RAM problems

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:19 am

Okay, so I have been wanting to upgrade my Ram lately. I am currently running just 512 MB which has been enough for some time, however, The new Elder Scrolls game has just come out recently. I have bought RAM from Best Buy when they have deals (1Gig for about 35/40 bucks). I have had a problem with the RAM however. When I install it, it registers when I look at the properties on "My Computer" and everything works fine. The PROBLEM lies when I start one of my games. Not just one, but ALL of my computer games cause my computer to restart instantly when they are initiated.

The ram I had been buying was just the regular PC3200 1 Gig DDR ram. If anyone has suggestions, Lemme know. I am lost here.

Geobot · Post by **Geobot** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:29 am

no offense, but it sounds like best buy screwed you. what brand of ram did you get? i got a PNY stick before that did this. turns out it was bad straight out the box.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:59 pm

It was PNY brand...I tried multiple different ones (PNY is all they have) and they all did the same thing. Now that I want to buy RAM, I am a bit uneasy. I have been looking at some Corsair on newegg but I dont wanna buy it and then it not work.

AyaChan · Post by **AyaChan** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:07 pm

Kingston RAM.

Sorry yours went screwy.

It may actually be because of your motherboard. Is your computer custom built or a branded machine like Dell, HP, etc?

Some systems can only take dual types of RAM (ex: if you want 1GB you need two sticks of 512MB, etc).

Bakemaster · Post by **Bakemaster** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:11 pm

My techie roommate also recommends Kingston RAM.

Stallowned · Post by **Stallowned** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:13 pm

Man I received a 1 gig stick of ram a week or so ago from newegg. Turns out it wasn't compatible with my computer :banghead:

Each time I tried turning the computer on it would start beeping and nothing woulud come up on the screen. I'm gonna have to return it and hope I get a refund or something, unlike the time I got a broken sound card from them and they didn't do shit about it :banghead:

Kard · Post by **Kard** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:32 pm

Kingston... yeah.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:09 pm

I am not that computer suave...I CAN install RAM however. So I think I need to know how to check if my computer will work with a certain RAM.
I checked my current RAM. 512 Samsung PC3200.

My computer is an eMachines for the record, AyaChan.

Barstool · Post by **Barstool** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:22 pm

Kingston is pretty good, though I prefer Corsair XMS. Corsair is the best quality RAM, IMO.

If you wanna test whether or not your RAM is throwing out errors (obviously it is), run a program called MemTest86+. You can load it on a CD or floppy and boot into it. Let it run for a full day and see what kind of errors it comes up with. ANY error means your RAM is borked and you need to buy some more.

Don't hesitate to buy from Newegg. They're the shyt! Just check your mobo specs to make sure what you look at is compatible.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:59 pm

One of my problems is not knowing whether my specs match up. Like I said, I am no computer genius. What certain specs should I look at besides PC3200? Cause newegg lists all kinds of stuff. I dont hesitate to buy from them either, I just dont want to buy RAM that I can't use :banghead:

Kard · Post by **Kard** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:08 pm

I believe you need to check what your mainboard supports. I don't even have a 3200... For e.g. some mainboards support 3000 and 3200 only, so you can get either one of those.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:16 pm

I know I support 3200 because thats what I already have in it and thats what came with it.

Kard · Post by **Kard** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:24 pm

>_<

What I'm saying is you should check in case it can support higher than 3200.

Bakemaster · Post by **Bakemaster** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:42 pm

AyaChan wrote:Some systems can only take dual types of RAM (ex: if you want 1GB you need two sticks of 512MB, etc).

This is probably the more important issue to investigate.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:01 am

How would I go about checking this?

Barstool · Post by **Barstool** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:12 am

If you know the brand/model of your motherboard, go to that manufacturer's website and look up the specs for it.

Kabi · Post by **Kabi** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:21 am

Crucial, Kingston, and OCZ memory are the best/quality brands.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:45 am

Yeah. I found 2 Gigs (2x1Gig) of Kingston RAM on newegg for only 144 bucks. Sold.

Montolio · Post by **Montolio** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:50 pm

So I have the Kingston RAM above on my watch list on Newegg. I called eMachines to ask a couple questions and they were saying stuff like.

"Oh Kingston doesn't work in our system so you should buy from us! Oh, 2 Gigs of Kingston ram only 144 bucks? WELL we have 1 Gig for 100 dollars! How about that?"

I am disgusted at the price of that. Also, does anyone think they were just blowing smoke up my ass or does certain RAM really not work in certain systems? I have all the parameters correct this time I believe.

Also...what the flock is Dual Channel kit? And how does it differ from the other? (Check the link to see what I am talking about)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... tegory=147