adding RAM to online-purchased PC

[j1m.4rn0]

I'm ordering a customized PC to bring to college. So far looked like HP
was the best deal for my money, and then... their sales ended. The
difference isn't too great in the price, but I'm going to end up
purchasing additional RAM elsewhere, and maybe even a second hard
drive.
My main concern was with the RAM - the stuff included in the package is
DDR2 sdram at 400mHz (PC 3200). This is the n00b talking here: do I
need to purchase the same exact kind? or can i use a different
(faster?) speed?


or even better: is there any other brand I could purchase a computer
from for a better deal? (i don't have the means or the time to figure
out how to put together an entire PC from scratch...)
my specs would be as follows..
-512mb ram (1gb ideally)
-pentium 4 (preferably not below 3gHz)
-80gb HD (160gb would be better)
-DVD-ROM + CD-RW (combo or two separate drives... whatever's cheaper)
-ethernet adapter -P)

i don't need any extras like antivirus/security suites, firewall,
etc... i can get them for free from the school.

 

[dawg]

Better to stay with the same brand. You didn't mention if the system is dual
channel or not. If so,it is definitely best to buy an identical ram module
for dual channel to work without problems.

 

[Ruel Smith]

My main concern was with the RAM - the stuff included in the package is

DDR2 sdram at 400mHz (PC 3200). This is the n00b talking here: do I
need to purchase the same exact kind? or can i use a different
(faster?) speed?


or even better: is there any other brand I could purchase a computer
from for a better deal?

I've seen strange things happen to people that have mixed RAM. I'd say stay
with the same brand, and speed as best as possible. I've mixed brands before
with no problem, but I would avoid mixing speeds. Besides, if your computer
comes with DDR2 400, that's the slowest I'd put in there and chances are,
anything faster is also more expensive. However, stay with a good quality
brand like Kingston, Crucial, Corsair... I personally prefer Corsair.