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Using cheap no-brand, generic RAM can be a common source of system failure, so make sure that you purchase RAM manufactured by one of the major manufacturers.
Cheap, no-brand RAM can be especially prone to failure if the processor has been overclocked to a faster speed than its designated speed by increasing the system bus, from a default of, say, 100MHz to 112MHz, if the 112MHz setting is supported by the motherboard but probably not by the RAM. The cheap RAM will probably not be able to handle the increase and cause Fatal Exception and Page Fault failures.
The motherboard's newsgroup will also contain postings about troublesome brands, or anomalies, such as having 64MB of RAM working perfectly well and 128MB, as two by 64MB modules, refusing to work.
All of the PC's purchased during the last three years should be able to cache as much RAM as you are likely to install.
Also make sure that it is of the right type (EDO/SDRAM/, buffered/unbuffered, error-checking code (ECC) RAM, etc.), and check the motherboard's website for compatibility issues. The specifications will be listed in the motherboard's manual.
Windows 98 can itself use as much RAM as any current motherboard. However, installing more than 64MB of RAM on a system running the original (FAT 16) version of Windows 95 will slow the system down. Not being able to cache more than that amount of RAM means that it takes its time accessing it. Windows 95 versions OSR 2.0, 2.1, and 2.5 (FAT 32 versions) can all cache the same amount of RAM as Windows 98.