Best DDR for IT7 Max2 V2?

[taeyun0000]

Hi,

I'm trying to get the right RAM for Abit IT7 Max2 V2 board, which
requires "Three 184-pin DIMM sockets (unbuffered Non-ECC DIMM)" from
their web site.

I'm trying to figure out if the Low Latency Corsair 512B RAM stick,
"CMX512-3200LL" is a good choice... Will this work on the Abit board
anyway? Can't find a detailed RAM spec on Corsair's website.

Any recommendation for the best RAM on the Abit board? What RAM
configuration would be better, single 512 MB stick or dual ? I'd like to
CPU overclocked from P4 2.4B to about 3GHz. I don't like the Ram to be
the bottleneck on my system.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

TY

 

[Overclocker456]

Go with a Single stick of 512MB. Getting two 256MB sticks will lower your performance and limit overclocking.

Here's what not to buy:
Twinmos PC3700 with twinmos chips. this ram is terrible, couldn't even do 400MHz without problems.

OCZ PC3500. again terrible memory, all three sticks I got at different times were horrible.


Here's what to buy:

Anything that uses winbond chips. I believe Corsair uses them in all there memory. You can also go with Twinmos PC3200 which also uses winbonds chips. My twinmos PC2700 (winbond chips) does over PC3500 easy. I have the same board as you can see.

 

[batboy]

I'd recommend either PC3200 or better yet, PC3500 memory. You can't go wrong with Corsair XMS or Kingston HyperX. Mushkin looks great too, but it's more expensive.

Overclocker456, I was thinking about buying the TwinMOS PC3700, because I've heard good things about it since it has Winbond 4.3ns chips. I might have to rethink it now.

 

[Overclocker456]

Overclocker456, I was thinking about buying the TwinMOS PC3700, because I've heard good things about it since it has Winbond 4.3ns chips. I might have to rethink it now.

I'm glad you found out in time. You see the Twinmos PC3700 DOES NOT use winbond chips, it uses Twinmos chips. Yes they are 4.3ns but as I found out the hard way it doesn't mean anything. The stuff had a hard time doing more than 410 with 2.8v and the most relaxed timings. That's pretty far from 466MHz.
Twinmos might make great PCB's for RAM and put them together well like my PC2700 (winbond 6ns) that blows away even Corsair PC3500 C2, but when it comes to twinmos making it's own ram chips they are the worst. I've talked to others who had the same exact experiance I have.

 

[batboy]

Looks like you're right about the TwinMOS PC3700 having TwinMOS 4.3ns chips. Not sure how I got the idea it had Winbond chips. Here is one of the articles I just read, they show a closeup of the chip. Thanks for the info.

http://www.vr-zone.com/Home/news184/TwinMOS.htm

 

[taeyun0000]

Thanks guys, for the info. It's great !

I still have a bit concerned the spec of Corsair RAM though. The Abit requires Non-ECC, Unbuffered RAM, but Corsair never specify it.

Can I just use Corsair RAM on the Abit board even if it's ECC, buffered ? Teach me about the spec.

TY