Buying used RAM

[CandleJakk]

Is buying used RAM a bad idea?

Also, if I have one stick of 4GB RAM from one brand and another stick of 4GB from a different brand with a different memory clock speed, would it matter?

 

Thanks!

[mrgooglegeek]

can cause problems with different frequencies, and buying used pc parts is kind of a case by case situation (pun intended)

[CandleJakk]

5 minutes ago, mrgooglegeek said:

can cause problems with different frequencies, and buying used pc parts is kind of a case by case situation (pun intended)

ah right, ok. also, how can I know if RAM will fit in my mobo?

[mrgooglegeek]

what board do you have?

You need ram with a matching ddr

ex: ddr3 ram only fits ddr3 slots on board.

[harrynowl]

I buy used things all the time. Ram, cpus, boards, psus, gpus. All good to go.

 

Intelligent motherboards will use the lowest common denominator in each RAMs SPD to find something that will work 95% of the time.

[CandleJakk]

Just now, mrgooglegeek said:

what board do you have?

You need ram with a matching ddr

ex: ddr3 ram only fits ddr3 slots on board.

oh ok cool, so are all ddr3 sticks the same size?

[mrgooglegeek]

yes but not ddr3L thats for laptops

[Moonzy]

if you're running different ram in the same channel, there's a high chance they wont work together

they will either run in single channel or not run at all

 

running them in different channel however reduces the chances of failing, but is sure to run in single channel speed

[CandleJakk]

1 minute ago, harrynowl said:

I buy used things all the time. Ram, cpus, boards, psus, gpus. All good to go.

 

Intelligent motherboards will use the lowest common denominator in each RAMs SPD to find something that will work 95% of the time.

oh right awesome. is the mobo in an optiplex 780 "intelligent"? i don't have the pc yet but just speculating before i make any purchases

[Moonzy]

Just now, mrgooglegeek said:

yes but not ddr3L thats for laptops

there are DDR3L for desktops too,

DDR3 and DDR3L are the type of ram, not the form factor of the ram

 

there are DIMM and SO-DIMM

where DIMM are for desktop and SO-DIMM are for laptops usually

[CandleJakk]

2 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

if you're running different ram in the same channel, there's a high chance they wont work together

they will either run in single channel or not run at all

 

running them in different channel however reduces the chances of failing, but is sure to run in single channel speed

ah ok, i have found a dedicated upgrade thing as couldn't find much 1066 mhz ram online (maybe i was searching the wrong thing?) http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/OptiPlex-780-Desktop/CT4003700?gclid=Cj0KEQjw0dy4BRCuuL_e5MeqmNABEiQAq8iNI1oBhgDntwtDQIOMYwa-KIhd4mE_KwhBbmv5VpawUiEaAvjj8P8HAQ&cm_mmc=shopping-_-lengow-_-null-_-uk&ef_id=VlCYAQAAACuGVGYm:20160420171837:s

[harrynowl]

1 minute ago, CandleJakk said:

oh right awesome. is the mobo in an optiplex 780 "intelligent"? i don't have the pc yet but just speculating before i make any purchases

It's 775 so its not too bad. It reads RAM info from the SPD which is a little chip on the actual PCB itself.

 

I'd suggest buying something from Crucial. Their Micron chips will be much better in 775 than crap like HyperX Fury or Corsair Vengeance.

[CandleJakk]

Just now, harrynowl said:

It's 775 so its not too bad. It reads RAM info from the SPD which is a little chip on the actual PCB itself.

 

I'd suggest buying something from Crucial. Their Micron chips will be much better in 775 than crap like HyperX Fury or Corsair Vengeance.

oh ok, planning to use this: http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/OptiPlex-780-Desktop/CT4003700?gclid=Cj0KEQjw0dy4BRCuuL_e5MeqmNABEiQAq8iNI1oBhgDntwtDQIOMYwa-KIhd4mE_KwhBbmv5VpawUiEaAvjj8P8HAQ&cm_mmc=shopping-_-lengow-_-null-_-uk&ef_id=VlCYAQAAACuGVGYm:20160420171837:s

 

thanks very much for your help man!

[mrgooglegeek]

4 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

there are DDR3L for desktops too,

DDR3 and DDR3L are the type of ram, not the form factor of the ram

 

there are DIMM and SO-DIMM

where DIMM are for desktop and SO-DIMM are for laptops usually

i mean ddr3l not ddr3lp

[harrynowl]

1 minute ago, CandleJakk said:

oh ok, planning to use this: http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/OptiPlex-780-Desktop/CT4003700?gclid=Cj0KEQjw0dy4BRCuuL_e5MeqmNABEiQAq8iNI1oBhgDntwtDQIOMYwa-KIhd4mE_KwhBbmv5VpawUiEaAvjj8P8HAQ&cm_mmc=shopping-_-lengow-_-null-_-uk&ef_id=VlCYAQAAACuGVGYm:20160420171837:s

 

thanks very much for your help man!

Alright. That should do the trick