Buying RAM

So I'm thinking of upgrading RAM on my other computer (1GB to 3GB). I have some questions:

What specs should I be looking for? What perceptible difference is there between the lower-spec and higher-spec ones? And on this subject, DDR3 - yes or no?

What brands are recommended? There are a few local stores that offer generic RAM at around half or a third of the prices of branded RAM (while also supposedly offering a three-year warranty). Again, what's the difference?

Is it worth upgrading to Vista 64 for more than 4GB of RAM at this moment?

Thanks~

Edit: FIRSTTTTTT

Ram

The good modules are made with micron chips.

ddr2 is good for now as: most motherboards need changed to support ddr3. VERY FEW SUPPORT BOTH. Also, ddr3's latencys and price need to drop before it is concidered "excellent".

If your current mobo does not support ddr3 I would wait to replace it untill the new cpu chips come out, later this year.

I run vista 64 ultimate with 8Gb of ram. It never has gone above 60% usage but this makes me happy as I hate seeing things "pinned" or "maxed".

Perceptible differences are usually minimal, the difference generally lies in the ability to overclock. Depending on the IC"s used (D9GMH, for example) the prices may be more than that of other "generic" branded memory.

I'd suggest grabbing a 2 x 4GB (Or 4 x 2GB) kit, and ditching the single stick of unkown RAM. Crucial makes several very well priced kits; one can often find their RAM sub $100 for a 4GB kit.

Vista 64 is an okay operating system, I have mine slipstreamed and don't really notice any differences between Vista and XP SP2 as far as incompatibilities with my hardware. I wouldn't really consider the move an "upgrade" but thats personal preferance I assume. I don't pay for operating systems, lol (Yay for student software programs)

Well, DDR3 right now - no, It will get better in the near future and presumably cheaper, so I think it's worth the wait.

Brands.. well, Rahja's Ultimate Memory Guide practically has everything about RAM, so no need to explain anything about that. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...memor y+guide

Vista; Nah? I think Windows 7 is coming out soon, if you do buy Vista, just get like 64 bit Home Premium OEM, it has all the basic functionality - but it is OEM, so you can't really reuse it on a new build later. It is a cheap quick fix though. I guess you will buy what RAM your computer uses, for example PC3200, PC 6400 etc. Most RAM in it's class isn't too far off of each other - just pick one with Voltages that your motherboard supports and timings that are good - these two things can be read up on in the guide I linked above.

Windows 7 is set for 2010 - if they meet that target that's between 18 to 30 months.

As far as windows 7 goes, vista is the beginning stage, and 7 is the completion of the long horn project. Vista 64 supports up to 16Gb of ram. I would not be a bit surprised to learn that with the new intel chip set form factor, that we do not see boards that have a few more ram slots and I hope that the "ultimate" windows 7 will be 128 bit.

Yeah I know, that's why I'm glad I spent a lot less and got OEM of Vista, it will last until the next upgrade - then not be a concern anymore. I just wish I didn't buy Ultimate, wasn't exactly worth it, but oh well.

128bit would be interesting, but is it a good idea to jump onto that bandwagon right when it is new? and agreed seeing more RAM slots would be something interesting, though I think I have seen one board that had about 5 of them, forgot where though.

Your motherboard is most likely designed for DDR2. Therefore you need to get DDR2.
Some people occasionally have issues by mix n matching manufactures but I haven't run into many in the last couple years.
As long as you aren't an overclocker than budget ram should be sufficient. Actually the oldskool overclockers used to look for cheap value ram to find the cheapest stuff to overclock, but it takes a loooooot more tweaking than the average OC'er really wants to do.

btw Brianna, I'm pretty sure Microsoft announced that Windows 7 will be release in January of 2010. Whether it does or not is another question but thats the planned release date. If that works out I may be able to get away with only putting Vista on one PC and skipping it on the rest. Still, I prefer a wait and let others fix the problems of new MS OS's so I probably wouldn't pick up W7. Just some food for thought on the future roadmap of Windows OS's


*edit*
bah, I really need to refresh these threads, I open everything I plan to read than work thru them and, like this time, find that my answer is just a repeat lol. On the W7 news, it is actually planned to NOT be backwards compatible. I thought that was odd, but I suppose it is meant to motivate(force lol) more people to upgrade to that OS.

Ahh, I stand corrected, 2010 it is then! According to Snog too.

No backwards-compatibility? *Slowly raises picket and gets ready to light a torch*

Vista isn't half bad though, It has got much better over time and I really still enjoy it. If you want 64 bit, look no farther!

Ram's something like $15 a gig if money is important enough for you to be careful. Assuming you've got a relatively recent motherboard, you want cheap PC-6400 DDR2. If you needed more then 2 gigs of RAM, you'd know it - 3-4 gigs is only needed for large-scale video editing, gigantic pictures in photoshop, computer automated drawing, geographical imaging/mapping, and other professional-type stuffs. Go cheap. The website slickdeals.net often lists cheap deals on RAM. Speed (above 6400) and latencies don't matter unless you're overclocking.

4gig is also needed for multi procesing, like playing 2 games at the time.

Not unless you're playing, say, Crysis and Supreme Commander at once. Guildwars and Warcraft 3 at the same time = np. I'm a consummate multitasker and even I don't outgrow two gigs. That's with playing Crysis *or* Supreme Commander along with a good assortment of other apps.

You only need 2 gigs of ram for Vista as like with XP you needed 256 that is about all unless you want several windows open or multi task or why going on in backgroud.

No gamer, casual or hardcore need more than 2GB.

Yep. I'm a casual hardcore gamer, and my 8GB is totally superfluous.

It has these lovely flashing LEDs, you see...

I do some heavy audio/video editing and run a bunch of intensive programs at the same time.

Btw got a matched pair of Corsair 2048MB, gonna hold off from getting 64bit Windows until later on.

YOU GOT 8GBs of RAM? And you don't have a 64bit OS? So in other words, you will be able to use 30% of your purchase Sab. That is like buying a 52" 1080p LCD and watching PSP movies on it.

Eh, that's what Corsair call their 4GB kits for some reason (TWIN2X4096 = two matched 2048 mb sticks). I was a little confused at first but yeah...

Oh ok, lol. I was like...8GBs... my workstation has that much and doesn't even use it. lol....

That's not necessarily a bad thing, since a PSP is capable of outputting 1080p.