"...A poll by any other name would smell as sweet as DRAM..."
by Gary Key on April 9, 2009 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Gary's First Looks
Now that William Shakespeare is rolling over in his grave due to the hack job on one of his more famous quotes in Romeo and Juliet, we can proceed straight to our poll for today. The first of several DDR2/DDR3 articles arrives shortly and we would like to know your thoughts up front on a variety of subjects surrounding system memory.
We will sidestep sticky questions like what is your favorite and worst memory supplier until later on this month. For today, we would greatly appreciate a response (informed or otherwise) to our three questions. Our first question concerns the primary driving factor that determines why you select a particular memory type or supplier. Personally, I want a quality product that is stable and never once makes me wonder why that BSOD occurred right before saving my article document. I am probably in the minority on this one but it will be interesting to see what you think.
Our second question is a simple one. How much system memory do you have currently? Once again, I am probably in the minority, as I tend to run eight to twelve gigabytes in my personal systems. My family and I tend to multitask a lot - or perhaps we are just too lazy to close multiple applications. Either way, I prefer a responsive system when working or playing and additional memory does tend to help. How much it helps is a question we will answer this month.
The final question is actually very simple. With Vista 64 finally having decent driver support, memory prices near all time lows, applications consuming even greater amounts of memory, and Windows 7 shipping later this year with an emphasis on 64-bit support, do you think it is time to buy more memory. The memory manufacturers are hoping for a resounding yes to this question. I think you can never have enough memory and at today's prices that isn't too difficult to accomplish.
We look forward to your answers and any comments you might have on this subject.
{poll 129:1200}
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smartalco - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
Some combo of quality/performance/shiny for me. My build from August has 2x1gb set from Mushkin, running with a Q6600 and mostly 32bit XP. I think this summer I am going to get [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...]this[/url] set of 2x2gb to bring it up to 6gb total and completely move to win7 64-bit.You guys don't have an option for my Powerbook G4 with 1.5gb or RAM :P
Kougar - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
Price, performance, and quality are all a factor for me.I used to be brand loyal to Corsair, but their recent changes to "Denominator" 3GB/6GB modules made for a cheap heatspreader design, they overclock poorly, and their are way overpriced for their specs. It is ironic because I always wanted to have a kit of these.
OCZ Platinum OCZ3P1600LV6GK seems to offer the lowest price and the highest specs for $80, so I'm breaking tradition and buying this for my D0 Core i7 build.
KraZ440 - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
I am currently planning on upgrading my primary system, so I have no plans to upgrade the memory in my existing system (the money is better saved to spend on a newer system). However, my new system will have more memory in it than my current system. I'm planning on shooting for 6GB, but will settle for 3GB if money is too tight. I doubt that I'll go with 3GB though, since there is currently less than a $40 difference between 3GB and 6GB.Wellsoul2 - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
I'm still running XP home and see no need to change.If anything I could use a faster CPU or video card..not ram.
I bought Vista when it was new and sold it a year later because of
compatibility/speed problems vs XP.
I suppose if/when Windows 7 is available or I change my MB/CPU
I'll revisit the amount of ram I need.
64bit/more ram is beginning to be worth the money,
yacoub - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
I can't answer any of your questions because none of them offers a selection that is my actual answer. And my answers are actually fairly mainstream.For #1: Where's this option?
"I buy from a select group of Tier 1 manufacturers, and select the model based on product reviews that give it high marks for stability and performance."
That's not any of the options presently available, so I can't vote because none of the choices are what actually makes up my decision.
For #2:
What about people with an odd amount of RAM in their system, or simply not one of the options you offered? What do they select for Question #2?
For #3:
I am not adding more to my system. But I do plan a fresh build soon, which includes buying new RAM. Where's that option? I'm not adding more to my existing system, but I am buying RAM, but I'm not buying it for no good reason.
This poll is not very good, Gary. :(
yacoub - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
Basically my answer is: "I am looking for the best possible blend of performance and price, BUT product quality is of primary importance AS WELL. And while I have no Brand Loyalty per se, I do look to product reviews to keep me informed of which manufacturers are the top tier RAM producers because I only want to buy a product that is from a reputable company with a very low product failure rate."This is actually where most buyers are, but you don't offer that option in your poll.
MrPickins - Sunday, April 12, 2009 - link
This is exactly the option I was looking for.Price and performance are very important, but if the sticks are doa then neither matter. In reality, all three are equally important.
MrPickins - Sunday, April 12, 2009 - link
"In reality, all three are equally important."By all three I mean price, performance and quality.
Joz - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
I have 2x1GB Mushkin XP2-8500 running along at 860 4-3-4-9, and before that I was using Mushkin...and before that too.But my first sticks of Mushkin was based off three seperate reviews, and the quality, price and performance was astounding. And I've been a Mushkin-boy ever since.
May move to 4GB latter this year.
Joz - Friday, April 10, 2009 - link
I have 2x1GB Mushkin XP2-8500 running along at 860 4-3-4-9, and before that I was using Mushkin...and before that too.But my first sticks of Mushkin was based off three seperate reviews, and the quality, price and performance was astounding. And I've been a Mushkin-boy ever since.
May move to 4GB latter this year.