# Recommended RAM brands



## sixequalszero (Nov 20, 2011)

I'd like to chart peoples opinion on memory brands. If you could please reply with what brands you would recommend be bought or not bought, even with a short statement why, that would be great thanks!


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## erixx (Nov 20, 2011)

Kingston: biggest brand and used by everybody for compatibility tests, so it always runs (based on my building experience)


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## John Doe (Nov 20, 2011)

Brand of RAM doesn't matter at all. It's the IC (integrated circuits) that matter. The chip. Who makes the memory; I.E, Micron, PSC, RAMBUS (lol). That's what you should look for if you're after RAM performance.


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## Jetster (Nov 20, 2011)

GSkill over Kingston IMO


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## Huddo93 (Nov 20, 2011)

G.Skill, quality without the "big" brand price.


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## Scheich (Nov 20, 2011)

adata 1x faulty ramkit and one only working at cas 5 instead of 4, gskill 1/2 sticks not even working at all, ocz 1x good, corsair 1x good. Adata was the first "brand" that sold me faulty and out of spec ram. Never had that one before (20 years+).


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## Achilles1600 (Nov 20, 2011)

Corsair, and G-skill.


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## John Doe (Nov 20, 2011)

Scheich said:


> adata 1x faulty ramkit and one only working at cas 5 instead of 4, gskill 1/2 sticks not even working at all, ocz 1x good, corsair 1x good. Adata was the first "brand" that sold me faulty and out of spec ram. Never had that one before (20 years+).



Please. A-Data sells (sold) top end memory. The Vitesta 600's had the best Samsung chips that did CL2 on DDR. The Vitesta Extreme were some good memory based on Micron D9, and the XPG Plus is the best one out of all. It uses Elpida Hyper that does CL8 at 2200 stock. They used those in Gigabyte's 2010 GOOC. In fact, I've a kit of all those memory I mentioned above.

You're bashing them for what, a faulty stick? It could have been any brand. Like I said, what it writes on top of your RAM doesn't matter. It's the chips under your RAM heatspreader that matters.


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## Play3r (Nov 20, 2011)

always been a fan of corsair


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## erixx (Nov 20, 2011)

John Doe: everybody knows that (or not, lol), but it is the brand that sells to you and gives you warranty.


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## Scheich (Nov 20, 2011)

I am bashing them for selling SHIT. That was 3 years ago. I am really not into buying 10 kits, just to see which one is working.


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## John Doe (Nov 20, 2011)

Scheich said:


> I am bashing them for selling SHIT. That was 3 years ago.



A-Data doesn't sell shit. Neither does Micron. Micron made the best IC's 3 years ago and so it didn't matter. If you got the same chip from Kingston, and if it crapped out on you, you'd have said Kingston is shit. So no, it doesn't work that way. You don't know what you're talking about.



erixx said:


> John Doe: everybody knows that (or not, lol), but it is the brand that sells to you and gives you warranty.



The brand that sells matters little. If for warranty, then the question should read as "Which brand of RAM gives the best warranty?".

For example, Elpida had a line of faulty Hyper's (MNH-E) at first before releasing MGH-E. All companies that used it (Kingston/OCZ/Corsair etc.) stopped for a period of time. It was a matter of luck. You either got an excellent, high-end memory or a $400-500 paperweight.


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## sixequalszero (Nov 20, 2011)

John Doe said:


> If you got the same chip from Kingston, and if it crapped out on you, you'd have said Kingston is shit. So no, it doesn't work that way.



That's exactly how it works, that's why I'm _collecting_ people's experiences.



> You don't know what you're talking about.


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## John Doe (Nov 20, 2011)

sixequalszero said:


> That's exactly how it works, that's why I'm _collecting_ people's experiences.



You can't collect anyone's experience on this subject. You have millions of SAME chip made, released under different brands. It entirely is a luck of draw. The most used chips right now, under higher-end memory are made by PSC. They all are based on the same thing.


