10 quick points to check before buying RAM

QVL is kind of a misnomer.. Some mfg’s make other mfg’s pay to be on these lists, and don’t even test the modules for compatibility. While its very technical, it might be better to read the motherboard manual for exactly the type of ram which is compatible with the board. Then look for modules that meet/exceed those spec’s. I’ve NEVER used the QVL from mfg’s, and instead looked for memory by its type, and the module’s specifications vs. the expected/compatible specs from the motherboard mfg. In the last few years I’ve purchased 2 pr. of Corsair ddr2 modules, and some super-talent stuff. Both brands have served me well. In my pc, I run my memory at 4 4 4 12 timing, which exceeds what corsair claims it can do – despite this fact, never a problem. Also, I bought 2 slightly different pairs of corsair modules, and didn’t notice till I went to install the 2nd pair.. I was afraid this might be a problem, but it has worked fine. It is VERY important to use matched chips whenever possible, tho unmatched will *usually* work ok too. If you have ANY issues while using unmatched modules, change em out for matching ones immediately. Brand A might also have a corporate-relationship with Brand B, where all modules from company A will be listed as compatible with company B – whether or not this is actually true. Corsair, GSkill, Crucial, Patriot, Wintec and Mushkin are decent brands. Kingston is also ok, but they tend to be pretty expensive.

“Some mfg’s make other mfg’s pay to be on these lists, and don’t even test the modules for compatibility”

That’s interesting to say the least, do you have any proof/names to back such a claim through? I mean, I can see it happening, but I don’t accuse without proof.

I don’t tend to use QVL myself, I simply stick(no pun intended) to known good brands from experience and feedback that I get.

Agreed, if you use four sticks (six on socket 1366), get the exact same sticks to be in the safe side, especially if you overclock.

“Brand A might also have a corporate-relationship with Brand B, where all modules from company A will be listed as compatible with company B – whether or not this is actually true.”

I highly doubt that they would list modules that are not compatible, that’s simply asking for trouble.

However, I have no doubts that they favor brands with whom they are associates, listing them instead of another brand.

In the end, the reason that I mentioned QVL is mostly to help out beginners who have no idea which sticks from what company to pick.

That was the point of this post, share some of my experience/knowledge and help out beginners figure out what’s what in the jungle of terms, types of RAM, 31/64 bit, etc.

If you’re more experienced, you probably know what you need, all you need to do is a bit of research and compare prices.

I used to work for a distributor, many years ago. Then, later I worked for a dealer here in this area. I have alot of friends still in the business, working for companies like WD, NewEgg, etc. Mfg’s state that their boards will work with 8×32 single-sided or 16×32 doubles etc. Without testing them, they just assume that any/all modules that match those specs will work. I used to sell buttloads of ram, to my dealers, they loved buying 16mb modules for $600 ea! Obviously this was a while ago. With all the brands and models available, there is really no way to test all modules from all brands – if you think that they really have done this, they’ve fooled ya! If you do buy a good name brand, and find that it is not compatible, the mfg will typically trade you for a different type of ram. Often boards don’t like certain types of chips, sometimes they’ll like having chips on both sides, other times they only work with chips on one side of the stick.. The spec’s for DDR2 are actually around the 666.6mhz mark, so to run at 800mhz you have to go out of spec; XMS from corsair is an example of this..to get that speed with their modules, you have to increase the voltage (easy to do, with a good evga motherboard..). More and more manufacturers are omitting the manuals from their motherboard offerings, and just giving a cd, but in the manual it will list all the types that work with a given board 8×32 single-sided, 16×64 double-sided, etc. Yes, if they’ve tested a specific model, and found it to work, they’ll stick that on their list.. Black-box testing is also done by 3rd parties to grow these lists to a reasonable size, prior to shipping, and prior to printing the cd/manual itself.. When I said that they have a corp relationship, and that they rec’d modules from their friend-company..I didn’t mean to imply they’d tell you a specific type, but rather they’ll say “use Kingston”, or “use Mushkin” memory – as if any one brand is different from another.. Most of the chips themselves on the stick are created by just a handful of mfg’s, they just solder them onto their circuit board.. Yrs n yrs ago, I knew a memory dealer in So.Cal. who had all the gear to mfg his own modules & they were some of the most reliable memory sticks I ever used! Samsung brand ic’s, generic pcb, viola – memory module! This was back when 1gb was unheard of in a pc, and only a couple high-end tyan motherboards could address that much, without issues. A simple ramdisk program converted 800-900mb of that into a ‘drive’ which provided a great solution for often updated files on novell servers and similar setups.. Granted, it was useless if the power went out..so it had to have a ups. When I worked at Liuski International/Magitronic we would ONLY exchange incompatible ram, for a different type, unless the stick was actually a dead module..

Wow, that’s a healthy and complete information: I thought you only need to check frequency and that’s all.