Total Newbie, Buying RAM :p

Hi guys, as the title suggests this is my first system I'll be throwing together.

Just got through getting a ton of help and information from the Cases/PSUs forum, so I figured I'd try my luck over here

I just needed a faster comp. Got a P4 2.4 (533fsb) on an Asus P4PE board. What RAM do you suggest? Nothing fancy or state of the art. Just stable...something that won't hold me back.

Looking through the forums it seems most people go for Corsair XMS, Micron/Crucial, or Samsung.

Finally, what should I look for. PC2700 for that type of setup, aye? Will CAS or CL ahve any real impact, or do you just suggest it if I have the money...

Thanks in advance for your time, information, and most of all patience.

Happy New Year

THE name in ram these days is Corsair. If you can afford it- google gear is selling cas2 pc3200 for $170- that is almost garunteed not to hold you back. Cas latency will probably not have a HUGE effect- but if you are gaming its definetly a plus. Its probably a good idea as the cas 2 is not that much more.

If you're currently runnning C2.5, switching to 2 will give you a noticable boost. I would highly suggest you go with Corsair if you're overclocking. Crucial is known for it's stability and reliability so if you're running stock, I'd suggest that.

~THT

Corsair #1

#2 below
http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=RAM

BTW Cas2.5 will run @ Cas2 if you bump um the ddr voltage to 1.85v in the bios +/- .5

DO I really need PC3200 (is it even supported in my system :/ )...thought the max was 2700?

I'm a gamer, but I'm looking more towards it being stable for me. Not really going to be into tweaking the memory in any way.

ITs all about front side bus. Runnig pc 3200 at 133 front side bus is no faster than pc2100. What pc 3200 allows you to do is get that memory bandwidth cranked up. Since you are running a spendium D), you cant unlock- so pc3200 may not be worth your while if you are not into the big time overclocks. However, for upgrade purposes it might be nice (since it will support procs with a fastwer fsb. Your mobo will run it- just maybe not at full speed (depending on the mobo). If your mobo can run asynch pc 3200 is probably a better deal.

PC 3200 won't help me as long as I keep FSB and such at default settings. SO will it just be running as PC 2700? It's not like it'd be any slower than a stick of 2700?

I just helped a buddy build a P-4 rig. He's using a 1.8A overclocked to 133 FSB (533 MHz) for a CPU clock speed of 2.4 gig. He refuses to go any faster than that and was running out of cash for RAM, so I had him buy a 512 meg stick of Samsung PC2700 DDR.

He runs the memory setting at the fastest setting on his motherboard which is 3:4 (or 1.33X faster than the FSB speed). His system is rock solid stable. This is only a tiny bit over what the PC2700 is rated for, but most of the name brand RAM will handle it no problem.

If you will never exceed 133 FSB, than PC2700 is all you'll need. BUT... you might wanna overclock in the future or upgrade or migrate the RAM to a new system. I always recommend getting the best RAM you can afford. Right now the best stuff is Corsair XMS PC3200 or PC3500.

Unless you plan to overclock a lot and need the massive bandwidth right now, don't buy it thinking your going to use it in the future. In the future we'll all be using DDR-II or QDR.

Hope that helps.

*edited out* found the answer

Thanks again guys and gals