most ram like the 512 stick your friend found for 40 bucks, is either refurb or probably some no-name brand that will probably crap out within a year, srry m8 but I wouldnt buy cheep ram if I were you, if your gonna skimp on something to cut price do it for a case or something, but do yourself a favor and get some name-brand ram like.... Crucial, Mushkin, Kingston, GeIL, Corsair,OCZ, etc.... I just wouldnt buy cheap ram, it's not worth it most of the time..