What memory to get?

Ok...I currently have a stick of 512 Mushkin PC3500 LVL2 in my AMD/Abit setup....The problem is...I can't find anymore sticks of this stuff without going to ebay and paying $200+ for another stick...used as well....so that isn't floating my boat at the moment...

So I ask of you this...

What is the best memory out there...I run my Mushy at 2-2-2-5 @ 215 without really turning the juice up on the vdimm...but I know the timings will sacrifice if I want a higher FSB...

I'd like to do 2.5-2.6ghz with some pretty good timings (on a AMD 2800+ atm)...I was looking into OCZ as I can really pump the stuff with some voltage...and it'll work well with an A64 system in the very near future...

I was looking into the following dual channel kits of OCZ:

OCZ PC3700 Gold Edition Rev3
OCZ PC4000 Gold Edition Rev2
OCZ PC3500/3700 EB
OCZ PC4200 EL

With all these kits I can still run CAS 2.5 and some decent 2.5-4-4 settings as well....I'd like to maximize some bandwidth and clock speed..without ruining my timings too slow...

Any ideas? I can spend 300ISH or so...

The best? Corsair, Kingston, and Geil in my oppinion. The best for a good price? Geil and Mushkin. If you have $300 to spend and want to put it all into memory, I'd recommend 2x 512MB Corsair XMS PC-3200 so you can run them in dual channel. This will be a bit over $300 but if you're looking to maximize your performance, you won't find parts very cheap. If that's too expensive you can try this. Hope some of that was helpful.

sorry to burst your bubble, but I do not think 2800+'s will reach 2.6 on air....i might be wrong but this is from research.

I had the same issue trying to find some good memory to get, and good for overclocking as well. I decided to go with Geil Golden Dragon Dual Channel 1gig (2 x 512) PC3200. This memory is great, It allowed me to overclock to 250mHz fsb, with just 2.8v on vdimm.

There a little expensive, but in my opinion, well worth it. Here is a link to them.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-603&depa=1

100mbHD said:

sorry to burst your bubble, but I do not think 2800+'s will reach 2.6 on air....i might be wrong but this is from research.

Click to expand...

I'm sure it can be done. I have a friend who is running his 2500+ @ 2.5 with air cooling. Maybe a bit risky.. But it can be done.

no no, thats my point, its a general rule, lower clocked processors usually have a better chance of achieving a higher clock speed, sure, 2.5 on a 2500+ is good but very possible. I can easily hit 2.6 on my 2600+ but 2.5 on a 2800+ is hard, and on top of it, it is not a mobile, mobiles tend to run cooler and require less power.

Ok, I got you now. I'm looking into getting an Athlon XP-M 2600+ myself. How do they run with the NF7?

they run great, the NF7 series is one of the best mobos for OCing XP's in my opinion. But i believe I speak for many people as well. If you do not want this board. An alternative can be a DFI Ultra Infinity, also a great board. That and the NF7-S are basically rivals, heh.

100mbHD said:

sorry to burst your bubble, but I do not think 2800+'s will reach 2.6 on air....i might be wrong but this is from research.

Click to expand...

I'm on dtek water....

I'm looking for nearly the best...and it has to be able to hit the high FSB's....I'm skeptical about 3200 in my system as of now....

Yes..I'll be boosting these with the ddr booster...but I need something already a proven source for 250ish FSB...

that will help a bit, there might be a chance u can reach your goal, or something close to it.