Pick a memory kit for me...

[-=Mr_B=-]

I've got a SLAPL C2D for free, and a Gigabyte EP45-DS4 real cheap. I have 2x1GB Dane electric 4200 memory sticks that i could run of it... but why? In all fairness, I'm not going to overclock a whole lot, the heat in here gets to me as it is, but i should at the very least get some overclocking done, and that to me means memory that isn't even up to speed to start with, is out of the question. I've been poking around a bit, and have come to the conclusion that 2x2GB for 4GB total is about right for now, and leaves room for a later upgrade, if i feel like it. I'd like to spend in the area of 100 Euro, at most. (not like i'd be wanting to spend at all, really)
So, i went and picked out the cheapest alternatives from a few local dealers, scouting out from the low end" of the speed range, and going higher. Now, between every memory kit there is a price difference of about 5 Euro, so it's not a huge price diff. But is it worth it?

Going on my own gut feeling i'd go with the Crucials, but thats why it's posted here. Is my gut feeling right? Saves me a few bucks, and I'd just OC them some, and prolly end up at the same end speeds as with the faster memories... And what about the cheapest ramsticks, is the 4-4-4-12 worth 5 Euro vs 4-4-4-15?

OCZ DDR2 PC6400 4GB KIT, Reaper HPC 2x2GB, Heat Pipe,
(CL4-4-4-15)

Crucial DDR2 BallistiX PC6400 4GB CL4Kit w/two BallistiX 2048MB's, E.P.P
(CL4-4-4-12)

OCZ Blade Series DDR2 PC8500 4GB KIT2x Blade Series PC8500 2GB
(CL5-5-5-18)

OCZ DDR2 PC9200 4GB KIT, Reaper HPC2x2GB, Heatpipe Heatspreader
(CL5-6-6-18)

Aaaaaaah!
Ok, now my head hurts, so I'll leave you guys n' girls to it. I just copied the text from the shops, and added the CL ratings, so thats why some of it looks odd...

B!

 

[87dtna]

Out of those four, the OCZ blade series PC8500 would be the best choice as far as bang for the buck.

 

[EarthDog]

If you arent overclocking much get the cheapest one you can out of that group..........The PC6400 is DDR2 800 and will give you until 400Mhz at 1:1 to run at its stock speeds.

 

[87dtna]

If you arent overclocking much get the cheapest one you can out of that group..........The PC6400 is DDR2 800 and will give you until 400Mhz at 1:1 to run at its stock speeds.

400 mhz would be 1:2, no?

 

[EarthDog]

Nope.

400Mhz FSB = 800Mhz DDR2. Remeber DDR stands for Double Data Rate.

 

[-=Mr_B=-]

I'm going to try and run with a Noctua NH-U 12 cooler. I'm going to limit overclocking by what is barely audible, mostly due to being bored with my current setup that sounds like a hoovercraft.
I'm expecting this to limit me to in the area of 3,5-3,7 at very most 4GHz. 400MHZ would put me at 3.6Ghz, And i expect that with looser timings i would be able to push the memory a bit further, if i need it. But as high as 444MHz? (4GHz) A memory capable of tighter timings to start with should have slightly better possibilities here, i imagine.

PC8500 should be 533, yes? Tighter timings & / or lower voltage to "just" manage what ever OC i end up with at 1:1, and either maximize performance, or save some electricity. (Tight timings I'd guess. If power consumption really was a concern i wouldn't overclock to start with...)

I still feel like going with the Crucials. In reality the price difference on the top two is less then the 5 Euro's spoken of, and all things considering even 5 Euro isn't that big a deal.
On the other hand the PC8500 is 10 Euro more then the cheapest sticks... Still not a whole lot, but will i benefit reasonably from it?

I guess it all pretty much comes down to what sort of oveclock is reasonable expectable with fairly little noise. Case has massive airflow, after all, it has been sounding like a hoovercraft. (No kidding. 2x Vantec Tornados 92mm, and a Delta FFB1212EHE. (190cfm, same design as the tornados, but 120mm) Noisy sucker at higher revs. Hoping to be able to avoid them revs.) The whole thing is put in to a rack enclosure, with a UPS standing next to it. Since the UPS isn't exactly dead silent either, I'm going to aim at it's sound level, and stick to that. Guess i really should build the system on some temporary ram sticks, and see what OC i can get to, without it going hoowercrafting, and get memories to suit.

Over all it sounds like i cant "Go wrong" either way. A big thank you for your inputs, I'll see what i end up doing.
B!

 

[chuck4456]

These rock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104098
Got 'em in my GIGABYTE.

These rock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134596

KHX is using some good ICs right now.

 

[Daddyjaxx]

IMHO, stay far away from Crucial Ballistix. They are really starting to go down the tubes in quality.

 

[-=Mr_B=-]

IMHO, stay far away from Crucial Ballistix. They are really starting to go down the tubes in quality.

Bah. Not what i wanna hear. It is what i need to hear, rather now, then after i've bought em. But i'm not happy about it.
Thanks.
B!

 

[Daddyjaxx]

I used to love Crucial, but after mine crapped out on me and the RMA asked me to return any other sticks that I had too....well, plus all the other complaints I have read about them dying. GSkill and Supertalent are the best IMO, Corsair, OCZ, and even the Hyper X Kingston aren't bad. I've also had good luck with Patriot.

