Can anyone help with my Ram Pls?

[Gazzawilly]

Hi,
Would anyone be able to help me?
I have a MSI Cuba motherboard on which I need to replace the both ram sticks.
The MSI web site says that it will take up to a maximum of 2gb of DDR2 ram.
Is this a Maximum per stick 2 x 2gb sticks or 2 x 1gb sticks?
I have had a extremely bad advice from Maplins (See below)
Sorry for the below rant but the more people who read this hopefully won’t have to go through the same thing I have.
Many thanks!

I purchased some ram in the Maplin Canterbury store December 2010.
I wasn’t sure what I was buying so I took my old RAM in the store for advice on what to buy.
I purchased 4 gb of ram under the advice from the man behind the counter which then turns out my mother board will only support 2gb
On returning the ram for an exchange I was told because the package is open they will not accept it back.
Not only did they lighten my wallet of £100 they had given me the wrong advice when purchasing the ram and now refuse to exchange it!
I then complained to the head office who looked into the matter and told me that the store manager said that I Just took it off the shelf any paid for it! (The ram was not even on display). I asked them to check their CCTV as this would verify everything I said but they have refused to do so.
So now it’s my word against the managers.
I have contacted my credit card company who have frozen payment of the ram under Maplins not adhering to the sale of goods act.
Failing this I will have to take out a small claim against them.

[Mickha]

Hi Gazzawilly,
welcome to the forum.

If you Motherboard states that it can only use a maximum of 2GB of memory then that's all it can support.
If you have 2 memory slots then you should get 2 x 1GB sticks.
The easiest way to do this, if your PC is running on the old memory, is to go to crucial.com and let them scan your PC:
http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.aspx

[dandnsmith]

It's been said many times (certainly in other forums) that Maplin is not a place to go for advice - a lot of the time you never get to talk to staff with any real experience, just salespeople..

As to the business about the packaging, the best deal you can get is from the rare seller who will give money back on opened electronics packaging only if it tests as working - but expect to lose something, as they have to cover the cost. Outlets like Maplin just don't have the resources for testing.

[Gazzawilly]

Many thanks for the advice. Would you recommend a certain make or are they all about the same?

[BL4K3Y]

If you want decent DDR2 RAM, I recommend Corsair XMS2 (2x1GB sticks). I have 4GB in my system (2x2GB Dual Channel) and it runs like a dream. You should be able to buy 2GB for around £35 or something.

[Gazzawilly]

Originally Posted by dandnsmith

It's been said many times (certainly in other forums) that Maplin is not a place to go for advice - a lot of the time you never get to talk to staff with any real experience, just salespeople..

As to the business about the packaging, the best deal you can get is from the rare seller who will give money back on opened electronics packaging only if it tests as working - but expect to lose something, as they have to cover the cost. Outlets like Maplin just don't have the resources for testing.

Lesson learned!
Maplins have now offered me a full refund provided the ram is undamaged. I will be having the ram tested and obtaining a report before I send it to their head office to be on the safe side.
Thanks for the Advice.

[Gazzawilly]

Originally Posted by blakey_8

If you want decent DDR2 RAM, I recommend Corsair XMS2 (2x1GB sticks). I have 4GB in my system (2x2GB Dual Channel) and it runs like a dream. You should be able to buy 2GB for around £35 or something.

Thanks Blakey, I'll have a look this evening.

[BL4K3Y]

Have a look at this item mate, very good value for money.

[Gazzawilly]

Originally Posted by blakey_8

Have a look at this item mate, very good value for money.

Thanks very much, ordered it today. Hopefuly this will do the trick!

[Gazzawilly]

Got my new Ram sticks through today but I keep getting a long beep from my motherboard?
CPU Fan starts followed by the long beep.
MSI web site says to check that the ram is sitting correctly which I have done. I have checked the ram sticks on another pc and the ram works fine.
I have tested both ram slots by process of elimination and still the beep.
Could this be the motherboard?
CUBA MSI MS-7301 Socket 775 Motherboard
Many thanks for any help!