Ostriig on 4/1/2010 at 15:19
(
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/DDR2+667+%28PC5300%2F5400%29/GeIL+4GB+PC2-5300+C5+Black+Dragon+%282x2GB%29+?productId=29675) GeIL 4GB PC2-5300 C5 Black Dragon (2x2GB). Unbuffered, CL 5-5-5-15, 1 year warranty, for an extremely attractive £35.
First off, would it work on my AsRock Conroe 1333-D667 mobo? I ask because I saw that mention of it requiring 1.9V, as opposed to the usual 1.8V, and I can't find any hard specs in my board's manual. When looking through the BIOS, I do have a "Flexibility Option" enabled under Chipset Configuration, which is explained as "When it's enabled, it allows better tolerance for memory compatibility." - is that it?
And second, does anyone know anything about this GeIL company? By the way, the web address listed on Aria is wrong, they do actually have a (
http://www.geil.com.tw/) site.
And I'm sorry, I would've asked the first question on Aria's site, but their post validation system's broken and I can't get it through, tried two different browsers.
bikerdude on 4/1/2010 at 17:16
dude, you know you can pm me on stuff like this, anyway...
yes - (
http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?Model=ConRoe1333-D667%20R1.0)
they are as good as any other manufacturer, the only thing I would check for is where do you send the memory when its over 1yr old and goes faulty. kingston, G.Skill & Ocz all have UK rma presence.
Ostriig on 4/1/2010 at 17:40
Thanks dude, I will do!
I didn't see any indication on memory voltage in the specs, that's why I asked. But it looks like it's a non-issue in the end, and it's just a typo on Aria's site - there's a commenter there who mentioned that when shipped, the RAM turned out to specify standard 1.8V on the packaging, and I've checked the official site, and they also (
http://www.geil.com.tw/products/showSpec/id/120) say 1.8 for the model.
With RAM, I'm not that worried about the warranty period since there are no mechanical parts. My general impression is that if it works for a year with varying work load and temperature conditions, there's not that much to break with RAM of its own fault. Besides, I expect I may have to build a new PC after a year, maybe two if I get to OC the CPU, and I'll want faster memory at that point. But for now, 35 quid for good spec 4gig really seems like an opportunity.
Edit: And another thing, the warranty may be lifetime after all - Aria say "lifetime" in one place, "1 year" in the other, so I assumed the worst, naturally, but GeIL's site says lifetime warranty for the model.
P.S. If you want to avoid a possible hassle stay away from OCZ. My roommate got an order with a dead-on-arrival module, and I've got another mate, who used to run a small hardware company, that says he got shoddy RAM from them twice.
bikerdude on 4/1/2010 at 18:39
Quote Posted by Ostriig
With RAM, I'm not that worried about the warranty period since there are no mechanical parts. My general impression is that if it works for a year with varying work load and temperature conditions, there's not that much to break with RAM of its own fault.
you would think that wouldnt you... ive gone through lots of ram over the last few years and it always pays to be safe than sorry.
I am using kingston ram atm. They have been around a lot longer than any of the others, they are the memory of choice for OEM's (Compaq, Hp, Apple, etc) and lots of places I have worked at over the years will only put Kingston ram in their Servers & workstations etc.
But you cant beat the price of that Geil ram, at least its branded. I have checked and Microdirect are a UK distributor for geil, so it might be worth giving them a call/email to see if they have it instock otherwise check if Aria will take the mem back outside of the 1yr period and send it to geil for you..
Ostriig on 4/1/2010 at 20:13
Well, I guess I'll find out. After I read your previous reply I decided to bite the bullet and had the order placed. Truth is that for what Kingston and Corsair are charging I could buy two GeIL sets. :P
Ostriig on 7/1/2010 at 16:30
Okay, so they arrived today. Got lucky, it was the last set they had in stock, it's not even listed on Aria anymore.
And then... I plugged them in and saw the PC wouldn't boot. Considering the context, clear cut indication of one or both sticks being borked. They both had power (have LEDs on them), but no boot, screen would stay off. I took one out, and it looked like that was it, with the other one in it would load up with no problems. So I spoke to my mate, who placed the order, and we decided I'd give it another shot before he'd place a warranty claim - lo and behold now they work. At first I stuck only one in, which I remembered to be the broken one, it booted, and then I stuck the other in as well, and it indeed did report the memory increase on a flawless boot up. I don't get it, I'm no guru but I have assembled PCs before and I sure as fuck know how to stick some RAM in their slots. Doesn't make sense, and it makes me a bit uneasy about their reliability.
Anyway, for now, they seem to be working just fine. Haven't seen any difference with STALKER, but the load time on Dragon Age does seem to have taken a noticeable turn for the better. Unfortunately, the system will only use 3.2GB of the 4 installed, mainboard limitation. I did flash the BIOS to the latest version, but no change. I was hoping for something around 3.5 or over, but hey, this will do.
