Did I buy crap RAM, or am I confused?

[QuickrThinkrUpr]

Hi there
I recently bought a used computer from this guy who assembled it on his own. I think I got a great deal. It's a P4 2.8gig on an Asus MOBO (P4S800 model), 800FSB, with a gig of RAM, a DVD burner and a DVD ROM, 128 meg video card, 15" flat screen monitor, firewire ports, USB 2.0, speakers with a subwoofer, etc etc (cost me $575 with everything). Well, I was having some issues with it (crashing here and there) while trying to capture video. I bought a $100 video capture USB device which allows me to plug my VCR into it with RCA cables and convert my VHS tapes to DVD. So I'm capturing, things are going well, and then I'd crash. Or the signal from the USB capture box would disappear. Or it would appear to work, but then the video and audio wouldn't sync up.

Anyway, after some time, I started thinking that maybe the memory in the machine was bad (by the way, I bought the computer with WinXP SP2 installed, but I don't have the disk. I intend to buy WinXP and reinstall). So I downloaded Memtest and ran some tests. Anyway, the test didn't reveal any issues after 45 minutes or so, but I did notice that the test listed me as having a P4 2.8 gig, as expected, but running at 200Mhz instead of 800Mhz. Also, the memory was listed as 200Mhz instead of 400Mhz. Also, the timings were listed as 3.0,3,3,8 @200 MHZ, 2.5,3,3,7 @ 166MHZ, 2.0,2,2,6 @ 133MHz....

Anyway, I posted on this forum, wondering why I wasn't seeing 800FSB and 400Mhz for the memory, and someone answered explaining that the CPU multiplies by 4, and the memory multiplies by 2. So that made sense.

However, someone else responded: Where did you get that RAM? Looks like poor quality PC3200 to me! 3,3,3,8 at its default speed?

Looking further into it, I realized that one of the memory sticks was a PC2700, and the other was PC3200. So I took out the PC2700 and only left the PC3200 in the machine. Things seemed to be more stable. However, I really wanted a gig of RAM, so I figured I'd buy two new sticks since that poster guy told me my RAM sucked and it did seem to be no-name RAM. I went to Best Buy and picked up 2 PC3200 512Megs sticks (PNY brand). I installed them, and don't have any issues per se. However, when I checked out the memory stats in Memtest (or maybe it was Everest Home edition), it still lists the memory at 3,3,3,8 speed.

So did I buy this new RAM for nothing? Did the guy who posted mean "normal RAM" when he said "poor RAM". I know that there's other "Performance" ram out there that costs twice as much, probably better suited for gamers (which I'm not)...just trying to figure out whether or not I should try to return this to Best Buy and get better stuff (can you even return memory?). And what will the actual real world difference be between this RAM and a higher quality stick? Is it actually a noticable difference, or will I only notice it on benchmark tests or really high-demanding games?

Thanks for any help, and sorry for the long winded post.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Why are you starting a new thread when this one is about the very same subject as your other one?

I went to your profile, found the other thread and saw that it was our own hardware expert, Saphalline who asked you about the RAM in your system.

If you would have only asked in that thread what RAM would be recommended, you wouldn't be in this duplicate predicament.

[QuickrThinkrUpr]

sorry man, you're probably right about that...I figured that this is a timing question, whereas the other question was about the FSB reporting incorrectly (when it turned out to not be incorrect at all). This isn't a question of anything reporting incorrectly, but more of a question of "is the RAM I bought not of good quality..."

But you're right, I could have probably just added onto the other post...sorry about the duplicate post

[odannyboy000]

yo, take that RAM back to bestbuy and buy online instead. newegg.com will get u ram cheap is crap. you can buy a gig for 80. im guessing you spent 200 + on that RAM from bestbuy. take it back. buy online.

[tommy]

Many here, including myself, think highly of Crucial memory. Their on-line assistance is excellent.
www.crucial.com

[saphalline]

Did the guy who posted mean "normal RAM" when he said "poor RAM".Nope, I really did mean you have cr@ppy RAM. Sorry, but those are the facts. There's 3 categories of RAM: cr@ppy RAM that isn't worth a penny, good quality RAM that works well, and the high-end stuff for OC'ers and power users. For most people, I recommend the good stuff that works well. ;)

For simplicity's sake, use the Crucial link that Tommy provided to get good RAM that is 100% guaranteed to work with your mobo. Just use the "Crucial Memory Advisor Tool", which will eventually lead you to this (http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=P4S800&tabid=AM) page. I'd recommend two sticks of 512MB DDR400, part# CT6464Z40B for $57 each. Not the cheapest stuff you can get, but it's 100% guaranteed. Nice and simple.

As for your other problems, it sounds like a driver issue. Something didn't get set-up correctly when WinXP was installed. I would start by checking your DirectX version, as well as your chipset/audio & vid card drivers. The USB drop could be many things, but with SP2 your OS is covered. And the fact that it works at all rules out the BIOS. So again, some sort of driver (probably chipset) is at fault here. Or even a malware/virus infestation, in which case Budfred is the person to ask.

[QuickrThinkrUpr]

thanks everyone for those responses. I will take you up on that and return the RAM, if they'll even take it back.

I actually only spent $120 for the 2 sticks combined (they were on sale for $50 each)...there's also a $20 rebate. So price-wise, I realize the internet is the way to go, but when I saw the sale at Best Buy I just went there instead. But I might as well spend the same amount of money for better RAM...

As far as updating my chipset drivers...I'm not sure how to do that. Yesterday, I wanted to flash my BIOS, but the ASUS website was messed up and I couldn't get to the support section. So I called ASUS, and spoke to a guy who sent me the BIOS update file by email. He mentioned something about the chipset during our conversation, and I asked him if I'd need to update the chipset driver separately (sorry, this is my first experience with a custom built computer, rather than a proprietary one like Dell or HP). He said that I would not have to update the chipset driver, that he hasn't ever seen updates for the Sis648...according to him, the drivers are included in WinXP...does this sound correct? Sorry this is getting a little out of my (limited) range of knowledge.

[QuickrThinkrUpr]

OH, one other question...after I flashed the BIOS, I was looking through the settings...one of the choices confused me. I think it was labeled as "Chipset Memory Clock" and the choices were "Asynchroneous" or "Synchroneous"...it was set to Asynchroneous, which was the default choice. What is this referring to?