Best Memory for my setup

[Johnie]

First lets start off by saying that this will be my first time building a computer. I also plan on overclocking my system once it's built but not right away.

This is what I have decided so far...

Asus P4P800 Deluxe
Intel P4 2.4C
ATI 9600XT

I have been doing a little bit of reading on memory and wanted to go with some OCZ 3700 Gold Series but can't seem to find any. A board member suggested the next best thing would be Twinmos Twister PC3700. I am not necessarilly looking for just 3700's and my knowledge on memory isn't all that great. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

I would also like to know whats a good amount of power for setup.

If you have any suggestions at all please tell me.

Thanks

[M4D]

If you can i would recomend getting one of the newer stepping's
of P4 2.8 !!

I don't remeber the stepping but theyre great cpu's.
My friend has just bought one and an ABit IC7 and has his 2.8 @ 3.4 gig running super on stock cooling ..

Don't take my word for it just have a look about on the forums
and ask about a bit and they will probably tell you the same !!

[Speed_Mechanic2]

There's really two good memory options one can go with an Intel 2.4C.

One is to purchase high-speed, high-latency (high timings) DDR500 and run 1:1 FSB:MEM ratio with your processor. This allows for high bandwidth which is good for some applications, but performance is also hurt by high-latency used to run at such high speeds.

The other option is to purchase high-quality (low timings) DDR400 (preferably some using Winbond's BH-5 chips), and using the 5:4 FSB:MEM ratio (which Intel implemented quite efficiently in it's 865/875 chipsets). This is a lower-cost option compared to high-latency DDR500 and offers increased performance in many real-world benchmarks as well as good bandwidth.

If you go with the first option then you would be good to go with some OCZ PC-4000 Gold or OCZ PC-4200, or pretty much anything that uses Hynix "BT" D43 chips.

If you go with the latter option then Mushkin Black Level 2 memory is one of the best buys. (Mushkin PC-3200 is priced below, but if you want PC-3500 Black Level 2 is just as good)
2x256MB PC-3200 - $135 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-287&refer=0vercl0ckers) - www.NewEgg.com *
2x512MB PC-3200 - $256 (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=20-146-284&refer=0vercl0ckers) - www.NewEgg.com *

[Johnie]

hm...is the 2.8c really worth the extra money? Theres like a $40-$50 price difference.

Also is there a big difference with PC-3200 and PC-3500 or PC-3700

[Speed_Mechanic2]

Originally posted by Johnie
hm...is the 2.8c really worth the extra money? Theres like a $40-$50 price difference.
That's a bit of a big question. The 2.4C and 2.8C come with Intel's M0 stepping (like that used on P4 3.2 EE), but newer D1 P4C's arguably have just as much overclocking potential.

The main differance is in the multiplier. This has a great affect on how your memory will be run. A low multiplier requires running either very-high speed (DDR550+) high-latency memory or low-latency memory using the 5:4 FSB:MEM ratio. Depending on your cooling and how far you want to overclock, a 2.6C may be a better choice over the 2.4C. But this is complicated a bit by the issue of M0 steppings (2.4C) versus D1 steppings (2.6C). A 13X multiplier (2.6C - 200x13=2600) allows running the memory between 210MHz and 230MHz (which is about where most BH-5 memory goes at with 2.9V+ and 2-2-2 timings) while having a overall clock of 3.4-3.7GHz (depending on CPU cooling, of course).

A high multiplier makes it more complicated to run a 5:4 FSB:MEM ratio and maintain high memory speeds (you would need very good cooling to run 260+ FSB on 2.8C and higher). But a higher multiplier also gives you the potential to run 1:1 FSB:MEM ratio while keeping your memory at low-latency. But the multiplier on a 2.8C is really too low to be able to run the memory 1:1 w/ the processor at it's FSB limit (240MHz++). Running memory 1:1 with low-latency memory is the ideal situation to be at, but it's not worth running your processor at less then it's capable speeds.

Originally posted by Johnie
Also is there a big difference with PC-3200 and PC-3500 or PC-3700
It all depends on what memory chips are used. Mushkin Black Level 2 PC-3200 and PC-3500 use the same memory chips - Winbond BH-5. Most PC-3700 use either Hynix D43 chips, or something inferior.

[coolgeek]

go with OCZ PC4200 or HardCore Cooling's memory

[flapperhead]

most of the 2.4c d1 steppings run on average around 3.2-3.4, which would put your fsb around the hi 260's to the mid 280's. based on my experience and others in this group the newer 2.4c mo's are achieving 3.4 to 3.6+ with a fsb around mid 280's to over 300+.(god i wish mine would run that hi)so what ram to get is really a function of what ratio u want to run 1-1 or 5/4 and total fsb speed capability of your cpu..generaly speaking if u want to run 1-1 there is pc4000 capable of achieving 275-280(at 2.8+ voltages) at a reasonable price compared to several months ago. but it is usually more expensive than the low latency pc3200-3500..if you have a hot cpu capable of a 300 fsb+ then you really have no choice but to go with a 5/4 ratio and correcponding pc3500-3700. by far the majority of 2.4c owners go with the 5/4 ratio no matter what fsb speed because its the best price performance ratio..i myself am one of the few who runs 1-1. i have a rare case by which my pc4000 actually outperforms my 2.4c. so naturally i run it 1-1

[Johnie]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I'm kind of a hands on learner so I guess when I get my stuff together this will all start making more sense.

So basically I need to test my computer before I know what I need to get?

Mushkin PC-3200 Level II (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-284&depa=1) Is that dual channel?

[Speed_Mechanic2]

Originally posted by Johnie
Thanks for all the great advice guys. I'm kind of a hands on learner so I guess when I get my stuff together this will all start making more sense.

So basically I need to test my computer before I know what I need to get?

Mushkin PC-3200 Level II (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-284&depa=1) Is that dual channel?

There's no such thing as specific dual-channel memory. All DDR memory will operate in dual-channel as long as there's no compatibility issue (which there shouldn't). So purchasing two sticks (2 x 512MB - 1GB dual-channel for $256) of that memory is just about the best buy there is now.

It's hard to know what you want to get without an idea of what you want to do. But then it's hard to have an idea of what you can do without knowing what you got. :) So there's a bit of a catch-22 there. Besides deciding between a 2.4C (M0) and a 2.6C (D1), your set-up has pretty good potential as you have already listed it.

[Johnie]

I'm deciding between a 2.4C and a 2.8C.

Do you think a 350w power supply will be sufficient if I'm not doing any overclocking(temporary).

[Speed_Mechanic2]

Depends on who makes the 350W PSU. Though the Intel P4's are quite the 12V hogs and may require a beefier PSU once you start overclocking high enough.