I want some new ram from Newegg.

What would be the best ram for the money from my favorite online store? My goal is to get my system up near 250MHz on the fsb, and I'd like to spend the least amount of money (pretty much what everyone wants).... I'll only use 512mb sticks and I'll be using them in dual mode. Right now my ram of choice is the pqi pc3700 dual set which goes for $212.00. Sure I'd like to get lower timings but that isn't the most important thing to me. So let's hear your ideas.... admittedly I've kinda neglected my system in regards to ram and I'm thinking it's time to fix that. The ram I get will be replacing my simpletech pc3500 ram which for lack of a better words is "average at best." Is there any pc3200 ram out there that will get me to my goal? Keep in mind my goal is to spend right around $200-230 range. O.k. guys and gals.... let's hear it. And btw this is for one of my AMD based NF7 v2.0 systems. Thanks for your advice in advance.

The RaT

hang in there for a couple days..guys are gonna be trying out the 245.00 pqi, 2.2.2.5 pc3200-(reefa man). they are built with the amazing samsung tccd chips.. these chips have been tested on various brands of memory from the ocz platinum rev2 to the adata pc566 with amazing results.

flapperhead said:

hang in there for a couple days..guys are gonna be trying out the 245.00 pqi, 2.2.2.5 pc3200-(reefa man). they are built with the amazing samsung tccd chips.. these chips have been tested on various brands of memory from the ocz platinum rev2 to the adata pc566 with amazing results.

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Yeah I read a few of those posts..... so you're pretty excited about this ram huh? Well, from what I've read over the last few days you seem to be an authority on ram so I'll chill a little bit before I do anything. While I'm waiting I'll gather as much info as I can. Any other suggestions people?

well like mrspec says.. u have to be careful cause alot of the ram up for review gets cherry picked..that was learned the hard way, with the bt pc3700 with micron chips. we expected them to run well. almost all the guys that bought them couldnt get them to run as advertized. on amd or intel.. so now i only trust a few memory companies..(ocz is one). with most other companies u the only way to know for sure is
someone here has bought them and recomends them..

flapperhead said:

well like mrspec says.. u have to be careful cause alot of the ram up for review gets cherry picked..that was learned the hard way, with the bt pc3700 with micron chips. we expected them to run well. almost all the guys that bought them couldnt get them to run as advertized. on amd or intel.. so now i only trust a few memory companies..(ocz is one). with most other companies u the only way to know for sure is
someone here has bought them and recomends them..

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exactly.... and since I know some real geeks like myself hang out here in the forums I'm certain someone will have some good suggestions based on experience. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the pqi stuff though.

HousERaT said:

exactly.... and since I know some real geeks like myself hang out here in the forums I'm certain someone will have some good suggestions based on experience. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the pqi stuff though.

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if u have the cash i would immediatly recomend ocz..(platunum rev3) they dont bs or fudge their numbers.. plus seanomatic takes great care of all his customers. otherwise i guess we will have to see how reefa does with his pqi 2.2.2.5. i also TRUST his word without reservation..

how well does the ocz platunum rev3 run in a amd based system? I want something that runs well in an NF7.

HousERaT said:

how well does the ocz platunum rev3 run in a amd based system? I want something that runs well in an NF7.

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i would have to say it would run pretty good cause those chipsets like tight timings.. you know, i made a mistake its the rev2 not the rev3.. oops

Caught yourself just in time, 'cause I was gonna point out that it was Rev 2.

The only issue that I can see with this ram and the NF7 is the typical 512MB module thing that haunts the nForce2 chipset, not just the NF7. That is part of the reason that I ordered the 2x256 modules from PQI, instead of the 512MB sticks (OK, that and about $115 other reasons). Based on how this chipset has been performing in all of the implementations that I have read about so far, it is hard to believe that it won't work well in this PQI ram, as well. Think about this, it has been used not only on a bunch of "fast as all getout" DDR400, but on the DDR566 from Adata, as well. That is a 166 DDR / 83MHz range for this ram, and that DDR566 may not be its limit, if you believe DDR 700 screenshots. It is rated at 4ns by Samsung, so in "reality", the overclock is 33MHz, not 83MHz, but its range is impressive. All early indications are that someday it will truly be ranked right on up there with the best of the "universal" rams.

To me it is really odd that only Samsung, the IC's manufacturer, is touting this as DDR500, where its performance is clearly not so superior to the likes of Hynix's BT/CT-D43 & D5 chips. It is down at the DDR3200 range where this chipset really shines.

flapper, you don't think that this chip would run PC2700 at 1-1-1-4, do you?

so, what are the projections of some real life benchmarking with this new ram? I'm not saying I need 270Mhz, I'd be happy with something around 240..... I just don't want to pay a lot for it, that's why I was looking at the pqi pc3700. If you guys think the 2-2-2-5 will be so superior I don't mind waiting a few days to see what happens when the dust clears. I guess some people (maybe even yourself) already have it on order?

Reefa_Madness said:

Caught yourself just in time, 'cause I was gonna point out that it was Rev 2.

