Adata 1GB PC3200 - is it any good?

[Ruggerbugger]

I'm hoping to buy myself a GB of RAM this week, to replace the 512MB I've got at the moment. I've looked at premium kits costing upwards of £110 and wondered whether the price is worth it if I'm not too worried about overclocking.

I came across the Adata stuff here but I can't find any useful information about it anywhere. I'm not sure whether the Tekheads ratings come from customers or not, so they're not that useful.

Does anyone know of any reasons why I shouldn't buy it at the bargain price of £61, provided I'm not looking to pay twice as much for a 5% framerate gain?

[Kumagoro]

Id go with the cheap stuff.

[jimborae]

If you're not worried about overclocking then go with the cheap stuff. Adata's expensive stuff is excellent so I'd imagine their cheapo gear ain't to bad either.

[MD]

personally, I use Geil Value kits, I know overclockers.co.uk have it as a bargain on their this week only page, paired already, they have been fantastic for me...

m@

[Hans Voralberg]

A-data does have reputation for cheap decent kits so i reckon it would be fine.

[pudds]

Cas 2.5 aint bad for that price. Youll need to pay almost double for CAS2 rated memory

[arthurleung]

If you could import you can get PDP CL2 2GB kit for around $310

EDIT: OOPS didn't see you mean 2x512, thought you mean 1G sticks
You don't even need dual channel kit, just slap in another stick. You don't need a dual channel kit to go dual channel. Those kits only make sure they can run in dual channel. Using Single sticks could mean they cannot run dual channel but they DO NOT mean they cannot run dual channel.

[Ruggerbugger]

If you could import you can get PDP CL2 2GB kit for around $310

EDIT: OOPS didn't see you mean 2x512, thought you mean 1G sticks
You don't even need dual channel kit, just slap in another stick. You don't need a dual channel kit to go dual channel. Those kits only make sure they can run in dual channel. Using Single sticks could mean they cannot run dual channel but they DO NOT mean they cannot run dual channel.

I know, but the 512 I have is 2x256, so I'm planning on buying two sticks of 512 and selling the 2x256. I've also heard that nForce2 boards are better off if you don't populate all three slots, although I don't know if that's gospel.

PS. Two 1GB sticks would be really nice

Grrrr... I went to Tekheads to buy the Adata, and not only can I not register, but the cheapest delivery option is Royal Mail next day at £6.34

Matt D, I'll have a look at the Geil, thanks.

[jimborae]

.... I've also heard that nForce2 boards are better off if you don't populate all three slots, although I don't know if that's gospel.

Correct you'll lose the ability to run the memory in dual channel mode, although it doesn't affect the performance that much but it can affect the stability in some circumstances

[Ruggerbugger]

Ordered and on its way. If I get time I'll do some basic before and after benchmarks and stick a little review up.

[Agent]

Correct you'll lose the ability to run the memory in dual channel mode,

NO

Dual chan is when the motherboard uses 2 different memory controllers to control the RAM. Considering these are physicaly hardwired into the motherboard, provided your using the right slots, its running on 2 different controllers.

We are going through this on a weekly basis. Use search people.

[jimborae]

So you're telling me that if I populate all three slots I'll still be able to run in dual channel mode?? If so thats news to me.

*edit* Ok yep if it in right slots i.e 256mb sticks in slots 1 & 3 and 512mb in slot 2 it should work. Correct??

Well learnt something new today then, apologies for my previous post.

[Agent]

So you're telling me that if I populate all three slots I'll still be able to run in dual channel mode?? If so thats news to me.

*edit* Ok yep if it in right slots i.e 256mb sticks in slots 1 & 3 and 512mb in slot 2 it should work. Correct??

They dont even have to be the same size on each controller, its simply that 2 * (the smallest memory stick size) will be addressed in 128bit, with the rest being addressed in 64bit.

[HKPolice]

Adata is bad bad bad.

[arthurleung]

There should be some colour coding on the motherboard. 256+256 on one bank and 512 on another bank should be fine for dual channel.

[Ruggerbugger]

Adata is bad bad bad.

What a helpful comment