Why does the RAM installed by laptop makers is very high?

Do you think quality of RAM installed orginally by laptop makers (Dell, Sony, IBM...) is always better than RAM sold on the market? This is because the price of RAM installed by factories is much higher than price of RAM in market.

 

Where computer sellers offer RAM upgrades as options they arehoping to make an easy buck from the people who aren't inclined (through either lack of knowledge or effort) to make their own arrangements.

I don't think there is any reason to believe that there is a quality factor. The same applies to HDDs.

John

 

Yep like John said it is just an easy way for them to make a few extra bucks.
Tim

 

As for the quality, they're the same value RAM you can buy on Newegg.

They don't really make "high quality" ram for notebooks as they do for desktops beecause you normally don't overclock notebooks.

 

Thanks for your comment!

 

Basically what John had to say.

Major companies hope to make a lot of extra money on upgrades that most people don't know how to do / or too scared to do.

 

The only thing you get from the laptop mfgr's ram is that they have already deemed it compatible with the specified unit(s). You don't have that luxury when buying ram elsewhere, as it can be a "hit or miss" situation.

 

The other thing you pay for, besides companies trying to tempt people into spending more money than they actually should, is the labor cost. To install RAM, you need either machinery or a person, and that requires time. People need to be paid money, and buying machines require money. More money needed on their end means more money required from your end.

 

Newegg is pretty good at helping you find the right ram for your notebook, they have a menus that you can pick your model from. Its pretty good idea too, helps people find the right type of ram instead of wasting money on return shipping.

 

You can also ask the many notebook people in these forums. Either tell us what laptop you have, or if you have a bit more technical knowledge, the specifications of your laptop RAM using a program like CPU-Z or Everest, and we can link you to compatible RAM with your system.

 

I have basic knowledge to find compatible RAM for my system (DDR2 533 PC4200). But in fact I dont know how to assess which RAM is better than the others, given the same indicators (by CPU-Z...).
A RAM retailer has tried to convince me to buy sticks of DDR2 RAM at higher price (compared to common price in the market). According to his explanation, those RAM have been taken out from his brand new laptops (i.e. those RAM were installed originally by the laptop factory) is definitely better than common RAM sold on the market (even the same brand). I just wonder if there is any differentiation in terms of quality. And if yes, how could you realize the difference?

Once again, thank you all for your comment!

 

I don't think it is any better in terms of quality. The original ram that I took out of my lappy was of a very generic nature. In other words, cheap.

 

1. There is normally no problem with mixing RAM of different speeds. The BIOS reads the SPD data for each module and then uses the slowest common settings.

Discerning computer manufacturers may try to get RAM with slightly faster timings.

John

 

May be the laptop makers want to reduce the cost, so they order cheap RAM

 

Of that I have no doubt. It comes down to whichever bidder has the best bulk-buying rate (after the product has been deemed compatible).

 

Yeah you can definately find high quality ram on newegg.com than the stuff you will get from the manufacture. Their goal is to make a cheap product so they can make the most profit off of your purchase.
Tim

 

I'm trying to configure the T61, and the RAM upgrade prices are going up day by day (it was nice when it was all 50% off at release).

Anyway, I don't know much about RAM brands, but I hear Corsair has a good warranty and is reliable.

Would this be a decent buy (and would it be compatible?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145172

Also, how important is a heat spreader? the corsair above doesn't have one, but the GeIL and G.Skill ones do - are these reliable?

Finally, the only other 2gb ram i could find on newegg was by patriot..and featured "Auto and self refresh capability RoHS Compliant."

What exactly does that mean?

Thanks!

 

Yes that would work for your laptop. 2GB ram is kinda expensive though. Corsair is a good brand though. I have 2 1GB sticks of G.Skill. They work fine for me.
Tim

 

Yeah, I know at least for the "budget" computer manufacturers like Averatec and Acer, the lowest spec/quality parts that meet the demands are used. So, for example, you might get a 100GB hard drive on the cheap in a low priced model, but it'll be 4200RPM. Or you may get 1GB of ram, but latency rating is 5 instead of 2-3 you find on newegg, etc.

 

I think it works the other way in the sense that, my laptop has two RAM chips from a random manufacturer i have never heard of. I would have preferred a known brand like Kingston, Crucial, Corsair or OCZ. Its all about cutting costs from the manufacturers point of view.

When you buy RAM from the big guys its good quality and usually backed by a good warranty as you have noticed.

 

taelrak,

As others have said, that memory will do you just fine. Good to have better memory timings and faster clock speeds. I don't think the original laptop mfg's provide high latency / high clock speeds memorys without ripping a massive hole in your..a...pocket.

An article about heat spreaders by Corsair...

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/299/1/

My Conclusion: They are useful for an increase in 3-4Mhz clock speeds when overclocking (overvolting). Since in laptops we can't really safely overclock memory/cpu it would be safe to assume that you don't need one on your laptop RAM. If you want it, it can't hurt though.

Just to provide some information on the RoHS directive...

 

Thanks everyone for all the info. Now to just wait til newegg gets some more of those in stock...