RAM specifics

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 4:32 pm

I have 512 MB RAM, which is all DX Diag will tell me about it. I want to add another 512 MB. The sticker on the module shows it to be PC 3200 DDR. When I closed my case and went online to shop for more, I discovered that it comes in "registered" and "unbuffered" flavors. How can I tell which I have? Which kind is better? and Would it matter if I guess wrong, and buy the wrong kind? Is there any advantage to adding the more expensive variety, assuming that I have the cheapo stuff already installed?

It looks like it starts around $65 and can run over $150 when you start adding descriptive words to it. Will pretty much any 3200 DDR RAM play nicely with the one I already have?

Greg Wak · Post by **Greg Wak** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 5:35 pm

Buffered ram was for amd FX-51 and FX-53 cpu's when they first came out because they were basicaly opteron chips that would only run on buffered memory. Buffered memory does some kind of internal checking for data errors and hence is mildly slower than unbuffered. If you arent running anFX-51 or an early version of FX-53 you can and should use unbuffered ram.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 2:46 am

Get SisSoft SANDRA. It'll tell you more about your system than DXDIAG ever could.