Advice on RAM

I am looking for some advice on RAM. What will be the perfect RAM memory for creating virtual machine for home use?

 

Hi John, what processor and motherboard have you got/going to get?

Also how many virtual machines are going to be running and what operating system?

 

depends on your motherboard and how many VMs you are going to create and run simultaneously, and what you will be doing with them. We need more info.

 

David, my experience has been it's a good idea to either check the qualified vendor list (QVL) or read reviews of specific memory models on sites such as Newegg.com before purchasing.

Between my time in retail computer parts sales and working as a tech, I have seen countless issues where the brand or model of memory does matter. Specifically, memory that doesn't play nice with a given board/processor combo can cause boot or Blue Screen of Death issues.

As an example, I recently built an inexpensive AMD/Biostar combo for a friend. It took three tries before I found DDR2 6400 that would even boot up the system.

When looking at the reviews, go beyond the # of stars and read user comments. Many times you'll find user experiences on a specific model of memory that works (or doesn't work) with a specific board/CPU setup.

Also - just in case - it's always a good idea to buy memory from a retailer or website with a decent return policy in case the memory doesn't work well in your PC.

A few minutes of research before buying can save you hours of troubleshooting later.

 

When reading a QVL, pay attention to the date when it was published. Unless it specifically says it has been updated since then, it hasn't been. QVL is essentially shorthand for "what was available for testing at the time of release". It doesn't mean it's bad. Everything on it will work. But a year later, so will lots of other things.

 

As an extreme example of this, I have an older laptop that is supposed to be maxed out with 2x512MB of RAM. Within 2 years of it's release, it was discovered that there were 2 specific RAM sticks that allowed that to be doubled up to 2X1GB.

 

Oh? Do you happen to have details on the RAM modules and laptop, by chance? *eyes own laptop speculatively*

 

It's one of my Dells that there were 3 varieties of, maybe the I8200/M50/... , not positive that's the one 'cos they're both semi-retired with other issues and I have more recent portables that I use when needed. I'll try to get further details.

 

If they're Dell, don't bother on my account. All my old laptops are Compaq. Thanks though.

 

Ok but for future reference, I'm pretty sure it was the I8200, it had to be force-flashed with the Precision (M50?) BIOS which was based on the same motherboard (the M50 BIOS also enabled other M50 hardware to function correctly, like wireless mini-PCI cards and better GPU cards), then it could use 1GB sticks of which there were only 2 (I think) that were confirmed to work successfully, 1 was the Crucial 1GB for the M50.

This is really an example of how makers can effectively cripple a machine using the BIOS, allowing identical motherboards to be installed in 3 different lines with hugely differing prices.