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BRPEclipse

Registered
Joined
Sep 28, 2003
Location
Roselle/Chicago
Okay guys, my friend and I are building a very nice computer with the following specs. (He knows ALOT more about computers than I do), but I was curious on what kind of responses i'd get on here:

*Cooler Master-Wave Master all-aluminum case.
*ASUS nVidia nForce2-ST A7N8X Deluxe motherboard.
*AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (400 FSB) processor.
*Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 (160gig. 7200rpm 8mb cache; SATA 150Mb/sec) harddrive.
*ATI RADEON 9800 (128Mb) video card.

Haven't really chosen the following YET:
550watt power supply (not sure on brand)
Watercooling...KIT?/Custom?
CD-RW/DVD Players
Fans/Heatsinks

i'm curious, does the BRAND of memory really matter? I'm going all out on this computer within a budget *if that makes sense..and what i'm thinking is a generic brand that makes:

*(2) Sticks of PC3200 1gig. RAM.
*(2) Gold Heat-spreaders.


My main question is, for this very "complete" system we're making (AND overclocking 3.2ghz to hopefully 4.2ghz), does it matter if this 2gigs of RAM is a brand name or no. Thanks all..any input on my question or general would be VERY appreciated.

-BRPEclipse

:)
 
3.2ghz u wont get to put if u save yourself a few bucks get the 2500+ with a good stepping and overclock it to beyond 3200+ speeds :) also id go for a fortron 530watt psu miles better than any cheap 550watt psu :)

the Abit NF7-S is better for overclocking than the asus one and i understand its cheaper aswell, if u only want some cheap good ram go with Twinmos PC3200 james.miller has had it up to 23x fsb but hes got a NF7-S

for cooling go with a SLK-800 and a TT Smart Fan II unless u dont want noise from the fan, id also get a few case fans aswell

hope this helps u save abit off money :)
 
TwinMOS PC3200 uses Winbond CH-5 chips, but not always. It is VERY good value and does tight timings at high frequencies.
I don't know much about the chip codes, maybe someone else does :) Or alternatively if you are lucky you can find some that are advertised as CH-5.

2 Gigs of RAM is a bit excessive, most people say 1 is more than enough for normal (non-rendering/3d studio stuff) usage. You need to buy two sticks if you want the slightly greater bandwidth offered by dual channel though.

NOTE: AMD XP processors do not run at the "frequency" that the performance rating specifies. The AMD Barton 3000+ runs at 2.1GHz. The maximum overclock that people have been getting on barton chips on air is ~2.4Ghz, 2.6 on water. about XP3500+/3700+ PR.

Power supplies are very important - READ

The Asus is a great board, only slightly superseded by the Abit.
 
BRPEclipse said:
(AND overclocking 3.2ghz to hopefully 4.2ghz)

Yeah right... dream on.

Yes, memory type and brand does matter. Like was said, 2 gig is probably excessive, unless this is a server... but hey, it's your money. Personally, I'd rather buy 1 gig of high quality RAM that overclocks well than 2 gig of cheap generic RAM.

I'd go with the excellent Abit NF7-S mobo, proven performance and lots of features.

Check out the Antec True Power 550 watt power supply. I have one and it's been awesome.
 
Thanks for the responses guys..remember i'm a newbie still so you'll have to excuse some things.

How is the "Corsair" memory? Yeah I think I may stick with one stick of 1gig ram, as stated earlier..I dont think i'd be needing two really. Again, thanks for all that have posted, its appreciated.
 
Corsair XMS is good ram and it's popular if that means anything to you. People around here can be kind of sensitive to people recommending it all the time however, because there are other options that are just as good and cheaper - like the ones that were already suggested.
 
abit nf7 (the nf7-s is the mutt's nuts)
twinmos pc3200
barton 2500+

the makings of a great pc.

i personally dont like corsair because my twinmos is just as fast for half the price, and im not alone on this;)
 
If you go with the NF7-S, then get 2 sticks of 512 meg RAM so you can take advantage of the dual channel DDR.
 
Go with an Antec Power Supply. They are the absolute best. You can go with the true power 480(?) and be WAY better off than going with a cheap 550.

Also, your power supply is VERY important when O/Cing. It's just as important as cooling or memory.
 
You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the input. I have re-done my part list as follows.

Case: Cooler Master Wave Master
Processor: Athlon XP 3000+ "Barton"
Motherboard: ABIT NF7-S
Harddrive: Western Digital 200GB Serial ATA
Video Card: ATI RADEON 9800 (128Mb)
Power Supply: Antec true power 550watt
Memory: (2) sticks of TwinMos 512mb Ram

BUT, using a NF7-S mobo, and a amd 3000+ processor, wouldn't the (2) 512mb TwinMos PC3700 memory not work? or would it be fine being a (PC3700)?

btw, where can I find twinmos memory? I cannot find it on newegg or directron. THanks guys...
 
Processor: Athlon XP 3000+ "Barton"
get a 2500+ it will cost u 3 times less and overclock about the same :)

on the 2500+ if u change the fsb from 166 to 200 then u have a 3200+ :)
 
would stay away from generic ram at all costs...

i wouldn't really be concerned with running dual-channel on amd rig though, everything i hear is there is almost no performance gain... unlike intel platforms.
 
I agree with the 2500+ Barton, those seem to be great overclockers.

True, the AMD rigs don't benefit from dual channel DDR nearly as much as the Intel machines, but there still is a little performance to be gained by running two sticks. In some situations, you might get a little bit more overclock with one stick compared to two, but that's not a guaranteed thing, so I'd go with the extra memory bandwidth .

Twinmos RAM can usually be found at memoryX or maybe check out pricewatch.com for other places.
 
go with the 2500 barton i just got 1 and its running great at a 3200i just bumped the fsb to 400 and upped the voltage to 1.75 and no probs at all.
for memory i like crucial it's not real expensive and it runs dual channel really well
 
3700 ram will be fine. It will help you from reach your top overclock becuase it already runs faster.

People keep saying "buy a 2500". I owned one before my 3000 and used it on my NF7. It would NOT CLOCK TO 3200 speeds, period. I tried so many combos. It's the luck of the draw when it comes to overclocking. If you get a good chip, fine, if not, well then you got what you got.

I used by buddies 2500 and it held 3200 speeds fine. So I benched it. Then I put my 3000 in. I left it stock, and benched it. Believe it or not, the STOCK 3000 whooped the oc'd 2500.

Go with the 3000, you wont be sorry. There's NOTHING like having a chip that is natively a 400fsb!

BTW, check your PM's!
 
geil

geil ddr433@cas 2 ultra platnum, great ram, running one stick in my rig and it hits 450mhz like nothing...go with the 2500+ barton

the ram is also priced decently: 110 for a 512 stick...if you go dual channel, get 2 sticks of this with the money saved from the cpu
 
wow i have not been in the AMD sites in sometime but isnt the 3000+ this [ 2.1GHz ] cheapest i found it was at $262.50 you must really like AMD
AXDA3000 Athlon XP 3000+ BARTON 512K (((400FSB))) CACHE W/ QUANTISPEED ARCHITECHTURE AT 2.1GHz OEM
 
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