Memory

[imchief]

Here is probably my last major parts question.  Memory.  How much difference does the brand make if my primary graphic app is FS?  I am heavily considering Kingmax ram.  from the reviews I read on Newegg it seems to be quite good and compatible.  I know Kingston and Coarsair are some of the best but how much?  They also both have Value ram.  Is the value ram still good?  Is there much difference in performance between these items?

[GunnerMan]

Ok first I am going to ask: do you plan on overclocking. This is where those 180$ stcisk come.
Your if I have 2 identical systems one with "Value" ram and one with really crazy stuff. I will see no difference(if latenceys are the same). So where does the high performance stuff perform? That is in the overclocking realm, this stuff allows the ram speed to be rasised MUCH more and at lower voltages and latenceys than your Value ram. So if your not overclocking you can "almost" just scratch this expencive stuff.
 But I mentioned latenceys I think Corsairs "Value" ram runs at 3-3-3-6 and it could not take an 30Mhz overclock at 2.8 volts. So the ram sucks for overclocking and probably latenceys. My ram will do latenceys of 2-2-2-5 at stock. So what is latencey? Corsair has a great page explaining it but in short its how many clocks it needs to do before it can transfer/exicute anything.
So really just try and find a good reliable company with decent latenceys.

[Weather_Man]

RAM latencies can make a difference of anywhere from .5 to 2-3 FPS in a game. It's nothing major, but the quality of the RAM will pay off (or bite you) in the long run. For gaming, try to get Cas2 RAM if possible, and avoid "value ram". Those generally use cheaper chips that fail at the performance specs of the other high-end sticks. I've had good experience from Corsair and OCZ.

This OCZ looks like a good buy (or any of the other Cl2 models) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146883

[GunnerMan]

Well latenceys will improve more perfoamnce then just FPS. Will make system run faster. Like I said yes Valu ram does not perform as performance thats no brainer but a ot of ram has life long warrantee and rarell fails. As I said a 150 dollar stick at 2-3-3-6 wont do any better than a 50$ stick at 2-3-3-6 that is if your not overclocking. I use Value ram in my prescott machine runs great, dual channel. I tested it OCs 30Mhz