Which Ram to get?

P

PoiZoNouZ

Expert Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2004
Messages
1,770
Reaction score
3
Location
Bryanston
I'm off to the US next week to attend CES, and wanted to grab some new ram and a GFX card.

I have the following options:

4 x 1GB DDR2-800 or 1066
2 x 2GB DDR2-800 or 1066

I am running Vista 64 bit, and my specs are below.

Suggestions?
 
I got myself a 4gb corsair XMS2 800 cl4 kit, surprisingly it does 1066 on cl5, even my more expensive 1066 kit could not do 1066 stably and I had to clock it down.

I say get a pair of CL4 800s 2x2gb
 
Well, I was looking at either the Patriot 1066 or the Crucial one, they both tested stable up to 1150Mhz at Tom's Hardware. My Corsair now runs at 840, with a 420Mhz FSB, and I'm getting 7200mb/s b/w, want to get more...

Greed...
 
I love it when noobs give RAM advice. Why do you guys suggest 1066mhz RAM? It's not going to give him any performance increase...

His processor (7300) runs stock at 1066mhz FSB, which means its 266mhz 'quad pumped' as Intel will call it. Because he is running Daul DDR, he only needs double the 266mhz to run his RAM at a perfect 1:1 ratio, which means his system only needs 533mhz RAM.

Now, at the moment his CPU is overclocked to 3.6Ghz, which means he is running at 400Mhz FSB. That would imply that he needs 800mhz RAM for a perfect 1:1 Ratio.

1066 DDR2 as future proofing? My Opinion, rather get lower letancy 800Mhz RAM to get maximum performance out of your current Rig. Your next rig will most probably have to run DDR3 anyway.

If you are planning to upgrade your CPU to a E8400/E8500 soon and clocking that beyond 400Mhz FSB, you might want to consider 1066Mhz, but the 800Mhz lower latency RAM should handle it anyway.
 
@ CorneN

Thanks for your advice, seems to make lotsa sense. Most 1066 kits seem to be low latency 800 pieces just clocked higher in any case. I see that both the Crucial Ballistix and the Patriot Viper 800 go to 1100+ in any case and they run 4-4-4-10 which seem like the ideal solution. Also cost only $50 for a 4GB kit, might just get those.

Will see, going next week, lets see whats at CES? I know I can't buy there, but with new stuff being launched and the credit crunch over there, there are some mean specials about.

There was an ACER Core 2 Duo laptop 2 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD and 15" widescreen for $399 at Fry's in Arizona where I'll be after CES, sheesh...
 
Dont stress it, I do that to myself alot. ;)

My second post is not actually a "contradiction" per se, it's just a nice article that shows the differences in speed between slower RAM and lower latencies and faster RAM with higher latencies. RAM with a higher latency is not necessarily slower, depending on the the clock speed.

For instance, if you have a look on the graph in that article, a CL6 DDR667 module is .25 nanoseconds slower than a CL7 DDR800 module. (The DDR800 might have higher latency, but still has a better clock speed)


Aaaaaaaaaanyway, my first post (and its methemagics) still stands. The best ratio you should go for is 1(ram):1(cpu fsb).


For the real PC geeks:
The optimal ratio is actually 1:2, with ram having to be twice as fast as your cpu's fsb, but unfortunately you'll have to go DDR3 for that. Thats why we settle for 1:1.
 
So, Crucial Ballistix or Patriot Viper DDR2-800 CL4 2x2GB is the answer then?

Its on special for around $50, and the rand is getting stronger every day...
 
$50!!!!! Dude, PM your account details, you are bringing me 8GB of Crucials! ;)

I've been looking into the 800 vs 1066 topic again tonight. There are so many views and variables its making my eyes water. lol.
 
From experience I'd say get the best 800s you can afford, they will overclock well at higher latency.

Speed > Latency.

Some 1066 sticks are just low latency 800s but more expensive.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X