D 820 2.8Ghz (2X1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel(R) 945G Chipset
Genuine Windows(R) XP Media Center Edition 2005
160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with Native Command Queuing
256MB PCIe(TM) x16 ATI Radeon(TM) X600
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio
Dell(TM) Single TV Tuner Card with Remote Control
16X DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer Write Capabilities
Dell(TM) 5650 Surround Sound Speakers with subwoofer
19" UltraSharp(TM) Flat Panel LCD Monitor
etc etc...



Current RAM:

1GB (2X512) NECC Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz SDRAM Memory – Samsung Brand (Detailed Specs here)

Interested in buying the following Corsair RAM:

Corsair 2GB (2x 1GB Kit) Value Select PC-4200, 240-pin DDR2, non-ECC, Unbuffered, 2x128Mx64 ($209AU) (Purchase site here). Note I cannot find a detailed spec sheet on this RAM to determine the timings. One website suggests 4-4-4-12, but another site shows the timings as 5-5-5-15?! Hence my confusion!

Hope you can help?

Cheers, MrE.

PS. Screenshots from CPUZ detailing my system specs:

CPU Screen

Cache Screen

Mainboard Screen

Memory Screen

Speed Screen

About Screen

PPS. I can provide the Register Dump if it helps?

 

[bruins004]

Hi, I am looking to buy another 2Gb RAM for my PC and if possible would like to match my existing pair. My understanding of RAM technology and the particular specifications for RAM is very limited, so I’m not having much success with my research so far.

Firstly, please advise if the RAM I’m considering will match my current pair (I have confirmed on the Corsair forum that this RAM will work ok on my system – the question is limited to whether it’ll work well with my existing RAM. Note that I got my question wrong when asking Corsair. I Meant 'timings', not 'speed' AND at the time I thought I had Legend memory installed. Uber Noob!). If it’s evident that it won’t match, perhaps you could advise what other products are available (if any) that would work effectively with my pair?

It might also help if you could explain WHY the product I’m looking at is/isn’t compatible with my current set? The grey area for me is around the RAM timings (I really don’t understand these at all) and just how close they have to be to mine to maximise the chance that they’ll work together. (Note, I’m working on the assumption that if all the other specs are the same, it’s the timings that will decide if the memory is compatible? Please correct me if I’m wrong) i.e. "240 Pin Unbuffered DDR2 4200 533MHz NECC SDRAM" + matching RAM timings?

Besides the RAM timings one other thing that confuses me is that CPUZ tells me my RAM is PC2-4300 (266MHz), but whenever I search for RAM for my system it advises using “4200”? Is there a difference?

I will list below as much relevant info as I can about my PC & current RAM specs and also provide a link to a pair that I’m interested in buying.

My PC Specs:

Dell Dimension 5150
Intel Pentium D 820 2.8Ghz (2X1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel(R) 945G Chipset
Genuine Windows(R) XP Media Center Edition 2005
160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with Native Command Queuing
256MB PCIe(TM) x16 ATI Radeon(TM) X600
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio
Dell(TM) Single TV Tuner Card with Remote Control
16X DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer Write Capabilities
Dell(TM) 5650 Surround Sound Speakers with subwoofer
19" UltraSharp(TM) Flat Panel LCD Monitor
etc etc...



Current RAM:

1GB (2X512) NECC Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz SDRAM Memory – Samsung Brand (Detailed Specs here)

Interested in buying the following Corsair RAM:

Corsair 2GB (2x 1GB Kit) Value Select PC-4200, 240-pin DDR2, non-ECC, Unbuffered, 2x128Mx64 ($209AU) (Purchase site here). Note I cannot find a detailed spec sheet on this RAM to determine the timings. One website suggests 4-4-4-12, but another site shows the timings as 5-5-5-15?! Hence my confusion!

Hope you can help?

Cheers, MrE.

PS. Screenshots from CPUZ detailing my system specs:

CPU Screen

Cache Screen

Mainboard Screen

Memory Screen

Speed Screen

About Screen

PPS. I can provide the Register Dump if it helps?

Dells are the worst to upgrade.
The reason is bc you usually cannot find the parts that easily (like only from dell) and it is very expensive.
It might be cheaper just finding a kit on newegg.com since DDR2 RAM prices have dropped a nice bit. Maybe some nice DDR667 RAM (2 x 1GB kit would cost about $150-200) - not bad.
But if you wanna try to figure out you could check it out a Dell.com and enter your tag numbers or call them up (good luck on that one).

Anyways, lately Corsair has not been doing too good with their RAM as of late.
They have been swapping the modules they use with cheaper ones.
I would suggest G Skill or Buffalo.
They are both very well known and good brands (Dont worry they both have lifetime warranties).
Plus they wont break your pocket.

Here is some DDR2 4200 RAM
G SKill
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231044

 

[Sovereign]

Dells are the worst to upgrade.
The reason is bc you usually cannot find the parts that easily (like only from dell) and it is very expensive.
It might be cheaper just finding a kit on newegg.com since DDR2 RAM prices have dropped a nice bit. Maybe some nice DDR667 RAM (2 x 1GB kit would cost about $150-200) - not bad.
But if you wanna try to figure out you could check it out a Dell.com and enter your tag numbers or call them up (good luck on that one).

Anyways, lately Corsair has not been doing too good with their RAM as of late.
They have been swapping the modules they use with cheaper ones.
I would suggest G Skill or Buffalo.
They are both very well known and good brands (Dont worry they both have lifetime warranties).
Plus they wont break your pocket.

Here is some DDR2 4200 RAM
G SKill
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231044

I'd second buying that set of G.Skill from Newegg.com for the price and memory speed is pretty good!

Just keep in mind that you may have to do some memory timing tweaking as the original RAM in your system is probably slower than those newer G.Skill sticks and therefore will default timing speeds down to match the older slower kit.

EDIT* NM, I just looked at the memory details you provided in a pic above and noticed your current memory has the same timings as the newer G.Skill kit from newegg.com