Computer Memory......I'm an idiot.

[Cliffio]

ok, i need more memory, but this is all i know

RD Ram
800 speed

something about RIMM and 184 pin

also, what is ECC and non-ECC?
do i want retail or OEM?

crucial doesnt seem to carry rd ram, or not that i can see, so i was hoping that someone here would take pity on me and show me the cheapest place to find this mess.

looking for i think at least 2 128 sticks, altho 2 256 would be better i imagine.

if it helps i have a pentium 4 gateway.

right now ive got two sticks of 64 in and a 40g hard drive, i just bought a new 80g hard drive and i need to know if i should buy 2 128's or 2 256's, turns out theres a bigger difference in price than i thought, now of course 2 256's is going to be alot of memory, but do i REALLY need that? i mean ive gotten by this far (since 2001) on 128 so tripling my memory cant be bad if i just get 2 more 128's
thanks

Cliff

[sharpshooter1286]

just take ur computer to ur local store, no need for all the hassle and worry of breaking ur computer

[Cliffio]

pffffff forget that mess, i called gateway to see about memory prices, 400 bucks for a pair of 256 is not how ill be spending my money, im not going to be installing it, i just want a cheap place to buy it, i work at best buy, and when they install my new hard drive, im gonna have em to my memory as well.....however best buy doesnt carry RD ram

[Krazy Ivan]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=147&DEPA=0&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=4153,2984

Starts at 50 bucks per

Here's a 512 stick, for 240
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-153-001&depa=0

NOTE: You need to buy a pair of the exact same RAM.

Just thought I'd be nice.

You'd be hard up to find RIMM's in stores, I currently just got a job at CompUSA, I know I know.... and they don't usually even carry it.

[Cliffio]

thats not rd 800

is it?


cliff

[Krazy Ivan]

2nd and third, look for it to say PC800..

[Cliffio]

right, which are 115 bucks not 50:)


but yeah, i saw those


anybody know anything about this?
http://www.starmicro.net/detail.aspx?ID=402

[Krazy Ivan]

Originally posted by Cliffio
right, which are 115 bucks not 50:)


but yeah, i saw those


anybody know anything about this?
http://www.starmicro.net/detail.aspx?ID=402

Yeah that was my bad, but hey that's the RAM you need that they list on starmicro.net, I have never done business with them tho, and 110 bucks is a hell of a lot cheaper than 400 ;)

Newegg.com I have done business with and it's always great, super fast shipping.

[Cliffio]

up for me, anybody else have an opinion?

[Blennidae]

I can also recommend newegg. I just built a new pc buying the parts from there. 90% of them qualified for the supersaver free shipping. All parts arrived fast, and I was able to track them the entire way.

Sorry I can't help with your memory question though.

[Cliffio]

thats what the techs at BB told me as well, so i know newegg is a good place, however i was a little worried about the website that i posted, seems kinda shady after reading some reviews, so ive decided to go with tigerdirect.com which seems like a much better website.

Cliff

[Dryden]

Well, for future reference, I'll throw in my hat for newegg.com as well. Whether it's a five dollar cable or a five-thousand dollar switch, I've never waited longer than two days to get something from newegg, and that's not ordering rush either. They're just blazing fast and typically in the lower tier when it comes to pricing.

Absolutely buried buy.com once I found out about them.

[Cliffio]

well, turns out im not ordering from there, the rebate they had was one per household
so im still looking

[xmetal2001]

While I've never ordered their myself, I've heard countless horror stories about tigerdirect.com

Go with Newegg, certainly the best online store I have ever dealt with.

[Krazy Ivan]

I got a CD-burner drive near the first year after they came out from Tiger-direct and it came to me defective, tiger-direct wouldn't hear anything of it, so I had to send it to the manufacturer to get a new one :(

Not a fan of Tiger-direct myself. Plus they annoyingly send you countless catalogues after you order one thing. I finally stopped getting catalogues this year.

It's like 888-paintball with the catalogues, only 888 at least shows me random stuff I didn't know existed that I MAY actually want to know about.

[PyRo]

I remember when I was afraid to open up the computer to install my cd burner :)
Its not a hard thing, just pop the memory in.

