With motherboards, there is a myriad of features and contraptions and form factors from brand to brand and model to model, all of which serve to differentiate one motherboard to another. What do we get with memory? A stick of PCB with silicon warts installed on it.

Regardless, it is true that feature sets for memory is still very expansive; let’s take a peek at the specs of the Team Elite 800Mhz 2GB Matched Pair Memory:

Definitely a mouthful. But if the average user were to pick only three specs needed to buy a stick or two of memory, they’d simply be Capacity, Speed and Technology. That’s all that’s actually needed if you’re an average user.

Blessed be the Filipino geek though, a smaller and smaller number of users can be termed average. The specifications listed above are becoming more important for the user who is starting to realize that a large percentage of usable speed from their computer can be traced to the memory, and the specs that come with it. Team Group is intent on capitalizing on this new awareness of the importance of memory performance.

Team Group is gaining a reputation for affordable memory that’s torture tested, compatibility tested, and performance tested more than normal, high-end memory. Team intends to take advantage of the fact that while it is not the memory brand synonymous to all-out performance, it is positioning itself as “beginner’s overclocking memory”, and backs this claim with full machine and hand testing for compliance to stringent quality requirements.

Aside from the three specs listed above, which is required information for you to be sure of its compatibility to your board, a quick explanation of the remaining specs is in order.

-“Standard” shows the theoretical maximum throughput speed in Gigabytes / sec – think of the volume of water a hose is capable of carrying per second. This number is usually interchanged in usage with the Memory Speed – in this case, 800Mhz.

-“Kit” in this case simply states whether the retail package consists of one stick, or two in a matched pair.

-“CAS Latency” and “Memory Timings” refer to the transfer of data between the registers within a memory stick – the lower the numbers, the better performance, within certain conditions. These conditions include Memory Speed – since Latency is inversely proportional to the Mhz rating a piece of memory can achieve.

-“Voltage” means what it usually means – this is the amount of “juice” that it consumes during operation. It is an important consideration during overclocking – since if it is able to reach high non-standard speeds during overclocking, more voltage will be necessary.

-“Error Checking” simply denotes its usage platform – whether its for servers (Error checking capable) or for regular computers (non-Error checking capable). Memory makers are a funny bunch of guys.

-“Features” in this case lists down additional features that differentiate the product from the run-of-the-mill memory modules.

-“Registered” is in the same vein as Error checking – Buffered for servers, Unbuffered for regular computers.

-“Configuration” describes the layout of the silicon chips on the PCB – is it double-sided memory, single, 4 chips, 8 chips or 16? This is sometimes important for certain older motherboards that’s only compatible with certain configurations.

-Packaging and Warranty are not technical details, and will not be explained. (Although the shiny, shiny silver box it came in caught my eye.)

Now if that list didn’t do you in, I congratulate you on having monk-like powers of concentration. Or maybe there’s simply more people who’s becoming interested in the dry numbers of a memory stick – simply because it will help them make a more informed decision when buying, and will tell them whether what they’re buying will help maximize their computer’s potential.

If you’re one of those people, be on the lookout for Team Group, because you’re the one in their sights – someone who wants an affordable, performance oriented memory kit who doesn’t just look at three specifications in its list.