2 gigs of slow RAM or 1 gig of fast?

I'm trying to pick a RAM upgrade for the system (in my sig) and am not sure which way to go. I'll either get 2X1Gb sticks of some type of "value" ram, or else get 2X512 of some faster low latency sticks? I'm new to the world of A64, but I know that the memory doesn't really need to be as fast since the divider doesn't hurt performance like it did on the AXP. So which would be a better way to go?

Hello Project,

The answer to your question would be based on your application and your budget. This choice, among other things, greatly depends on the motherboard. Let us be clear with a few things regarding the A64. First, RAW memory clock always increaeses performance, however in the race between tight timings and raw frequency, sucka and others have clearly shown that 300MHz (2.5-3-3-x) > 260MHz (2-2-2-x). This us brings us to the question if your board is capable of doing high HTT.

I don't know much about your board, but since its not very popular, I'd say NO.
Based on this, one could say that tight timings would be the best option for you. Fine, we have tight timings and at what HTT? If you are limited to < 250MHz, I would pick a 2Gb kit and clock it to the max. Crucial seem to have the best 2Gb kits thus far. Other choices could be OCZ and Mushkin. Note that these modules are a bit pricey. Also, motherboard compatibility needs to be looked at. <I have no data about this>

If price is a pinch and you board supports high voltages, get anything with the BH die i.e OCZ VX, Patriot xtreme or Mushkin redlines.
In the event of you chossing 512 X2 Mb, I don't think TCCD would be the best choice (although patriot xblk pc3200 is very cheap these days).

Guten Tag!



S-N

yah if ur not gonna be spending much i think ud benefit from the 2 gigs of slower ram

OCing, then go for the better 2x512MB one.

Gaming/Multitasking, then go for 2x1GB value ram.

Pratical use = 2x1GB
Hobby use = 2x512MB

Yeah I'm excpecting a mild OC from this mobo, from what I've heard it should hit 230-250 just fine but not much more than that. Also the NF3 chipset doesn't support dual channel, so I'm free to buy single sticks instead of sets. Maybe I'll get a stick of 1 gig for now, and then grab another one when possible. Thanks for all the suggestions.