Should you pay more for name-brand RAM?

Reader Joe writes: I'm going to upgrade my notebook from 2GB to 4GB of RAM. I know all the specs and how to perform the easy physical installation. Question: Is there a difference in performance/quality among the brands, or is one best off going for the least expensive?

RAM, like most computer components, has some commodity aspects to it, but all RAM sticks are not created equal.

I have not done in-depth, head-to-head tests myself, but I've seen independent testing that has shown some real, though far from huge, differences among RAM brands (or at least sub-brands within a single parent brand) when it comes to performance. Perhaps the most reliable intel is this feature from Maximum PC (PDF link, and a good 4MB at that; turn to page 38), which tested Crucial's standard-grade RAM against its specialty products, a "high clock speed" RAM and a "low latency" RAM. In both cases, the specialty RAM powered the PC to better benchmark scores than the standard RAM, virtually across the board. Though the high clock speed RAM beat the low latency RAM on most of the benchmarks, the results were close enough that the magazine recommended the low latency RAM. Bottom line: RAM matters.

The other issue, and probably a bigger one, is reliability. I haven't seen any large-scale studies to back it up, but empirical evidence indicates that generic RAM may fail more often or have bum components more frequently than its name-brand counterparts. Let me put it another way: The only RAM units I've personally see fail have been generic or off-brand ones. I've never encountered trouble with any of the brands I recommend (see below), even after years of service.

So to answer your specific question: If you're upgrading to 4GB of RAM it sounds like you're doing some real work beyond, say, typing memos, and you probably require rock-solid stability on your machine. How much is the potential for better stability worth to you? 2GB of absolute-rock-bottom generic laptop RAM will run you $36. From a quality vendor? About $46. If your generic RAM causes just two crashes a year... what's that worth? I'd happily pay the extra 10 bucks for the name brand, especially considering you can generally get your money back if it's dead on arrival or if you bought the wrong product.

As for brands, I can recommend three: Crucial, Corsair, and Kingston. Other brands are probably fine, but I've had the most experience with this trio and, like I've said, none have ever failed me. (Also, don't miss the Crucial.com website, which has a killer "Memory Advisor" tool to identify exactly the type of RAM you should buy for your computer.)