Member Avatar for Qwazil

I have one gigabyte of ram right now and its nothing special but other people always talk about Good ram and bad also i see 1 gig sticks prices range massively is this because some ram is so much better than other ram ( i know about DDR1-DDR2-DDR3).

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A short, practical primer that builds on comments from , , and : RAM price and perceived “quality” come from a handful of technical and market factors — capacity, rated frequency, timing (CAS), voltage, whether modules are sold as a matched kit, error-correcting/registered vs unbuffered types, manufacturer warranty/support, and market supply/binned high-speed kits. The noisy talk about “good” and “bad” RAM usually boils down to which of those factors matter for a particular build.

Absolute latency matters more than the single-number MHz. The CAS number is cycles; real latency in nanoseconds depends on both CAS and the effective clock. Use:
tCL(ns) = 2000 * CAS / f_eff
where f_eff is the advertised memory rate in MHz. That calculation shows why a lower-CL, lower-MHz stick can feel similar to a higher-MHz, higher-CL stick in many workloads.

Compatibility and stability points not yet spelled out here: consult the motherboard Qualified Vendors List (QVL) and CPU memory specs; buy memory as a matched kit for multi-channel operation; server boards often require ECC/registered DIMMs while consumer boards need unbuffered non-ECC; enabling XMP/JEDEC profiles in BIOS may be necessary for rated speeds; mixing different voltages/timings commonly causes instability. Higher-priced “performance” kits are often factory-binned for higher speed/looser timings and carry longer warranties.

Quick checklist and troubleshooting: prioritize capacity for general use, then sensible speed/timings for specific workloads; prefer matched kits and reputable brands with warranty; test new RAM with MemTest86+ if instability appears; try reseating modules, swap slots to isolate a bad stick, and reset CMOS before assuming incompatibility. This addresses the technical causes behind the price spread and gives practical steps for choosing and validating memory.

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Member Avatar for mechbas

er, is there a query here or are U musing?

Member Avatar for dcc

I guess you could say that RAM is like cars, some are better than others, some are more expensive, and there are lots of different manufacturers. There are high performance cars that cost more yet, and the same can be said for RAM.

You can find less expensive modules and may never have any problems, but if you are running dual channel. overclocking, video editing, or 3d imaging then the RAM starts becoming a lot more critical.

If you have more specific questions feel free to add them.

Member Avatar for joshSCH

I have found that ram is the only pc component that has a somewhat stable price over the years. Just the other day, I went to newegg, and looked at all the pc components that I bought for the system I built last year.. the price of everything dropped significantly in the last year... However, the ram I purchased actually cost more since last year.

Member Avatar for Serunson

How bizzar?
I got 2 gig of ram for my machine just after christmas last year for like £140 no idea what that is in dollers summit like $280 and it is the best upgrade i ever got

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