Compatability Question: Mushkin

[Colonel_Curly]

I'm after getting a new set of DDR ram to go with my current Mushkin DDR 4000, but since they dont make these it's bin abit of a pain finding the same ram in secondhand shops.

I found this pair which is advertised as being the exact same ram as what I'm using but both chips have a differentstyle of heatsink on them to that of my current ram:

http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ddr4000mushkinkx7.jpg

Current ram: http://hardwareluxx.de/mhiller/Review_2GB_DDR1/MushkinXP4000/MushkinXP40001_1024.JPG


My question is would the ram I've found work with my current ram despite the different heatsink??

I know it sounds abit stupid to ask about it, but I'm also wandering if someone would know if the advert is lying about the ram spec.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Colonel_Curly]

Btw, would any ram with the same spec of my current ram (pc4000, ddr 500) work fine or do I have to get the exact same type? (including the memory timings)

Thanks

 

[Mondoman]

...

I found this pair which is advertised as being the exact same ram as what I'm using but both chips have a differentstyle of heatsink on them to that of my current ram:
...

They're only the "exact same ram" if they are the same part number made at the same time. Manufacturers change components all the time without changing the part number. Also, is the seller saying he/she is selling the same part number, or just some Mushkin PC4000 RAM? Mushkin sells different quality/speed modules that are all "PC4000".

All the RAM in your system will run at the speed of the slowest RAM, so don't get PC3200 if you can avoid it (actually, first you might want to verify that your current RAM is really running at PC4000, and not PC3200).

Assuming you are just adding two more modules to go with 2 you already have, most any good quality RAM should work. There may be some motherboard-specific issues, such as a 2T command rate and/or a slower maximum RAM speed if all 4 RAM slots are filled.

 

[Colonel_Curly]

Whoa, great reply albeit a technical one lol

Well that pretty much sums up what I wanted to know but thanks alot for asking about the pc4000 part. Checking my ram in CPU-Z I've just noticed that I've got pc3200 ram! So many thanks for saying something obvious to check but vital to know

Guess that explains why it looks so different, along with what you said.

Though this brings up a different question, if pc4000 notably better than pc3200??
An does pc4000 even work on a A8N-SLI Deluxe??

My spec: amd 4800+ oc'ed to 2.7
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
Nvidia 7950GX2

Thanks again

 

[Mondoman]

... Checking my ram in CPU-Z I've just noticed that I've got pc3200 ram! ...

All CPU-Z will tell you is what speed the RAM is running at. You may very well have PC4000 RAM -- you need to look at the label/part number of the module.
Even if you have PC4000, it probably defaults to run at PC3200 to maximize compatibility. Running at PC4000 may require higher-than standard voltage or other manual settings. This post should help clarify things:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1249881#1249881

Running at PC4000/DDR-500 will certainly improve memory performance over DDR-400, and will be more noticeable on AMD 64 systems than Intel systems.