Comparing Memory Manufacturers

In some instances yes. Crucial and Kingston and Micron and samsung and a whole list of others are supposed to be better.
In most cases I think not.
If this is SDRAM you must make sure of compatability with your machine.
In older machines ie; Prior to the P2 the RAM was very specific to the machine. ie; Aptiva RAM only worked in Aptivas, no exceptions. Compaq RAM only worked in Compaqs and there was not much crossing within Compaq. IBM had it's own RAM.etc. ad-nosium.
The new DDR RAM is also a bit touchy as to you need to match MB's mfg. specs.
Some pc 100 and some pc133 is NOT backwards compatable to 33 or 66 and some are. Some pc133 are not backwards compatable to 100 even.
The new 4x [Dutch RAM] is NOT recommended by MANY MB mfg's.
I check each MB's specs BEFORE I even attempt to add or upgrade RAM to any PC.
If you have a specific need for a machine, PLEASE post it as another question to this Q&A forum or add as comment to your question.

Name brand RAM is not necessarily 'better' than generic, but may be a better overall 'value'.
The difference is SUPPORT.

If the memory functions in your motherboard, then all that matters is the specifications.
AND, the quality of the assemblywork.

With name brand memory, you have more support options after the sale.
Often with 'generic' memory, your only support is the dealer you bought it from.
Many low price dealers ONLY allow exchanges for defective (not incompatible) modules.
Crucial, Kingston, PNY and the other name brands have large databases of what RAM modules are compatible with which systems and motherboards.

I have not had any problems with name brand memory. I have on numerous occasions had problems with generic RAM modules not functioning in older (over 1 year old) motherboards.

Part of why generic RAM is cheaper than name brand is that they take advantage of the lowest cost memory ICs.
These often are not compatible with all but the newest motherboards. Such is the case with the quad density SDRAM DIMMs.

Chas

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