FS742/w RAM upgrade: valueram or not?

So I have a $100 amazon giftcard and am going to put that towards getting 2 sticks of 512MB RAM for my FS742/w. I've searched a lot but still have a few questions.

Knowing that I want to keep it as cheap as I can without it being trash:
Should I go for 400MHz or 533? PC-4200 or PC-3200?

I'm looking at Corsair and Kingston, and their respective value lines.

Do you prefer one brand over the other and should I stay away from the value lines? I don't overclock, but do undervolt using notebook hardware control to keep the temp down so the fan rarely comes on.

Thanks for the help!

 

There is nothing wrong with the value line. There quite good, and are sold at a resonable price. The speed of the RAM is very important. If you have a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo, then you will need DDR2 533 MHz or 667 MHz. No other RAM will work. If you have a newer AMD, then you will need the same RAM. What processor do you have?

 

Hey--

I have an Intel 1.73GHz, which is just becoming painfully slow with the 512MB. I'd heard some iffy things about the value-line, like the quality level wasn't necessarily up to snuff. glad to hear it is reliable as it's cheaper. it is just marketing that makes the non-value-line brand more expensive, or is it just for more intense systems?

Do you think 400MHz is fast enough, or should I go for 533MHz? I have no clue if the step up in speed is noticeable. I don'te do gaming--mostly office stuff and some basic DVD authoring.

 

You need to know what proccessor model you have (Pentium M, Core Duo etc), because the memory speed depends on that. Download CPU-Z and it will tell you what processor you have and also the speed of the memory you are sing at the moment.

DDR2 400 Mhz is slow, and will not work efficiently with Pentium M. Core Duo and Core 2 Duo won't even accept it. It is most likely that you will require 533 Mhz memory. Hope this helps.

 

well i have to tell you that sony FS model's bio only support 400mhz.if you put 533mhz it still work but memory clock will be reduce to 400mhz.look at this link for photo.first pic have original ram DDR2-400 which is came wid my sony notebook and second pic have kingstone DDR2-533.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=64475

 

My processor is a Pentium M 1.73GHz.

Is that true that the FS-742/w can only handle 400MHz speed? I went to the crucial advisor at crucial.com and had it run the test and it recommended either 533 or 667 speed for my system...

How can I find out what the FS-742/w can handle for sure? If the 400 speed is pretty slow, I'd rather upgrade to the 533, if I can...

 

Your system should be able to handle both 533 MHz and 400 MHz. I'm not to sure about 667 MHz, but if Crucial say that it is possible, then I would imagine your notebooks can support that too. The best RAM to go for is 533 MHz, because it is slightly cheaper than 667 MHz and it is pretty much certain to work. Your Pentium M runs on a 533 MHz FSB, and it will be better, performance wise, to go for the same speed RAM as the FSB.

 

Thanks, Zero!!

Looks like the value-line 533 MHz is the way to go. Do you have any preference between Kingston and Corsair?

 

No, either manufacturer will do. Both are very good brands. Although, get which ever is cheaper, and which has a CAS value of 4. A lower CAS value means the computer can access the memory faster.

 

Sweet -- thanks!

 

are you sure your notebook's model is FS...? OR FE....?
are they (crucial.com) show you putting ram into your notebook or they just see your notebook and say you need 533 or 667.coz i have a same model sony Fs and i have two model ram one is 400 and 533. but the ram speed is not different when i put in my notebook.and i asked sony customer service here what i got.
"Dear Valuable customer,

Thank you for your e-mail via Info-CS.

Refer to your case, please be informed that the memory bus of VGN-FS38GP is 400MHz, thus, the memory speed will not be faster if you insert a 533MHz Ram in it. Moreover, warranty will be void only if our technican found any physical damage when perform the repair job.

If you have any enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact our Sony Hotlines:

Warranty & Repair Issue 2833 5129 (Mon - Sat 09:00- 18:00)
Product Sales & Information 2345 2966 - Hong Kong / 0800 945 - Macau (24 Hours)
Technical Support 2389 3202 (24 Hours)

Thank you for your kind attention.

Best regards,

Ken Lee
Info-CS
Sony Contact Centre (Hong Kong)

 

I'm almost positive that when I ran CPU-Z, it told me the FSB was 533. Plus, if you look at the product page on Amazon.com ( http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-FS74...B000ARLO80/ref=de_a_smtd/103-4541387-1729413), it shows the System Bus Speed as 533...

I think I still have the product detail print-out from sony at home. I'll check that too.


Does it matter that neither kingston.com nor corsair.com show their value lines as being compatible with my vaio when I run the search for compatible ram form their site? Is it just a marketing ploy to get me to buy the full-price stuf or is there any truth to it...?

 

you can use both of their ram...i have kingston

 

corsair's $10 cheaper, but I've read some reviews of people getting bad corsair RAM.

And, Limpman, you're absolutely right--thank you for saving my ass and my wallet on this. I spent a hellish twenty minutes chatting with sony customer service (he kept repeating "the vaio can be expanded to 2GB" and I'm like, "dude I know that. Just tell me the max RAM speed it can accept" and he's like "you're computer is shipped with 2 sticks of 256MB RAM") but eventually he pointed me to a page where it said that when choosing RAM for my model, I need to get 400MHz stuff.

Thanks, man.

 

So I'm looking at a 1GB stick of Corsair's value select 533MHz PC-4200 200-pin DDR2-SODIMM, as it's cheaper than the 400MHz ones. I'm assuming the PC-4200 (whatever that is) will work, even though the sony support page says to get PC-3200?