The only issue that I can see with this ram and the NF7 is the typical 512MB module thing that haunts the nForce2 chipset, not just the NF7. That is part of the reason that I ordered the 2x256 modules from PQI, instead of the 512MB sticks (OK, that and about $115 other reasons). Based on how this chipset has been performing in all of the implementations that I have read about so far, it is hard to believe that it won't work well in this PQI ram, as well. Think about this, it has been used not only on a bunch of "fast as all getout" DDR400, but on the DDR566 from Adata, as well. That is a 166 DDR / 83MHz range for this ram, and that DDR566 may not be its limit, if you believe DDR 700 screenshots. It is rated at 4ns by Samsung, so in "reality", the overclock is 33MHz, not 83MHz, but its range is impressive. All early indications are that someday it will truly be ranked right on up there with the best of the "universal" rams.

To me it is really odd that only Samsung, the IC's manufacturer, is touting this as DDR500, where its performance is clearly not so superior to the likes of Hynix's BT/CT-D43 & D5 chips. It is down at the DDR3200 range where this chipset really shines.

flapper, you don't think that this chip would run PC2700 at 1-1-1-4, do you?

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where all all the 1-1-1- timings?? are they in the a64 platform?? ive never seen them b4..

I placed an order for 2x256 sticks, which I plan on testing on both an NF7, with a XP 2500 mobile, plus on an Epox 875 board, using a 2.6C P4. I will be comparing it to 2x256 KHX PC3200 with bh-5. That should provide a pretty good idea of what to expect from the ram across both platforms and without concern for cpu limiting the overclock.

Unfortunately for you, due to work and family constraints, it will probably take me longer to complete this than you appear willing to wait. If I was in your shoes, I would probably take my chances with it. I base that on what I stated above, which is that every implementation of this chip has resulted in very good performing ram. All of the test results for ram with this chipset is closely bunched together when you look at the DDR400-DDR466 range, and on up to DDR500 (your outside range) it is still close. I believe that this would be an excellent choice for the NF7. If you are willing to up your budget to the $285-$335 range, you can get ram from Corsair, Kingston and OCZ that will be more of a known quantity only because it has already been subjected to other individual and commercial reviews. With your budget being closer to $230, I would have to think that the $245 PQI would be a tempting alternative.

One word of caution...I was wrong as could be with the Buffalo Tech PC3700 with Micron chips. The element of risk with untested ram cannot be totally ignored.

flapperhead said:

where all all the 1-1-1- timings?? are they in the a64 platform?? ive never seen them b4..

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flapper,

Just messing around.

Last night I attempted humor after a long day and it didn't go well, This morning I try again, and it doesn't go well.

Darn good thing I make my living doing accounting work, huh?

Reefa_Madness said:

flapper,

Just messing around.

Last night I attempted humor after a long day and it didn't go well, This morning I try again, and it doesn't go well.

Darn good thing I make my living doing accounting work, huh?

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LOL, you got me there.... actully to be honest, youve passed me up in knowledge.. so i figured you found some obscure chipset that will run these timings..

May want to check out the Kingmax Hardcore DDR500, you can get 2 x 512MB (not a kit, but it works in DC) for $200.

flapperhead said:

LOL, you got me there.... actully to be honest, youve passed me up in knowledge.

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flapper, not hardly and not even in your sleep.

Gregory_WE said:

May want to check out the Kingmax Hardcore DDR500, you can get 2 x 512MB (not a kit, but it works in DC) for $200.

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Have you or do you know anyone that has used it in XP rigs. I've read a little bit on it and it seems to perform well with Intel. I see that you have it on your A64 so at least you are experienced with it. What timings are you using and is this the TBGA version or the regular styled ICs?

Gregory_WE said:

May want to check out the Kingmax Hardcore DDR500, you can get 2 x 512MB (not a kit, but it works in DC) for $200.

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I won't buy any more kingmax products.... bought two sticks of pc3500 and can't get them to run in dual mode for anything.... my kingmax pc3200 works great but I can only get them up to about 218.

They are the TSOP's (non-TBGA).

Here's my OC results:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=3009383

That's not maxing out the RAM either, my board has no AGP/PCI locks so it's difficult for me to do so. Plus, I'm running 1T rather than 2T.

Good news people.... I just had the strangest thing happen to me yesterday. Since I first purchased my simpletech ram I was stuck at 223Mhz. No matter what timings or voltage I used I would always get errors once I got above 223 (3-3-3-11). Well in an act of desperation I switched the two sticks around in the slots they were in (2 & 3) and now all of a sudden the ram is accepting new timings and new clock speeds. Let me make this clear.... I took the stick from slot 3 and put it in slot 2 and vice versa. I'm happy to say I just completed ten hours of prime95 at 238MHz (3-4-4-8). I actually memtested the ram in this new configuration as high as 242 stable with the same timings (243 & over causes major errors). Guess this simpletech ram isn't so bad after all.... it's just rather picky which slots you put each stick in.

Now that I've discovered that such a freaky thing exists, can anyone explain why it would make a difference which slot a particular stick of ram is placed in? I mean this is a dual set of ram.... I would think they would function the same if they were switched in the same slots...... So for Reefa & flapperhead , good luck & take your time in testing your new find... I don't have to be in any hurry now.....