Crucial RAM Question?

[Denvers Dawgs]

In terms of RAM what does unbuffered and ECC Registered, mean? Which do I want?

What is the difference beside the price

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 400 (PC2 3200) Unbuffered System Memory

vs

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 400 (PC2 3200) ECC Registered System Memory

[Poppa_Meth]

ECC has built in error correction. I've never actually seen a system use it. The countless PCs I've worked on all use unbuffered RAM. ECC can cause more problems that it's worth from what I hear. Go with the first option.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/faqs/kb/11,21.html
Take a look at that. Seems it's mainly for server applications anyway.
Can supposedly slow down boot times as well. All in all it not something most PC users would need.

[rkr1958]

In terms of RAM what does unbuffered and ECC Registered, mean? Which do I want?

What is the difference beside the price

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 400 (PC2 3200) Unbuffered System Memory

vs

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 400 (PC2 3200) ECC Registered System Memory

From what I understand the home PC user is best served by the unbuffered RAM. ECC Registered (as Poppa_Meth pointed out) is more for Servers where error correction is more critical and really not needed for the home user. I agree with Poppa_Meth, I'd go with the unbuffered.

[adam]

What they said, but be careful though because some motherboards at least claim they only support ECC registered ram. You can disable the error checking in the bios, and you should if just using the pc for typical home usuage, but if you believe the manufacturers then ECC registered ram is the only way to go.

[rallynavvie]

Only the high-end chipsets actually support ECC and registers, and then most of those still support unbuffered (unregistered) memory anyway. ECC memory is more expensive because of the added hardware on the PCB and runs a little slower than unbuffered memory because of it, even slower with error checking enabled.

Just leave the ECC memory to servers and the like.

[Denvers Dawgs]

great thanks for the breakdown.....

[Denvers Dawgs]

One more Q&A?

Which is better to get

Crucial DDR2 PC2-3200 1GB kit (512MBx2)
or
Crucial DDR2 PC2-3200 1GB

Also, why is it cheaper to buy crucial RAM from Newegg than from crucial itself?

Newegg = $96.95
Crucial = $112.99

[mrtristan]

Crucial does direct retail, but a majority of their business comes from distribution chains. If they undercut the network of stores that they wholesale to, they would lose money.

[adam]

I say its better to get 1 large stick rather than 2 smaller ones. 1GB is a good amount of ram for sure but why take up more space than necessary? You never know, you might want to max out your slots. Also this is just a guess, but I'd think two sticks would be harder to cool than 1.

As for price, for one thing Newegg just rocks. But other than that, it is very common to find computer components cheaper from the retailer than from the manufacturer. I think part of it is that people are sometimes willing to pay more to get it from the source, or it could be that in some cases the manufacturer offers a better warranty this way.

Don't know but just go newegg as long as the shipping doesn't end up making it more. You can never go wrong with newegg.

[JSB1]

The 1 Gb kit (2*512mb) is set up for ppl that have a motherboard that supports dual channel setups. In this set up you need to install memory in "matched" pairs in order to use the full bus of a dual channel board.

Crucial is GOOD stuff... I have bought 512's a year apart and have had no problems running them in dual channel.

Newegg is great company...
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2121.html
9.64 lifetime rating is amazing!

JSB

[rallynavvie]

They don't even list all the timings on that site, and that's Crucial's own site? All they list is the CAS delay.

Generally speaking the smaller DIMMs are going to offer better performance, that is the 512MB sticks are usually slightly faster than a 1GB stick. That and most boards are now supporting dual-channel.

IMO the only reason for big sticks of memory, like 1GB and higher, are so you can max out your memory which most of us don't need to do. 1GB is fine for most any consumer application.