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## micropage7 (Nov 20, 2011)

if talk about brand of course many brands that come from kingston, team, gskill, mushkin, kingmax until local brands like vgen, muscle power, deam, visipro
but i prefer look at their specification first


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## erixx (Nov 20, 2011)

John Doe: you seem to know a lot so I will not can not deny your facts. If all brands are internally the same (like graphic cards are often) then the OP question is the wrong question.

I just want to end my contribution with this: local shops build their pcs with Kingston, don't know if it is the price, warrantee, low fault rate, or additional benefits for them. But seems to work. And also for me, and I never had to use the warrantee, that is the best warrantee for me.

But these things can easily change as you explain, when a bad series coomes out...


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## LiveOrDie (Nov 20, 2011)

Corsair is really good also G-Skull never buy OCZ i rate that the worst.



EDIT JUST HAD TO ADD MY ANSWER TO THIS LOL



John Doe said:


> Brand of RAM doesn't matter at all. It's the IC (integrated circuits) that matter. The chip. Who makes the memory; I.E, Micron, PSC, RAMBUS (lol). That's what you should look for if you're after RAM performance.



Your wrong there my friend never buy OCZ they label there ram wrong i went though 8 stick in 2 weeks because they labeled the speed right but the timming wrong also 2 sticks were bad out of 2 packs, and no it wasn't fun at all having my system unstable and BSOD ever hour or so because of S**T memory, the thread will be floating around here some were was some time ago.


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## de.das.dude (Nov 20, 2011)

G.Skill good quality great price.
Corsair : if you dont mind spending,.


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## maleficarus (Nov 20, 2011)

Corsair
Kingston

I won't touch the rest!


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## de.das.dude (Nov 20, 2011)

John Doe said:


> Please. A-Data sells (sold) top end memory. The Vitesta 600's had the best Samsung chips that did CL2 on DDR. The Vitesta Extreme were some good memory based on Micron D9, and the XPG Plus is the best one out of all. It uses Elpida Hyper that does CL8 at 2200 stock. They used those in Gigabyte's 2010 GOOC. In fact, I've a kit of all those memory I mentioned above.
> 
> You're bashing them for what, a faulty stick? It could have been any brand. Like I said, what it writes on top of your RAM doesn't matter. It's the chips under your RAM heatspreader that matters.



lol i see you are at it again  i always lol at your antics.

A-DATA dont compare to Corsair or G.Skill.

anyone knows why OCZ stopped making RAM?


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## maleficarus (Nov 20, 2011)

de.das.dude said:


> lol i see you are at it again  i always lol at your antics.
> 
> A-DATA dont compare to Corsair or G.Skill.
> 
> anyone knows why OCZ stopped making RAM?



Yes, OCZ said the market is not profitbale enough so they left to focus on other things...


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## maleficarus (Nov 20, 2011)

Jetster said:


> GSkill over Kingston IMO



Not a chance! G.Skill was formed back in 2004 by a bunch of gamers playing starcraft! LOL What kind of faith can you put into that? Vs. Kingston lol


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## maleficarus (Nov 20, 2011)

John Doe said:


> Brand of RAM doesn't matter at all. It's the IC (integrated circuits) that matter. The chip. Who makes the memory; I.E, Micron, PSC, RAMBUS (lol). That's what you should look for if you're after RAM performance.



Not true at all! While all use similar circuits they all have different quality testing. Low-end ram brands do not share the same testing methods therefore they are not all the same...


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## LiveOrDie (Nov 20, 2011)

I just brought a few days ago 16gb of G.Skill DDR3 quad ch and they offer a limited life time warranty thats really good  .


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## _JP_ (Nov 20, 2011)

maleficarus said:


> Not a chance! G.Skill was formed back in 2004 by a bunch of gamers playing starcraft! LOL What kind of faith can you put into that? Vs. Kingston lol


Established in '89, started making RAM in '03.
Companies have to start from somewhere and it doesn't really matter by who, but more what practices those founders have to take their company to success and the thought, care and innovation they give to their products.. I like whoever sells the cheapest, but I also have a preference for G.Skill, Kingston, Patriot, Corsair, A-Data, Crucial....I think that's all.


