Same Ram, Different Revs

[Razzle-Dazzle]

Below is a message I replied to a sticky on 02/05/2008. Two full days later and only received one response from someone who experienced what I am currently going through. I take it that mostly everyone doesn't read the sticky s. I am more surprised that no one from Corsair responded.

 

An answer from Corsair Customer Support would be appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

RazDaz

 

Hello,

 

Just a short 6 months ago, I purchased the Twin2x2048-8500C5D for a new computer I was putting together. The revision is XMS8505v1.2.

 

Through a special one-time promotion from eVGA, I am upgrading my 680i to a 780i. During this process and transition, I decided to purchase another set of the Twin2x2048-8500C5D. When my shipment came in, I noticed the version was ver2.2. I checked this website for compatibility issues [which I have to say, I wasn't expecting to find anything] only to find out they might not work together. :bigeyes:

 

I called the company I bought the ram from and asked if they had any version 1.1, the answer was no. I then asked if I could return my order and I was basically told I placed the order and it's correct so if I wanted to return they would charge me a 15% re-stocking fee.

 

I read this sticky, "want to buy more ram (but revision are diff now)" and I have to say, I am very concerned about a couple of things:

 

• As a consumer, I am concerned about how the average buyer would know and understand the revisions of ram purchased has to be exactly the same in order for them to play nice together? Even with this, there are discrepancies, please keep reading below:
  
• Like in my case, I bought 2GB initially with intention of expanding in the future. Well, now is the future and I find out the ram might not be compatible even though they are exactly the same but the revisions are different? Is it just me or does something here doesn't seem quite right? It just seems like there is a catch-22.
  
• These ram modules are not cheap and the older they get, the more expensive the ram becomes to purchase because of limited availability.
  

 

What am I supposed to do at this point?

 

Either way, I lose out. (Cash and expandability for my computer)

 

I know people will post "well you should have researched first before you bought" but this doesn't answer my question because again, how is the average consumer supposed to know and more importantly, where is the room for expandability?

 

If someone could shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

RazDaz

[Xtreeme]

Sorry, but ya you should research anything your going to purchase. Not new, buyer beware is a OLD saying. Now you feal burnt and your mad I understand. But having a fit wont change the situation.

 

The fact is ALL memory is effected like this from any brand and is quite commen knowledge on any tech site. One can find this with 2 minutes of checking google. It comes down to chipset, cpu (amds case) and mobo compat. Maybe you should be yelling at the chipset and mobo manufacturer for not figuring out how to support mix ram better? After all thats the reason why it is the way it is! Till they figure a way, what can be done other then accepting the fact. Most store do charge 15% restock fee for products that work and just want to return. This is very common.

 

Sorry your upset but getting angry on a forum wont solve anything. You catch more flies with honey and all that.:):

[Razzle-Dazzle]

Xtreeme,

 

Thanks for your reply. However, I think you misunderstand what is being said here. I have the SAME EXACT ram just different revision numbers of the SAME ram.

 

I clearly understand if I bought Corsair ram and mixed it with another ram company, I know there is a strong possibility there would be compatibility issues. :roll:

 

To be clear, I am not mad nor bitter. My primary point and what I am asking is where is the room for expanding and why aren't the ram backwards compatible based on revisions? I am seeking a justified answer on why revisions of the same product aren't compatible.

 

Hopefully the below scenario will paint a better picture:

 

You buy 2 GB of Corsair ram. You install it, all is fine. You know your motherboard supports 4GB of ram. Six months goes by, you are so happy with the ram you have, you purchase the same exact ram. So I get another 2GB from Corsair. So now that you have 4 GB of the SAME EXACT ram but you find out the SAME EXACT aren't compatible because of revision numbers? Are you saying it's acceptable that revision #'s aren't backwards compatible? You think the company is going to keep the same revision the same for 6 months or a year down the road? No, the point of selling products is to make them better but at the same time ensure they are backwards compatible with older versions of the same product.

 

I work professionally for a news media company as an Engineer and I have to say, whenever we work with either hardware OR software, we ALWAYS ensure our products are backwards compatible. This is standard practice.

 

Hope this helps!

 

RazDaz

[vermillionx73]

RazDaz,

 

Hi. I'm having the same problem. I bought the 2GB set of 8500 Dominator ver. 1.2 6 months ago, and just recently bought another pair which is ver 2.3 . I had no idea the memory wouldn't be recognized as SLI Memory together. I can't get them to work at 1066Mhz together.

 

Maybe we should start a thread for version swapping. :laughing:

 

vermillionx73

[Razzle-Dazzle]

If it will resolve our issue, then I am all for it.

[Wired]

In the DDR2 series, version # indicates the IC used, and memory controllers don't like dealing with different ICs.

 

Swapping / trading / selling is not allowed here FYI.

[RAM GUY]

And with 4 modules DDR800 would be suggested and SLI Ready Memory should be disabled.