Need urgent help with RAM setup. PLEASE!!! <3

[.e n v y]

Hey, I need urgent advice on RAM please. If you can help me out i'll be ever-greatful!!
I'm building a new rig atm, (im european just for info....living in belgium but im english ). Anyway i'm ordering all my parts from my friend who owns his own computer shop...the budget is 5000euro (~6,300.52 USDollars). Basically...my goal is an amazing rig..
I had everything ordered and my RAM of choice was Mushkin black lvl2 pc3500. But that has just gone out of supply indefinately and he cant find it from any of his suppliers.

If someone could recommend some amazing RAM in keeping with my configuration it would be greatly appreciated!!
I need this urgently because i gotta give him the new choice by tomorrow!
Heres my setup:

CPU: PIV 3.0c
PSU: Antec TrueBlue 480w
Case: Chieftec Matrix black
Mobo: Abit IC7-MAX3
RAM: ???
HDD Array: 2 WD Raptors 360GD in RAID-0 with 1 120GB SATA Maxtor as extra storage.
Optical reader: Plextor PX-116A black
Optical writer: Plextor PX-708A black
Sound card: Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum PRO
Gfx card: ASUS Radeon 9800XT 256mb DDR
Monitor: IIYAMA Flatron 22"

Watercooled.


Thanks so much if you can recommend some amazing ram for me!!! <3!

 

[hepp]

Looks like pc-memory-upgrade.co.uk still have a few 1GB kits left.

shop4memory.com also lists them so I don't think it is a mistake.

Kingston KHX3200 or Corsair 3500C2 might still be around

Good luck
hepp

 

[KrisMCool]

The Mushkin BH5 sticks are great, if you can find them. Looks like OCZ Gold is performing well for most at high FSBs, so I just ordered some myself. Some US sites are still showing Mushkin PC3200 and PC3500 in stock.

 

[.e n v y]

i cant find the Mushkin lvl2 pc3500 anywhere in stock. But i could get the lvl2 pc3200..

Are these guaranteed BH-5 chips ? And how do they compare to some OCZ Gold?

I just want the best money can buy

 

[hepp]

Hi .e n v y,

The "3200 lvl 2" are guaranteed BH5 and AFAIK pretty much the same as the 3500, with the possibility that they have been "speed binned". A few days ago someone reported that they got a matched pair which seemed to consist of one PC3200 lvl 2 and one PC3500 lvl 2, at least that is how CPU-Z interpreted the SPD.

how do they compare to some OCZ Gold?

Depends what OCZ gold you mean, from the context I guess you mean PC3700 Gold rev 2.
The difference is that the OCZ 3700 Gold can handle higher FSB with "normal" (<2.9V) vdimm, at the cost of slightly higher latency.

Their spec if 2,5-3-3-7@ DDR466 but according to a recent Anandtech review they can do 2-3-2-6 up to about DDR433,
which actually is the spec of Mushkin PC3500 lvl 2 ( for Intel).

The difference is that these will never run 2-2-2-5 whereas BH5 based modules will do so at DDR400 and given enough voltage ( ~>3.2V) may continue to do so up to DDR500 ( if you are lucky with the sticks and your mobo can supply that voltage with stability.

The OCZ3700 Gold on the other hand may go to DDR500 2,5-3-3-7 or even DDR520 with 3-4-3-8 with 2.85V.

Now, your MAX3 is meant to supply over 3V, but I have read a lot of posts about the VDIMM not being stable and/or not going over 2.8V due to a low 3.3V line. I have no personal experience of your mobo and for all I know these issues may have been resolved now. In any case this is a memory forum...

So if you do not intend to overclock it is "Mushkin PC3200 lvl 2" because it gives the best timings at DDR400.

If you do intend to overclock to FSB higher than ~220 then you need to find out if your mobo will supply enough voltage. And if you are willing to take that chance.

If you expect to be in the 225-255 range and your mobo does not go over 2.85V or if you don't want to risk that then the OCZ3700 GOLD might be a good compromise.

Good luck
Hepp

 

[Speed_Mechanic2]

How are you about modding your hardware? If you could look up the vDIMM and vCore Stability (Droop-Mod) for the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe, that is the ideal motherboard out there. Unless the Abit IC7-MAX3 has gone completely stable at high vDIMM, I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for the most.

 

[.e n v y]

Speed_Mechanic2, I was thinking of going with the ASUS p4c800-e deluxe but I hear from my friend that runs a computer shop that he has sold them in the past and has had big problems with them. Yet i hear great things here. Not sure which to choose from the Abit or the Asus at the moment.
But i might go Asus and just take the problems as they come if my OC will improve on it.

hepp, thanks alot for the advice...i've now narrowed it down to 4 options...

1Gb kit DDR PC-3200 Special 2-2-2 Dual Channel - Mushkin
OR
1Gb kit OCZ DDR PC-3500 / 433mhz / Dual Channel / Enhanced
Latency Series
OR
1Gb kit OCZ DDR PC-3700 Gold Rev.2
OR
1Gb kit EL DDR PC4200 Dual Channel - OCZ

The latency on the OCZ PC4200 isnt all that much higher than the latency on the OCZ pc-3500, yet from what i have seen not alot of people go with such high "PC values" of RAM.
If this is because of the price then i'll gladly pay for them. But if the performance and OC will be better on the other choices then i'll go with that.

I'll pay the price for ANY unbuffered RAM, just want the best performance possible after OC

If someone could just pick one of those and tell my why its best then i'll go with that.

Thanks so much!!!

 

[hepp]

If this is because of the price then i'll gladly pay for them. But if the performance and OC will be better on the other choices then i'll go with that.

Don't think it is just the price, I had PC4000 but swapped it for some more expensive PC3500.
A lot of people believe that tight timings give better performance
than than high DDR speed.

It really depends on how high your FSB will be and how much tweaking you are willing to do to make the system amazing.

With a 3.0 running at e.g. 3.6Ghz your FSB would only be 240 so there would not be much gain from a PC4200. Do you really think you will get much higher that that?
The 3700 gold should do that with it's spec timings and the BH5/6 equipped Mushkin's might do that with 2-2-2-5 timings if you have enough volts(I don't).

The latency on the OCZ PC4200 isnt all that much higher than the latency on the OCZ pc-3500

The middle 2 timings (tRCD and tRP) make quite a big difference.
More than CAS on 865/875 systems, so actually the 2,5-4-4-7 of the 4200 is quite a lot worse than the 2,5-3-3-7 of the 3700 Gold
(I would not bother with the 3500EL).

Speed_mechanic posted a comparsion some time ago, changing one timing # at a time and benching each one, you may want to search for that, I found it interesting.

Br
hepp