[mythtv-users] RAM differences, was: will this system cut it ?

[Stackpole, Chris]

> From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org On Behalf Of John Drescher
> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 10:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] RAM differences, was: will this system cut
it
> ?
> 
> > My question really is, what do you mean by "quality"?
> 
> Corsair, Samsung, Crucial, GSkill, Kingston
> 
> In that order.

Order doesn't matter much to me, but those are the same companies I look
at as well. I will add in Patriot to the list though too (just lower). 

I usually weed out other companies then look at these companies sorted
by pricing. The only thing I really look for is lifetime warranty. Some
memory (even by the same manufacture) will only come with a couple of
years at most. While I don't plan on having memory for a lifetime, I
have found that the lifetime memory is easier to RMA. Less hoops
required to jump through in my experience.

I have large amounts of dead memory from many vendors. These few
companies tend to give me fewer problems over all, and they get high
marks for customer service. I have to give high props to Kingston and
Samsung. Those guys have provided me with awesome customer service in
the past. 

Cheap, reliable, solid, good service; that is why I buy from those
companies.

The only company on my never-ever-ever-ever-EVER list is A-data. They
are constantly complained about online. Every memory stick of theirs I
have had under my watch, without fail, has died in under 2 years. The
worst part is their customer service sucks. It is almost impossible to
get an RMA from them. The final blow came when I bought 2 sticks of
memory from Newegg, they worked for ~5 months, then croaked. A-Data
claimed they never made this model of memory. Newegg was still selling
it. Newegg was awesome and provided me with documents that said I bought
that memory from Newegg and Newegg bought it directly from A-Data.
A-data /refused/ to acknowledge the problem. I got the shaft and bought
Kingston. Newegg stopped selling that memory shortly thereafter (they
were aware of my problems and had been working with me; I don't know if
that was why they stopped selling though). 

> 
> > Is there any reason to
> > not buy "crappy" RAM (whatever that might be) as long as it seems to
> work?
> > What sort of problems should I look for to indicate the RAM lacks
> "quality".
> >
> At work I have had my share of bad results (unstable ram) with other
> brands that I pretty much stay away from the bottom end of the price
> range ram. I also take newegg's ratings very seriously and read the
> reviews for any manufacturer that I do not know. This does not prevent
> getting a bad dimm from a good manufacturer but if the manufacturer is
> only selling bad ram there is no reason to take the chance.

I admin clusters for a living. Clusters built with lots and lots of
off-the-shelf hardware where performance matters; enough to not just buy
the cheapest. It really can matter. 

I too take Newegg's ratings seriously when buying memory. Not just high
ratings either. Memory w/ 5 stars may only have 2 votes and I might buy
the one with 4 stars and 200 votes. 

Just my 2 cents.

~Stack~