[vf-xx]

Look around on www.pricewatch.com

I think that's the best place to start.

[Jaasper]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=0&submit=Go&description=pc800

I'll have to go with newegg.com on this to.

Pc800 is old, nothing really uses it anymore and even when it was new it was expensive. Newegg.com is prolly gonna be your best bet outside of a swap meet.

[sarpadian]

Cliff,

These guys are right, go with NewEgg. I now do all of my PC parts business for home through them, which is quite a bit I must say. They have fast shipping, and they are great when it comes to needed to return or replace something. It's hard to beat their price while getting the level of service that they will give you when you need it.

[fire1811]

just got a set of Logitec Z-680 speakers from new egg
and have bought stuff from them before good company IMO


also you need to make sure that your ram is either
ecc or noecc as far as i know and have been told they cannont be enterchanged


i have rambus(rdram) in the system i have now a gig of it actually the bad thing about rdram is the price it is very expensive.

[Cliffio]

how do i know if i need ecc or non-ecc?

[fire1811]

it should say on the memory itself
if your lucky

[Cliffio]

right now ive got two sticks of 64 in and a 40g hard drive, i just bought a new 80g hard drive and i need to know if i should buy 2 128's or 2 256's, turns out theres a bigger difference in price than i thought, now of course 2 256's is going to be alot of memory, but do i REALLY need that? i mean ive gotten by this far (since 2001) on 128 so tripling my memory cant be bad if i just get 2 more 128's

[fire1811]

well i personally have a gig in this machine and the computer that is being built right now have
2 gig of DDR PC3200 :p

if it was me i would definatly go with 512 or more
also there is a bunch of memory on ebay just make sure you check feedback

[Wolfen]

RDRam is being phased out with the popularity and cheapness of DDR ram, so that's most likely why you can't really find it in stores. Right now DDR is becoming faster than rdram anyways.

One way you can go is find really cheap sticks of DDR ram and buy a motherboard that supports it. That would be cheaper in the long run.

Otherwise:

ECC - Error correcting code. Logic designed to detect and correct memory errors.

I don't think you need this kind. Memory now-a-days is good enough to not need error correcting.

Make sure that your new memory is the same type as your old memory (i.e. FPM/EDO/SDRAM, parity/non-parity/ECC, buffered/unbuffered)...

Hope this all helps. If you need any more just look around on Crucial's website, they have a fairly good FAQ and troubleshooting tips that I got all my info from.

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Get 2 sticks of 512. You are using a P4 and only have 128mb of memory? Are you running Windows XP, because I am with 512 and it seems sluggish.

[Cliffio]

yes im running xp pro 128

but there is no way im gonna buy 2 512s i dont care that much, i dont spend my life on my computer

[xmetal2001]

Its a safe bet you want non-ECC

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Originally posted by Cliffio
...i dont spend my life on my computer...


but I do :( . But definately go with at least 512

[sarpadian]

It really depends on what you do with your computer Cliff. I don't know what it's used for, so I can't really tell you how much RAM to throw at it. If it is something that you surf the web and do a little finance work on, 256 meg will suit you just fine. However if you do anything much more intensive I would recommend 512. However, for Windows XP I would definatley not recommend anything less than 256 meg of RAM.

[Krazy Ivan]

RAM is a prime example of diminishing returns, 128-256 huge jump, 256-512 big jump, 512-1gig, not a big jump, 1gig+ not really worth it unless you do extremely intensive things.

I just studied all this in my computer architecture class, it was....enlightning.

[Bolter]

try re-routing the main power through the forward coupling unit. Failing that a tachyon beam may do the trick.

[Wolfen]

Or you can totally bypass the forward coupling unit and install a flux capacitor. Pizza and coke will do a computer good with a flux capacitor! :D

[Cliffio]

yeah but is it gonna get me up to 1.21 gigawatts?

[Wolfen]

Try Jolt Cola for that kind of power, or Red Bull. I forgot which. Also, throw in some energy bars for good measure. Be sure you have adequate cooling though, you'll be throwing out 20,000 calories of heat with that setup! :eek: I'd suggest a turbine mounted directly to your case. :D

[Bolter]

Great Scott!! 1.21 gigawatts