Which memory should I buy ?

inverseSquare · 29 May 2009 at 03:43

Hi all,

I have a old machine that could use some more memory:

athlon 3500
Abit K8T800 Pro S754
XFX 7900 GS
Akasa 460W

It currently has 1GB (2x Crucial 512MB PC3200 DDR CL3)

I would like to put 2GB in the machine.

The Crucial site says there are 3 options for 1GB modules for the KV8 Pro. One is ECC (but I don't need that for general home computing?), the other 2 non-ECC options:

- 1GB DDR PC2700, CL=2.5, DDR333, 2.5V

- 1GB DDR PC3200, CL=3, DDR400, 2.6V

I have 2x 512MB PC3200's at the moment, so I'm guessing I want 2x 1GB PC3200?
Is there any reason to go for the PC2700 modules? I heard a lower CL value is better?

Many thanks for the help.

hp7909 · 29 May 2009 at 04:40

Definitely recommend the faster PC3200 stuff. But try get a matched pair like this. Remember Socket 754/939 having problems with unmatched sticks.

inverseSquare · 29 May 2009 at 05:19

hp7909 said:
Definitely recommend the faster PC3200 stuff. But try get a matched pair like this. Remember Socket 754/939 having problems with unmatched sticks.

Are matched sticks specifically designed to work with each other, or are any 2 identical sticks 'matched' ?

Thanks for the reply.

Venares · 29 May 2009 at 09:28

Matched sticks are typicly from the same batch so have a better chance of working together.

hp7909 · 29 May 2009 at 10:27

Matched sticks should work because the manufacture guarantees testing them to ensure that they will.

Remember once buying (from Crucial) a 512MB stick for my Socket 939 mobo using the numbers printed on a 512MB stick I already had & they refused to work together only 1 at a time

inverseSquare · 29 May 2009 at 21:40

Ah, I had thought getting 2 sticks from the same manufacturer would be enough, didn't realise you really want 2 from the same batch.
Must have gotten lucky with the mem that's in the machine currently

Thanks for the help.