 

[Bobnova]

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-PC2-8500-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247868628&sr=8-1

[email protected] 5-5-5-15. Hard to beat that for 50odd bucks. They're what i have.

 

[mjw21a]

Nope.

400Mhz FSB = 800Mhz DDR2. Remeber DDR stands for Double Data Rate.

Or to put it another way effective mhz, not actual mhz. Good ol marketing speak

EDIT: I wonder whatever happened to the QDR tech that was being talked about years ago. I haven't heard anythign further about it.

 

[-=Mr_B=-]

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-PC2-8500-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247868628&sr=8-1

[email protected] 5-5-5-15. Hard to beat that for 50odd bucks. They're what i have.

Not bad. Ends up being 1.2 euro cheaper then my third (PC8500) kit. But i cant help to wonder, where would i ship the sticks if there is a warranty issue?
B!

 

[87dtna]

Nope.

400Mhz FSB = 800Mhz DDR2. Remeber DDR stands for Double Data Rate.

He never said anywhere what FSB he was going to run....plus I had a brain fart thinking we were working with an AMD system here, which would be 200 bus speed of course= 1:2 with ddr2-800 ram.
I'm well aware what DDR stands for, I'm not a noob.

 

[-=Mr_B=-]

He never said anywhere what FSB he was going to run...

I did one better, i linked to the CPU, making it very easy for anyone who wanted to suggest whatever settings they find appropriate. But now we are nitpicking.
Since i went and did something stupid yesterday, I'm currently broke. (I loaned 2K euro to a mate, so he could buy a quad-bike. To be repaid in the middle of the next week.)
So if i just can get my hands on a generic PCI-E GFX, i'll simply run a few tests see what temps, and speeds i get with my POS memory (the 2GB of PC4200) and see where i end up. Should give me some more ground to stand on. And i think i know where i can scavenge a GFX. (Heck, i still got a PCI GFX somewhere, that should do to, now that i think about it.)

I'll probably be back with some more info. Until then. Huge thanks for all the inputs.
B!

 

[87dtna]

I did one better, i linked to the CPU, making it very easy for anyone who wanted to suggest whatever settings they find appropriate. But now we are nitpicking.

I saw what CPU you were looking at, but at the time of that one reply I got 2 threads mixed up and thought I was replying about an AMD setup.
The stock FSB on that chip is 333, you would have to overclock to get 400 FSB for your ram to be 1:1. Are you interested in overclocking? If not, definitely get the pc8500 ocz blade series like I suggested in my first post.

 

[EarthDog]

If he is not overclocking 87dtna, he doesnt need that ram, I already said that. There is not point in not overclocking and having 1066 ram as there is no point in upping the ram multi to run the ram that fast as there is VERY little real world increases from it.

He never said anywhere what FSB he was going to run....plus I had a brain fart thinking we were working with an AMD system here, which would be 200 bus speed of course= 1:2 with ddr2-800 ram.
I'm well aware what DDR stands for, I'm not a noob.

...and how would I know that you borked and posted in the wrong thread? I was just trying to help out what appeared to be you needing it from your reply.

 

[-=Mr_B=-]

That sort of stuff happens. (Mixup)
I will OC somewhat, but as i said above, exactly how high it will go is more a matter of sound levels then anything else. The CPU did 4.5GHz stable with stock cooling, but was far from silent...
B!

 

[87dtna]

If he is not overclocking 87dtna, he doesnt need that ram, I already said that. There is not point in not overclocking and having 1066 ram as there is no point in upping the ram multi to run the ram that fast as there is VERY little real world increases from it.

That strictly sounds like an opinion....and I have my opinion on the matter, backed up by my own findings....I was running really cheap 4gb of ddr2-800 with a CL of 6, bought a set of G.Skill 1066 4gb with a CL of 5 and there was a noticeable increase in speed with everything in the entire system, even the internet.
It's like $10 more for the 1066, $10 usually doesn't get you much better performance but it is ''some''. 800 to 1066 is a pretty big jump in mhz.

 

[EarthDog]

Well then it would probably be a better thing since you are overclocking to get the DDR2 1066. At least that way you can assure yourself you wont be running outside the ram specs.

But as far as not overclocking, save $5 and get DDR2 800.

That strictly sounds like an opinion....and I have my opinion on the matter....It's like $10 more for the 1066, $10 usually doesn't get you much better performance but it is ''some''. 800 to 1066 is a pretty big jump in mhz.

You dont get it. Like I have said in my post, there is no real performance gains from running your memory that fast. It shows in synthetics but barely anything else. Its all over the net my friend, please look around.

EDIT: I just saw your ninja edit in there about your experience. First of all, Your CL went down as well as a 200Mhz jump in performance, thats why your "butt dyno" made it feel like a difference.

It doesnt make much of a difference. Im not blowing smoke, Im telling you my findings and the majority of the net. It sure doesnt do anything for gaming for most genre's. Think of it this way. You have a garden hose spouting 1GPM, change the garden hose to a fire hose but leave the output the same you still have 1GPM. Just b/c the pipe gets bigger doesnt mean data will miraculously move faster through it. I hope that helps.