Simple question -- where do you get your PC Memory?

I've not bought memory in quite some time. When I did, though, I went through Crucial.com. I've not seen a lot of talk of them lately, so I figured I'd ask where is a good place to buy reliable memory (for less)?

I'm looking for something for my Giga-Byte GA-K8N Pro motherboard. Currenly, I've got 2 512 MB chips, but I've apparently got three slots. I'm thinking of either adding another 512 MB chip, or pulling these two and adding another 2 larger sized chips.

I normally buy all my PC parts from newegg.com or zipzoomfly.com.

Ditto on Tyrian sources. I also use Mushkin Memory

When I built my machine last year I got the memory and video card from some retailer off of pricewatch.com. I didn't bother to really do any research, but $140 for a gig of Samsung dual channel seemed pretty nice to me. I was a pretty good deal at that time. Now I could probably get it for half that. Just give them a try.

I typically use Crucial's memory recommender utility (you enter you mobo model and they tell you the appropriate memory) and then go buy it at newegg.com. They offer most of Crucial's memory for much cheaper.

I buy mushkin off of newegg.

Newegg. Always.

two words

new egg

I flipflop with memory.. I usually just get whatever the best deal they have going..I've now sorta view Memory as a commodity... in that they are all mostly the same. And this is from somone who used to only buy the top of the line Corsair memory.

I used to love newegg, but in the last 2 years, zipzoomfly has been consistently lower priced for the same products. Not by a whole lot, but 5-10% on everything I've bought. Newegg's site is easier to navigate and compare items, but once I decide on what I want, I hit zipzoomfly to compare price. Every time, it's been lower at zipzoomfly. Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM, OEM Windows, HD - I've upgraded each of these in the last year or two, and each time, I've saved 5-10% by double-checking against newegg's prices.

Of course, if you're hot to get it asap, newegg has a reputation for shipping early, but I'd rather save a bit of cash.

Of course, if you're hot to get it asap, newegg has a reputation for shipping early, but I'd rather save a bit of cash.

I agree.. ZZF is usually my second choice after egg.. but only if egg is out of stock at the moment.. saldy the 5-10% is worth it to me simply because egg is more efficient in getting out product in a timely fashion.. ZZF most of the times sits on my order for 2-3 days before shipping.. not always but it happens more than I'd like.

Ditto on using the crucial utility the going to newegg or zzf

Another vote for the 'egg. In addition to the shipping speed mentioned above, they've also proven themselves well in the RMA department.

I also use the Crucial (or Corsair) utility, and then buy the Crucial or Corsair brand memory on new egg. Although Crucial seems to use Samsung memory a lot, so you could also just buy Samsung straight up.

Since everyone here mentioned newegg and zzf already, I also recommand monarchcomputers. They often have pretty nice deals, and they are pretty reliable too.

ClubOC is another good source for parts. They have excellent customer support.

Ditto on the two sources but I also prefer ZZF not only for the 5-10% but the free 2-day shipping on most things.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Maybe someone can answer one other question. In my system, I currently have the following:

DDRAM 512MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 COR%

Would the following memory be a match for what I'm showing above?

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...

There are cheaper Corsair options listed on zipzoomfly, but the one I linked to is the first one (going up in price) that I saw matched the "32MX8" and it has the "C2" on it (whatever that is). I have no idea if I should be worried about matching those if I add another module to the third bank. Should I?

TheGameguru wrote:
Of course, if you're hot to get it asap, newegg has a reputation for shipping early, but I'd rather save a bit of cash.

I agree.. ZZF is usually my second choice after egg.. but only if egg is out of stock at the moment.. saldy the 5-10% is worth it to me simply because egg is more efficient in getting out product in a timely fashion.. ZZF most of the times sits on my order for 2-3 days before shipping.. not always but it happens more than I'd like.

Really? They have done well by me, though I have only purchased from ZZF 3 times in the past, but each time has been in a very expedient matter. I also like the the free 2 day shipping.

first thing I would worry about matching is the clock speed, which you have, both are PC 3200. Second thing you need to look at are timings (2-3-3, 1T command rate for the memory in the link you posted), but there isnt enough to go on from your listing of what you have. This isnt paramount however, as the memory should just work at the rate of the slowest stick.

