Which ram for me

[o0OBruceLeeO0o]

I am almost done picking the parts for my new system but I am stuck on a ram. I will be OC'ing a xp1600 with a Epox 8k3a+ mobo. It says it supports up to pc2700. So i will not be able to use pc3200 right? Basically i want to get the best ram available so i wont have to upgrade that, and so it wont prevent overclocking the rest of my system. Any input would be appreciated.

[deeppow]

So i will not be able to use pc3200 right? Yes, you can.

In the poll (back one level), Critical is one of the top rated. It is also second on the http://www.resellerratings.com/'s top resellers. Both are high recommendations in my book.

I'm running Corsair (one of top rated in memory poll too) and am very happy with it.

You won't go wrong with either one. I would suggest CAS2 rated memory too. :cool:

[o0OBruceLeeO0o]

cool i was actualy looking on newegg at the mem in your sig

[mjones73]

When your board says it supportd PC2700 that means at stock speeds it can run the memory at 166Mhz. Once you start overclocking the FSB and memory bus speeds go up pushing it past 166 which allows you tot ake advantage of higher memory speeds.

[CaptBill]

Sure will and the XMS 3200 is even better

[ZeroKelvin]

Got a question...at the moment I have 1.5G of crucial 2100. I am thinking of upgrading to the xms3200. I cant really afford the 3 sticks of 512mb to keep my system like I have it.

So the question is .....if I only get 2 sticks of 512mb of the xms 3200, am I going to notice that much of a difference in performance? Or should I spend the money and get 3 sticks of 3200?

1.0GB vs 1.5GB?

Thanks for any help

[mdcomp]

Go with Corsair XMS Series ram. It is by far the best ram out there for o/c'ing.

[deeppow]

ZeroKelvin, You can always buy 2 now and another a little later.

In terms of performance, 1.5G is better than 1G but I can't tell you what difference in run-time you'll see. While you can most likely measure it with some tool, my guess is that you'll not notice it as you use your rig. It'll come down to how you use the machine, size of applications, etc. The thread on RAM size (http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93910) shows not many of us are at or above 1G.

[ZeroKelvin]

Thank you for the feed back....I think I will go with the 1G for now. As long as I get the FSB speeds I'll go down to 512mb if thats what is takes.

[mjones73]

Zero, what do you use your machine for that you need that much ram?

[ZeroKelvin]

I use it mostly for gaming.....but also for the creation of dvix and AVI movies. So on that note.......

Does more more help to improve 3dmark scores at all? I have seen other people people with very high 3dmark scores and they only have 512mb. Just wondering if that effects it at all?

[mjones73]

I don't think anything over 512 is gonna improve 3D Mark scores, it probably doesn't use all that memory. I'd see how much your using when your making Dvix and AVI movies too, I have never made them so I don't know if the programs need to make use of lots of ram or not.

What OS do you have by the way?

[ZeroKelvin]

Using Winxp Home. I think I'm just going to stick with the 1g instead of the 1.5. I seem to upgrade my system every 6 months anyway. No point in buying tons of 3200 when in 6 months it will be out of date anyway.

It seems like yesturday 2100 was the cool thing

Anyways thanks for help

[mjones73]

You should pop up the task manager next time your making a Divx or AVI movie and see how much ram it's using and go from there.

[ZeroKelvin]

Great news guys.....I just got Corsair pc3200 CAS2 Ram today....No more o/c problems....in fact i was able to get up to about (203 * 9). This RAM is rock solid. Still trying to play with the multiplier. My dual 172 pelts should be in this weekend so I can get this really cool.

One more question. Is it possible to destroy your video card if you raise your FSB to high? I'm not saying doing a voltage mod or anything...just getting the FSB to high.

Thanks for any feedback!