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## DeAtHWiSh (Nov 20, 2011)

G.Skill & Corsair


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## cdawall (Nov 20, 2011)

I have probably had one of the more diverse collections of ram here. In well over 200 ram kits I have never received a dead stick. I have bought plenty of budget kits and clocked the hell out of them. I have bought plenty of "b-list" brands and never had an issue with them.

OEM wise I have owned all of the big names and a couple of the smaller ones out now and 5 years ago. I have killed sticks from everyone the most resilient being some of the older D9's pushed 3.4+ vdimm through those DDR2 stick no issues. DDR3 wise I still kick it old school with micron.

Manufacturer wise...Adata, Gskill, Micron, Elpida, Corsair, Wintec, OCZ, Mushkin the list goes on never had issues with any of them SDRAM until now. I currently run some higher end G.Skill in my desktop, the PSC based kind.


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## maleficarus (Nov 20, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> Established in '89, started making RAM in '03.
> Companies have to start from somewhere and it doesn't really matter by who, but more what practices those founders have to take their company to success and the thought, care and innovation they give to their products.. I like whoever sells the cheapest, but I also have a preference for G.Skill, Kingston, Patriot, Corsair, A-Data, Crucial....I think that's all.



Established date means nothing. That just tells us when they registered there company name. My point is there is no solid history with G.Skill, or gamer skill as it is known. It is a bunch of guys at a lan party that decided to form thetre own company. Sorry that dosen't wash with me and so I would never trust that vs. a company that sells millions and millions of sticks that has stock and has a reputation. It might be ok for you but not for me...


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## Arctucas (Nov 20, 2011)

Mushkin.


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## JrRacinFan (Nov 20, 2011)

Arctucas said:


> Mushkin.



Just started using Mushkin, so far worth their weight in gold. Did I mention G.skill also?  

The only kit I burned was a PNY XLR8 2x1GB 1066 kit rated for 2.2v, let's just say they didnt last very long with 2.1v.


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## AsRock (Nov 20, 2011)

de.das.dude said:


> lol i see you are at it again  i always lol at your antics.
> 
> A-DATA dont compare to Corsair or G.Skill.
> 
> anyone knows why OCZ stopped making RAM?



But he is right, the IC's can be in any brand,  Take D9's people used to hunt those bitching IC down but they could be with any brand.

I wish some one would post a link to what brands have what IC's ( lost the link long time ago lol ). As that is your best starting point.

There is even a issue with IC's over time as they might be released with good ic's but over time they may change them to worse ones.

OCZ a data are brands i would not bother with for the most part.  And with DDR3 G.Skill Ripjaws, Kingston HyperX, have all been about the same for me.

As far as DDR3 goes at the moment G.Skill are my favorite at this time how ever with DDR2 it was Patriot and Transend aXeRam.


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## _JP_ (Nov 20, 2011)

maleficarus said:


> Sorry that dosen't wash with me and so I would never trust that vs. a company that sells millions and millions of sticks that has stock and has a reputation. It might be ok for you but not for me...


Alright, so stop bashing them. If you never used one of their products, all your arguments are invalid, since in my case, I usually stop using a certain product after a bad experience, not before I even touch it. (EDIT: And I also ponder if this is just a DOA, or is there something wrong with their product line, before stating to criticize them) Or if your did use their products, share your experience, instead of just pointing out that they are/were enthusiasts and decided to make a company in which their products were intended for people like them and, therefore don't deserve anybody's trust. I have used G.Skill, I have friends that use G.Skill and we're all very happy with it.


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## cdawall (Nov 21, 2011)

maleficarus said:


> Established date means nothing. That just tells us when they registered there company name. My point is there is no solid history with G.Skill, or gamer skill as it is known. It is a bunch of guys at a lan party that decided to form thetre own company. Sorry that dosen't wash with me and so I would never trust that vs. a company that sells millions and millions of sticks that has stock and has a reputation. It might be ok for you but not for me...



