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Will adding more RAM decrease my overclock?

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voodoomelon

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2001
Location
Dundalk, Ireland
Hi folks.

I have 2x sticks of Samsung 512mb PC2700 CL2.5 RAM in my machine, and am thinking of adding another 2 identical chips to bring it up to 2GB. (I can get them seriously cheap.)

Is it true that having more than 2 identical RAM chips reduces your overclock?

I am about to get a 3.06Ghz Northwood CPU off eBay and go water cooling for silence, and don't want to reduce my chances of getting a good overclock.

What do ya's think?
Thanks in advance.

:)
 
Ah, I see.
So it's more the fact that you have a greater chance of getting a bad stick if you have more in your machine.

Well, in your opinion, would it effectively make any difference, considering the average performance of a RAM module?

:)
 
up the speed of the ram ie get some pc3200, that will help you overclock by allowing you to get a higher FSB stable or if you want to stay with pc2700 get 2 sticks of 1gb
 
Well, seeing as I already have 2x 512s, I don't really want to buy a 1gb stick to replace them, aswell as another 1gb stick.

Anyways, the motherboard only supports up to PC2100, so I have that extra headroom with the PC2700. Also, like I said I can only get 2 512 chips for real cheap, not 1gb sticks.

:)
 
voodoomelon said:
Ah, I see.
So it's more the fact that you have a greater chance of getting a bad stick if you have more in your machine.

Well, in your opinion, would it effectively make any difference, considering the average performance of a RAM module?

:)
It might make a little difference, especially if your CPU overclock is limited by your RAM frequency. However, if you're running out of RAM and using the pagefile now, you'll get much better performance from the "slower" configuration that doesn't have to wait for the disk.
 
Well, it's not really the fact that i'm running out of RAM, I just can't pass up on a real good deal :D .

I can get 1gb or my RAM for about $30-$40 (used), and was thinking about sticking it in, as new games like BF2 actually can make use of more than 1GB, and extra RAM is always beneficial for hosting games at LANs etc.

Well, I suppose the best thing to do would be to get the RAM and test before and after adding it in...

;)
 
voodoomelon said:
Ah, I see.
So it's more the fact that you have a greater chance of getting a bad stick if you have more in your machine.

Well, in your opinion, would it effectively make any difference, considering the average performance of a RAM module?

:)


You can test out each stick to see which is the worst and that should be your ceiling. I'm like you and will be running 4 sticks totaling 2gigs. What I did was seek out the fastest 4 sticks I could get my hands on. Most people play it safe and try to buy 1 gig sticks and just have 2. Downside is 1gig sticks of high performance memory like Crucial Ballistics don't come cheap.

Here's two sticks I recently snagged from the Classified section, now I am getting a matching set from Mushkin with a little bit of luck.

XXXX said:
This is a hard one for me. I got these "hand-picked" Mushkin PC3200 L2V2 TCCD sticks from Mushkin on an RMA on the same day (last Thursday) my 2x1GB Crucial Ballistics arrived. My long-term committment is the Crucials, but if it weren't I'd keep these Mushkins for myself. If you've priced the Crucials, you'd understand the need to offset their cost. These Mushkins pass Prime95 Torture Blend at the following speeds/timings on my rig (see signature):

210 Mhz 2-2-2-6-1T
275 Mhz 2.5-3-3-7-1T
300 Mhz 2.5-4-3-7-1T

All at 2.67 Vdimm!!! No need to cremate them. No need for extra cooling fans hung around them. Just a well ventilated case. They run skin temperature or slightly cooler. I did not try tweaking the myriad of memory parameters in my bios to get them further as I was hot to get the Crucials in and play with them.

The closest thing to them I've seen advertised is the new OCZ Platinum Elites for $292.83 from NewEgg

They are 4 days old as I write this. Warranty seals are undisturbed. They have not been run higher than 2.67 Vdimm.

I want to get $200 out of them. With everyones cut and USPS Insured Priority Mail, shipped to the lower 48 states. I prefer not to ship them outside North America. Those who know me, know I'm a straight shooter. No B.S., No Epenis, etc. For those who don't know me, here's my Heatware link.

Lets see how long these last :)

xxxx
 
Ah, well good luck with the 2 sticks :thup:.

I myself decided against the 2 additional sticks, too risky, plus the fact that I don't really need them. And any money spent on something I don't need is money wasted.

I just ordered my watercooling setup, so I think it's money well saved. Thanks for the tips anywho, I will note for future reference.

:)
 
voodoomelon said:
Ah, well good luck with the 2 sticks :thup:.

I myself decided against the 2 additional sticks, too risky, plus the fact that I don't really need them. And any money spent on something I don't need is money wasted.

I just ordered my watercooling setup, so I think it's money well saved. Thanks for the tips anywho, I will note for future reference.

:)

I play one game, Battelfield 2, anyone that plays this game knows 2 gigs is the magic number as this game is a memory hog.
 
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