Need Help Buying Ram

Hi eveyone,

I just purchased an HP nc8430 and I want to buy 2 sticks of 1GB 667MHz Notebook memory.
I have been looking at a few different brands from New Egg. Also whats the difference between PC2 5400 and PC2 5300? Which one should I opt for and will both work on my computer?

Here are the two ones I am looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141067 This PGI one is PC2 5400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145012 This is Corsair which is a brand I know a bit better than the other...but they all have lifetime warranties; the corsair ram is PC2 5300 and about $15 more expensive per stick with rebate.
There is also this Kingston ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134025
but it is much more expensive. Anyone know why? Is it a lot better than the Corsair and PGI?

Let me know which DIMMS I should buy or if you have any different ideas about what to buy let me know.

Thanks for any help.

 

pc 5400 implies 675 MHz
pc 5300 = 667MHz

I'm doing similar research as you, planning to upgrade my 2*512MB DDR2 553 to 2*1GB DDR2 667 for my Core Duo (Preparing for Vista). However based on what some people have said, the upgrade might not be worth it, 'cause CAS latency increase (you want this as low as possible) as speed of memory increase.

And most of the well know brand doesn't indicate there CAS latency for there laptop RAM module. Therefore, it is a bit hard to tell which one to get.

 

Could you explain what CAS latency is and how it would affect my computers preformance?

 

A program, "cpu-z"can test about the memory latency, you can try to run it for a reference.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

 

CAS latency is the time in clock cycles taken by the actual RAM sticks to process information once sent by the RAM controller, so basically, the lower the latency of the RAM, the quicker it is. The latency defines the time between the first bit and the original request, and therefore, the measurement of latency depends on the clock speed, and therefore is sometimes an unuseful measure, but other times the latency measurement is useful.

But I don't think you need to worry about latency of the RAM. Just look at the frequency. I reckon the differences in latency are minimal and you wont notice any difference in system performance is 2D Office applications. 3D Games might give varied performance however.

 

So out of the DIMMS I posted which ones should I get? The Corsair? PGI? or Kingston?

 

This is what I use.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85245
(5200 is a typo, it's pc5400)

 

Once you get into ram that is that close in timings and clock speed you really won't notice the performance difference. It is there, but it is so slight it doesn't really matter. As far as brands go most of the big names have good quality and decent warranties. Most people have one brand they use, but it's more personal preference than any difference in quality. That said, I use Corsair, never had a problem with any of their ram, and it's always performed well.

 

When will CL4 667 RAM be released?

 

go for the PQI ram. It has got the higher frequency.

The other reason NOT to go for the Corsair is that, looking at that particular site, some people had trouble inserting the Corsair RAM into the macbook.

 

Do u know if the pc5400 ram is compatible with the Acer Aspire AS5672WLMi. it says its 533/667 so can it work wit 675.

 

I want to replace a 512 mb stick of 400 MHz DDR in my new HP nc8230 with a 1mb stick, but need help. Right now it has 2 512 sticks.
The processor is a Pentium M760, 2.0 GHz, 533 MHz FSB.
What are my options? If a 533 or 677 MHz ram stick is cheaper than the 400 MHz, can I/should I use the faster ram?
Thanks.
rablaw

 

PC 5400 RAM are used in Desktops....So no, you couldnt use pc5400 RAM in your notebook.
Rablaw, you mean 1GB(1mb whoa, thats like a song nowadays.)Since your FSB is 533, thats how fast the processor can run the RAM.

 

Yup, I did mean 1GB.
The memory already installed is 400MHZ. Does that mean I must add at the same speed? Or, if I install faster ram, will it operate faster?
Also, if I were to remove all the installed ram and substitue faster, 533 MHz, will that noticably affect the laptop's speed?

Finally, is there a thread here where I can offer the old (actually its new) ram for sale?
Thanks again to all who responded.
rablaw

 

Yes, there will be a speed increase from 400 to 533. If you can get two of the same speed thats good too(ex: two 400MHz 1GB's or two 533MHz 1GB's)

For sales = to sell RAM either Ebay or the websites selling area; http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18

 

Bhatman,

Thanks. Will there be a noticable speed increase if I keep one 400 MHz stick and add a 533MHz stick? or just stick with 400 MHz generic ram from Kingston?

rablaw

 

The 533 stick will go down to the clock speed of the the 400 Mhz RAM, so its better to replace the 400Mhz with a 533 stick.

 

Thanks again.

 

Maybe we can all pitch in and create a table? Stock memory of my Dell 6400

Brand:
Hyundai Electronics
PC4300 (266MHz)
5-4-4-12

 

Since this seems to be the most appropriate place to ask this question,

how does the latency of a memory stick compare to its frequency?

for example,
Frequency: 533 < 677
Latency: 5 < 3

however, what about memory sticks that are 533 and latency 3, versus 677 latency 5? Ive read somewhere it comes out to about the same. With the price difference between 277 and 533, would it not be reasonable to just get the 533...

Thanks, im just selecting ram for a custom s96j.

 

The difference and bandwith changes are so close, it comes down in terms of price. 533Mhz ram is cheaper than 667, and is more mainstream in stores(even BB or CC dont have it yet or there really dumb.) When ordered my s96j, I opted for the 667 since it was nearly the same price and the speed differences are so close.

 

Yes, agree 100%. I wanted to run benchmarks so got the 667 to compare with my existing 533. If you want to benchmark your memory, try the free version of Sysoft Sandra and look at the measured bandwidth numbers.