What are you getting for the money????

[PhishPhreak]

Ok, I understand the clock speed, data speed, and bandwidth. What I don't get is how the same type of RAM,

ie: One stick of 512MB DRR400 PC-3200 can have a price range of $85 - $170

 

[Crashman]

You pay more for quality, you pay more for performance, you pay more for features:
A cheap 512MB PC3200 stick might cost $60. It might not be stable in your system, but hey, maybe it's worth a shot.

A quality stick of the same might cost $90. It's not cheap, but you have a good chance of it working without any problems whatsoever.

A low-latency stick of the same RAM might cost $140. You get better performance. Not a LOT better, but a little better. And you have to take your entire system price into account, since the RAM speeds up the entire system.

Add some LED's to that RAM, and now you have a super-specialty product. It's like adding neon lights to your case, it does nothing for you, and you pay more.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[sobelizard]

You alledgely get memory modules that test and pass stricter requirements. Not all wafers are created equal even if processed under the same methods. Manufacturing methods also determine the cost of the product. Keep in mind you tend to pay more for established Name Brands because they tend to be easier to deal with if their products fail (I know this is NOT true in all cases).

<font color=green><b><i>Lizards</font color=green></b> do <b>not</b> taste like <b><font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b>,<b> <font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b> tastes like <font color=green><b>lizard.</b></font color=green></i>