G.Skill sells plenty of ram. Trust me on that one. It is a good bang for the buck buy just because you don't like a company doesn't mean they don't have a good product hell it could mean your an idiot for all I know. Out of all the manufacturers I dislike Kingston they are overpriced and overrated. Yet you seem to like them. In every memory shootout I have done or read they have finished at the bottom of the bunch all while costing the most. So that might be ok for you, but I actually overclock so that doesn't work for me.


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## JrRacinFan (Nov 21, 2011)

Not taking hand a, point 2, side c, but cda in my use from old ddr days I never EVER had problems with compatibility with a Kingston stick. I cant say the same with some other brands.

**take with a grain of salt as I havent used Kingston since then (Socket A circa 2004)


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## cdawall (Nov 21, 2011)

JrRacinFan said:


> Not taking hand a, point 2, side c, but cda in my use from old ddr days I never EVER had problems with compatibility with a Kingston stick. I cant say the same with some other brands.
> 
> **take with a grain of salt as I havent used Kingston since then (Socket A circa 2004)



I ran Mushkin back then and yes the kingston worked, but worked and overclocked are two completely different things. I never said they were not usable just overpriced sticks IMO.


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## Radical_Edward (Nov 21, 2011)

I use G.Skill and Corsair ram in all my rigs. 

We use Kingston for the most part at work. Now and again we use other brand ram... But we tend to just use Kingston.


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## maleficarus (Nov 21, 2011)

_JP_ said:


> Alright, so stop bashing them. If you never used one of their products, all your arguments are invalid, since in my case, I usually stop using a certain product after a bad experience, not before I even touch it. (EDIT: And I also ponder if this is just a DOA, or is there something wrong with their product line, before stating to criticize them) Or if your did use their products, share your experience, instead of just pointing out that they are/were enthusiasts and decided to make a company in which their products were intended for people like them and, therefore don't deserve anybody's trust. I have used G.Skill, I have friends that use G.Skill and we're all very happy with it.



Fair enough...


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## spynoodle (Nov 21, 2011)

Every since I found out that Micron manufactures at least some of their memory in the USA, I've told everyone to go with Crucial.


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## de.das.dude (Nov 21, 2011)

AsRock said:


> But he is right, the IC's can be in any brand,  Take D9's people used to hunt those bitching IC down but they could be with any brand.
> 
> I wish some one would post a link to what brands have what IC's ( lost the link long time ago lol ). As that is your best starting point.
> 
> ...




yeah he was correct about that. but its hard to know what ICs are underneath the heatspreaders. and even if someone did put up a list, manufacturers are changing OEMs all the time.


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## JrRacinFan (Nov 21, 2011)

cdawall said:


> I ran Mushkin back then and yes the kingston worked, but worked and overclocked are two completely different things. I never said they were not usable just overpriced sticks IMO.



Like i said that was a long time ago, and for me, I didn't ever overclock the ram portion of my Socket A build. Not discrediting you man not at all.


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## AsRock (Nov 21, 2011)

de.das.dude said:


> yeah he was correct about that. but its hard to know what ICs are underneath the heatspreaders. and even if someone did put up a list, manufacturers are changing OEMs all the time.



Yes they do tend to change them.  Although the list helps .

http://ramlist.i4memory.com/ddr3/

And you could always help with the listing 
http://i4memory.com/f94/

Thats why i shop Newegg and for only those ramsticks that have removable heatsinks. Unless i get them at extremely low price like i did my Balistix.


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## xenocide (Nov 21, 2011)

G.Skill has been my favorite for a couple years now, before that it was Corsair.  I stick with G.Skill because I have had zero problems, and they always offer superior performance at a lower cost.


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## inyongthegr8 (Nov 22, 2011)

Kingston. Used ever since I use a DDR2 Motherboard. However, I haven't tried other brands yet so I cannot compare.


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