DDR2 2x2Gb 1066 (Corsair vs. OCZ vs. Patriot)

[Micmal]

I need suggestions on RAM. I have these three brands to choose from and exactly 10 days to do it. They all have rebates for the month of June (Canadian at least) and are available locally for pick up. The prices are $135, $135, and $100 respectively.

The Corsair comes with the triple fan mount thing (Dominator's), the OCZ's are the Reapers with the heat pipe, and the Patriot the Viper series, but is less $$ than the others.

I don't know if I like the corsair airflow bracket (the RAM's going in a silent PC).

Note: I only need 500FSB on these sticks (no OCing the RAM here), will not be benching these (much) and really only need stability.

[jaxstraww]

If you don't like the airflow bracket don't use the fans. I have the Corsair but I'm sure either model will be fine.

[Rich'[ard]]

if you need 500FSB, why not try the OCZ Reaper X 8000? has even cooler cooling system then the Reaper, and pretty sure they do an exceptional job at cooling. just look at those beasts!

$122 at Newegg, from my last visit to that site.

[BeHappy]

Get the G Skill 1066. Mine has run fine all the way up to 1100 with the recommended 2.1v.

[siresword]

hey guys - question on ram
trying to hit 4.0 with an e8400 and (in the works) an evga 750i ftw

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231184 gskill 1066 <-- this one has kewler heatsinks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 more gskill 1066
both are @ $104 right now on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146785 $124 (without 25 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298 $109 (without 15 rebate)

honestly in terms of cost all of these kits are very similar; what do you guys think about performance from the different vendors? since i can't tell what chips they actually come with i'm really not sure how to choose between them.

questions:
1. do those .. extra heatsink things come in handy? (i mean the ocz reapers and all the ones that have an extra .. heatsink that's suspended above the rest of the dimm)
2. most of them say that their default voltage is 2.0-2.1v - does that leave any room for overclocking? will someone need that kind of headroom and have to increase the voltage to get good speeds?
3. am i ridiculous and all of this is a waste of money? should i just buy ddr2 800?

thanks for all your help :p

[Micmal]

You know honestly, in the real world, it doesn't matter. All will be equal (well assuming you push for only 533 and not above fsb) and all will 'feel' the same. Good luck with the 4Ghz on an E8400, I just had a go at it, and I can only get 3.8 @1.36. 4@1.42+. My chip is bad, newer ones will probably be worse take my advice, get a used, good batch E8400, if you can.

Back to the ram, I'd go with smaller heatsink ram that supports 4 sticks, so in the future, I could upgrade to 8Gb ;), but that's just me.

[siresword]

yeah i understand about it feeling the same, it'd only be for pride :P

as for the ram, i don't think i'd ever need 8 gigs x_x, i don't need four but ram is so cheap so why not...? either way, nobody has a preference of one over the other? and concerning the voltages, if your ram needs 2.1v to run @ stock, does that lower your oc headroom?