Im with Guru here in that unless you really know what you are doing, then memory is memory is memory....I'm sure you will be very happy with whatever you get

Given that you have 3 memory slots i think you are safe there in term of "matching" your ram.

All three of them cannot run in dual channel mode so you don't have to worry about them matching exactly. More memory is always better, even if you are loosing dual channel (assuming you had it enabled in the first place) since dual channel really doesn't offer that much real world improvements anyway.
That said, unless you are seriously into overclocking you won't really notice much difference. So no need to get the most expensive memory, just make sure that it is from a reputable vendor, and reputable manufactuerer.

Newegg (Corsair) or Crucial (Crucial.com).

I just bought all my new system components from newegg.

Im very satisfied with them. (Ive bought a few things from them a couple times in the past)

If I were to print my order history with newegg it would be longer than m...

...

Well, let's just say it would be long.

I think I have over 75 total orders including my most recent computer upgrades.

To be fair it's probably smaller than that, as some seperate orders were made on the same day. But still.

I've not had a single problem with them yet, and I see no reason to switch.

I've ordered from Zipzoomfly twice before, and the second time I encountered the same problem Guru mentioned above where my order sat for two days before it shipped. I've never had a newegg order ship any later than the next day, and all but two or three have shipped same-day.

I used to use crucial.com, but as of late my orders have been through the egg.

I've been using MWave for years now and never had a problem with them. Also, I'm not a marketing plant.

mumford wrote:

Also, I'm not a marketing plant.

Too late, too late; the mob has already gathered. Too late for laments. Too late for warnings.

I usually shop at newegg too. If I use Crucial's memory picker (rare), I try to buy Crucial RAM as a thank you... although I don't buy it directly from them, as it costs too much. Crucial, Corsair, and Mushkin are all excellent brands.

If you stay with two RAM sticks, you'll have a better chance of keeping a 1T command rate, which is a significant performance boost (I think about 10%). Most Socket 754 Athlon 64s will have trouble running 2 1GB sticks in 1T: most Socket 939s can do it. If you go to three sticks, you will pretty much always have to drop back to 2T, which is a definite performance hit. Socket 754 even has to go back to 166Mhz quite frequently with three sticks, which is bad.

Fast 1GB sticks that can support 2-2-2 1T tend to cost quite a bit more. If you're not trying to eke out every last erg of performance for games, then you can save some money and just load up on RAM instead...that'll give you most of the benefit, cheaper. If you're trying for as much speed as possible, then don't exceed two sticks. It's my understanding that 2-2-2-10-1T will give you the best overall performance on the Athlon 64 core.

Malor wrote:

Most Socket 754 Athlon 64s will have trouble running 2 1GB sticks in 1T: most Socket 939s can do it. If you go to three sticks, you will pretty much always have to drop back to 2T, which is a definite performance hit. Socket 754 even has to go back to 166Mhz quite frequently with three sticks, which is bad.

Since I have a socket 754, it sounds like adding a third stick should not be the way to go. Adding 2 1GB sticks may also not be the way to go. Maybe I should just stick with the 1GB and save the money to add mucho GB in my next PC...

Crucial has this nifty SystemScanner that entirely takes the guesswork of "exactly what memory my rig needs" and "how much I can add".

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

Crucial has this nifty SystemScanner that entirely takes the guesswork of "exactly what memory my rig needs" and "how much I can add".

I tried using that, but it misread the amount of memory in my system, so I hesitate to trust it for it telling me what would be best to add in the third slot.

/shhh!! you're blowing it!! because of you, I am not gonna get my Crucial.com's commission!!

P.S. why this isn't in the Tech forum?

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

/shhh!! you're blowing it!! because of you, I am not gonna get my Crucial.com's commission!!

P.S. why this isn't in the Tech forum?

Was there a tech forum when I posted this?