Upgrading a server’s installed memory capacity is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve workload performance. But while memory is an easy upgrade, comparing modules to find the best one for your business is often difficult. If you know the right questions to ask when looking for server memory, you will find compatible parts.

Modules look similar on spec charts, but can have major differences in quality and compatibility. Here are three helpful questions to ask when comparing brands of server memory.

Get another productivity boost by replacing server hard drives with solid state drives. Read more about SSDs and business. 

There are only three major memory (DRAM) component manufacturers: Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix. This matters because third-party brands often claim to be component manufacturers, when they’re actually assemblers who use different components from different suppliers to piece together server modules. Server manufacturers also don’t make their own memory, they make servers. When you see a server manufacturer’s label on a server module, it doesn’t mean that manufacturer made it. It just means the module was made elsewhere and rebranded. When server modules aren’t manufactured start to finish, quality and reliability aren’t as high, opening the door to higher failure rates. And the cost of downtime is staggering compared to the cost of quality memory. Optimal quality and reliability is achieved when everything from select silicon to the finished module is tested, monitored throughout production, and tested again before it leaves the fab’s doors. As a brand of Micron, that’s how Crucial® server memory is manufactured.

Compatibility is the first and most important question when it comes to server memory. But there are two equally important follow-up questions. Of all the modules that are compatible with your server and OEM warranty, which ones are the most affordable? And how are they manufactured?

Every brand of memory should have modules that are compatible with your servers. What you’re looking for is the best blend of compatibility, price, and reliability to stretch your budget as far as it will go. Crucial server memory is not only an affordable option, but it’s compatible with servers and server warranties.¹

The top two small-business server manufacturers, HP® and Dell®, are fully compatible with Crucial memory. The HP ProLiant® series and the Dell PowerEdge® series are popular small-business servers that have easily-accessible memory upgrades with Crucial.²

This question is important because it addresses a brand’s level of technical competency. Server memory that’s built to last is built on lasting industry relationships and collaboration over multiple product cycles and levels of memory technology. You want server memory that’s developed in consultation with leading processor, platform, and motherboard manufacturers, which ensures the highest possible level of performance and compatibility. As a brand of Micron, that’s how Crucial server memory is developed and manufactured – with the input of industry leaders.

When comparing server memory, a module’s price and specs are obvious, but the attributes that really matter – quality and reliability – are often buried beneath the surface. When making an business investment, dig deeper and ask the tough questions. Don’t pay more for a lower level of quality and reliability. Your memory should be built for the rigors of modern business – make sure it’s up to the task. 

To learn more about server memory, read here.