Does the brand of memory I buy make a difference if the speed is the same (DDR2-800)?

Question

I'm ordering a new gaming computer, and there are 3 options for memory: "Major Brand" (they don't specify the manufacturer), Corsair XMS2, and Mushkin Extreme. XMS2 costs $50 more than Major Brand, and Mushkin Extreme costs $60 more than Major Brand. All 3 brands are DDR2-800, so there is no difference in speed. I'm not planning on doing any overclocking, so it doesn't make me any difference which brand overclocks the best. Would there be any difference in performance if I got the "Major Brand" instead of spending 50 or 60 bucks more on the XMS2 or Mushkin Extreme?

Answer 1

If you're a reasonable person;
"I'm not planning on doing any overclocking"
which you seem to be be, then it won't matter.

Even if you were stupid enough to run hardware out of spec it probably still wouldn't matter all that much anyway since RAM speed makes essentially no difference to the actual real world performance of your computer.

Answer 2

Hi:) The one thing you have to watch is your computer warrenty. Most manufacturers say other brands will invalidate their warrenty. That said, most other memery makers stick to standards at a better price- not more money. Your maker may even specify at particular brand. Micron- Corsair, etc. Ask them.
Sounds like a fairly high end box so I would not go cheap. The last thing you want is memory errors- caused by overclocking or underspecing. DDR2-800 should be DDR2-800.
ATB

Answer 3

Because you state that you do not intend to do any over clocking, you do not need to purchase such high end memory. I am running Corsair VS in my system and have had no problems running any of todays games. At the moment I have 2 matched 1 gig sticks working into an 800 meg front side buss and a Pent D with a pair of 3.2 gig processors. The system simply flies.

Answer 4

If you're not overclocking, don't sweat it, go for the major brand. Kingston, Crucial, etc. Overclocking ram doesn't matter in the REAL world?? See this article from Hardwaresecrets.com: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/152
and this page from Overclockers.com: http://www.overclockers.com/articles1477/

Answer 5

brand name does't matter