Is all DDR2 memory the same ?

[tochi]

Hi,

I recently bought an Intel motherboard DG965WH with a Core Duo processor. I've been looking for memory for it but I'm confused about what type I must buy. I checked out the motherboard specifications but they only speak about DDR2 from 533 to 800 MHz. I want to buy Kingston memory and I checked out their website. They show some models of memory for my motherboard, but then is not the DDR2 a standard ?

Why, in the case of Kigston, must one to choose an specific memory model ? It is not supposed that any DDR2 memory for desktop should work for the motherboard ?

I have a place where to buy one Kingston GB (2x512) but the model number of the memory is not the same showed at the Kingston website for my mb. Would be a problem if I use such memory ?

Thank you for any help.

[Will.Spencer]

This question is getting into religious territory here, so please keep in mind that whatever answer I say, someone will disagree.

Kingston manufactures many categories of memory, including:

• ValueRAM Memory (value-priced line of industry-standard, generic memory)
• HyperX Memory (high performance memory with an aluminum heat spreader)

The Kingston ValueRAM should work fine for you. The HyperX may be better for overclocking and will be more resistant to heat damage.

DDR2 is a set of standards.

The differences between standard DDR2 SDRAM sticks are clock speed, data rate, and transfer rate.

Theoretically, all DDR2 SDRAM of the same clock speed, data rate, and transfer rate should be the same, right? Well, maybe. That's where this becomes a religious argument.

Some people argue that higher priced memory which can perform better than the standard will perform better under real world conditions.

The Intel DG965WH supports DDR2 800, DDR2 667, and DDR2 533 DIMMs.

Personally, I would purchase any standard DDR2 800 DIMMs that I found at a good price.

Other people prefer to pay more. That's their choice. It's a free country.

Are you going to be overclocking this system?

[tochi]

Thanks Will for your response,

No I won't overclock the system. It's really frustrating to find those lots of values and specifications about this memory. I don't want to make a mistake and buy a memory that will be a headache due to incompatibility. Do you think that I can forget the model numbers and get just what Intel asks for: DDR2 in the range of 533 to 800 MHz no matter of brands ?

Thanks again

[Will.Spencer]

That is what I would do. That's the benefit of standards -- they let us make purchases as commodities, which drives down prices.

I would go with the DDR2 800's, as those are the fastest DIMM's that the motherboard can take advantage of without overclocking.