Before you read any further, know a few things
1 - Yes, I know this is a rant
2 - Yes, I am fully aware how RAM is marketed
3 - Yes, I know that faster RAM has very little effect on the overall performance of a PC
But here goes any way.
It's that time again, I need to buy some RAM and yet again I am frustrated that it doesn't perform as advertised.
a) Inaccurate descriptions. It's not 1600MHz RAM, it 1333MHz RAM. That's what it will say on the chips if you remove those ridiculous heatsinks. It may well run at 1600MHz if you overclock it, but equally it may not. You don't see AMD advertising the FX-6300 CPU as 4.0GHz even though many are capable of running at that. It should be sold as 1333MHz RAM, with a description that many find that it can be overclocked.
b) Lack of information. Okay so it isn't working as advertised, let's go to the manufacturer's website to find out how the advertised performance can be acheived - nothing. Okay what information is there. Well there is a lot of guff about how fantastic the ridiculous heatsinks are. It might tell you the dimensions, the weight and even the voltage if you are lucky. What you should set the parameters to - nope. How about what is in the SPD, that would be quite useful, nope.
c) Motherboard information. Okay they will tell me what RAM is validated - sort of. The list is usually a few years old and often contains weird configurations of RAM, the makes of which are mostly dimmly familiar but certainly not what you find in the UK. Not saying that they aren't available in other parts of the world but not much help here in the UK. And what is it telling you anyway - that the RAM that OCUK sells won't work in the board - not at all, just that they haven't tried. Once again it is up to the consumer to experiment.
d) Sloped shoulders. Okay my RAM doesn't work as advertised - I'll contact the manufacturer. If I am really lucky they will bother to reply, but if they do they will blame every other component in your system. Ring the retailler then - the informed ones will simply tell you that it isn't really 1600MHz despite the advertising and labelling and the best they can offer is to return it and try something else.
Okay, I have actually fitted some RAM on the motherboard manufacturer's validated list. Doesn't work as specified - so contact them - no help other than it certainly isn't their problem, must be the RAM, the PSU, the Case, the colour of your wallpaper - whatever, as long as it is not them.
e) Advertising gone mad. I realise that there is a drive by manufacturers to make their RAM sound better than anyone elses. That's why we have end up with so many ridiculous, unnecessary, science fiction inspired heatsinks.
But wait, they don't fit under CPU coolers any more, so what do they do. They introduce and market new products - low profile RAM. Wake up guys it is not a new idea. This is what RAM used to be like before you started adding the stupid heatsinks.
As I said, I am aware that in many cases RAM can be coaxed to run at the advertised settings, sometimes quite easily, sometime with a lot of care and tweaking. That is fine, but in my book, that falls under enthusiast overclocking. The fact that a knowledgable enthusiats can tweak his system and make it behave as advertised doesn't mean that it is okay to advertise that as standard. Many people won't have the ability or the inclination to get it to do what is printed on the can. It should be advertised as 1333MHz RAM plain and simple, unless the memory chips really are something different.
Rampant advertising has left the Memory Business looking quite dishonest and decietful.
Personally, I have never manged to get RAM to perform as advertised despite some knowledge and effort spent with tweaking. I have always had to drop back to 1333 and once my anger has worn off I am happy especially as I know that had I got it to run at 1600MHz it would have made very little real world difference.
Cheers,
Nigel
1 - Yes, I know this is a rant
2 - Yes, I am fully aware how RAM is marketed
3 - Yes, I know that faster RAM has very little effect on the overall performance of a PC
But here goes any way.
It's that time again, I need to buy some RAM and yet again I am frustrated that it doesn't perform as advertised.
a) Inaccurate descriptions. It's not 1600MHz RAM, it 1333MHz RAM. That's what it will say on the chips if you remove those ridiculous heatsinks. It may well run at 1600MHz if you overclock it, but equally it may not. You don't see AMD advertising the FX-6300 CPU as 4.0GHz even though many are capable of running at that. It should be sold as 1333MHz RAM, with a description that many find that it can be overclocked.
b) Lack of information. Okay so it isn't working as advertised, let's go to the manufacturer's website to find out how the advertised performance can be acheived - nothing. Okay what information is there. Well there is a lot of guff about how fantastic the ridiculous heatsinks are. It might tell you the dimensions, the weight and even the voltage if you are lucky. What you should set the parameters to - nope. How about what is in the SPD, that would be quite useful, nope.
c) Motherboard information. Okay they will tell me what RAM is validated - sort of. The list is usually a few years old and often contains weird configurations of RAM, the makes of which are mostly dimmly familiar but certainly not what you find in the UK. Not saying that they aren't available in other parts of the world but not much help here in the UK. And what is it telling you anyway - that the RAM that OCUK sells won't work in the board - not at all, just that they haven't tried. Once again it is up to the consumer to experiment.
d) Sloped shoulders. Okay my RAM doesn't work as advertised - I'll contact the manufacturer. If I am really lucky they will bother to reply, but if they do they will blame every other component in your system. Ring the retailler then - the informed ones will simply tell you that it isn't really 1600MHz despite the advertising and labelling and the best they can offer is to return it and try something else.
Okay, I have actually fitted some RAM on the motherboard manufacturer's validated list. Doesn't work as specified - so contact them - no help other than it certainly isn't their problem, must be the RAM, the PSU, the Case, the colour of your wallpaper - whatever, as long as it is not them.
e) Advertising gone mad. I realise that there is a drive by manufacturers to make their RAM sound better than anyone elses. That's why we have end up with so many ridiculous, unnecessary, science fiction inspired heatsinks.
But wait, they don't fit under CPU coolers any more, so what do they do. They introduce and market new products - low profile RAM. Wake up guys it is not a new idea. This is what RAM used to be like before you started adding the stupid heatsinks.
As I said, I am aware that in many cases RAM can be coaxed to run at the advertised settings, sometimes quite easily, sometime with a lot of care and tweaking. That is fine, but in my book, that falls under enthusiast overclocking. The fact that a knowledgable enthusiats can tweak his system and make it behave as advertised doesn't mean that it is okay to advertise that as standard. Many people won't have the ability or the inclination to get it to do what is printed on the can. It should be advertised as 1333MHz RAM plain and simple, unless the memory chips really are something different.
Rampant advertising has left the Memory Business looking quite dishonest and decietful.
Personally, I have never manged to get RAM to perform as advertised despite some knowledge and effort spent with tweaking. I have always had to drop back to 1333 and once my anger has worn off I am happy especially as I know that had I got it to run at 1600MHz it would have made very little real world difference.
Cheers,
Nigel
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