Why RAM price varies highly with same specification, different brands?

[patrick99]

For example, for the same specification PC133 CL3 Non-ECC Unbuffered SDRAM, Kingmax/Kingston's price is much higher than Hynix/Infineon.

I was told from my friend that their RAM is different. The cheaper one actually doesn't match the specification. Is it true?

 

[SESaskDFC]

Howdy:

Alot has to do with where they get their memory from and markup/profit margin..

If they are stating the specs, then the ram MUST meet those specs or they are guilty of false advertising and fraud !! Don't think either company would want that stigma hanging over them !!

Murray

 

[smah]

I think the biggest $ factor in RAM pricing is the warrantee - some is lifetime, some is not. Probably the next largest cost factor is quality control.

 

[m33sta]

Kingston and corsair far out perform other brands and therefore are re-assuringly expensive. A matched pair of corsair 2 x 256mb is actually quicker than a 1gig stick I has

If you dont ask you wont get
Steve Poole
Technical Analyst
Cinram UK ltd

http://WWW.cinram.com

 

[cdogg]

Specs are one thing. Testing is another.

Higher priced RAM from companies like Kingston or Corsair have spent many hours in the LAB undergoing all sorts of stress treatments and testing in various environments. The extra $ you fork over goes towards that - which is simply a higher quality and not necessarily any faster.

That doesn't really mean it's a bad choice to go with cheaper brands. It's just at a slightly higher risk of premature failure and/or incompatibility.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[jurgen36]

I recently visited one of the ram forges in Taiwan. I was utterly surprised as they showed me their facility and also their shipments to the customers. I do not like to give names but they supplied their ram chips to the lowest and to highest priced companies. The chips came of the same production line and run through the same test procedures. Here at my Uni I had a few hundred ram sticks tested. Some came from the lowest cost suppliers and others from the the most expensive companies. We could find no difference at all between the modules. However the more pricy units usually, but not always have a better finish of their printed bords. Regarding reliability I do not believe there is any difference. Regards

Jurgen