Just need your opinions

[luminaris]

I have a DFI UT SLI Expert board with 2X512 Crucial Ballistix RAM installed currently running @280Mhz with 3-3-3-7 timings. The machine has an Opteron 165 overclocked to 2.5Ghz.

The machine runs great and I love it but what i'm wondering is, should I try to upgrade the RAM to 2Gigs? Crucial apparently doesn't make the 2X1Gig kits anymore (at least I haven't seen them on any sites at all) and am wondering if I should just leave my perfectly working RAM alone or not. I love this RAM and wanted to initially get the 2X1 configuration but at the time, was too expensive.

So, should I just leave it or try to upgrade. Any suggestions and opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

 

[baracuda73]

If you play BF2 or video edit then for sure upgrade, apparently it is a RAM hogg. But probably a good idea to start thinking about it anyway as vista will be a ram hog as well.

 

[mpjesse]

Get some memory from the pros. Corsair, OCZ, Geil, or Mushkin.

Crucial (IMO) are still amateurs in the arena of high performance memory.

 

[luminaris]

Kewl, thanks for all of the replies.

 

[Fungalberry]

I have a DFI UT SLI Expert board with 2X512 Crucial Ballistix RAM installed currently running @280Mhz with 3-3-3-7 timings. The machine has an Opteron 165 overclocked to 2.5Ghz.

The machine runs great and I love it but what i'm wondering is, should I try to upgrade the RAM to 2Gigs? Crucial apparently doesn't make the 2X1Gig kits anymore (at least I haven't seen them on any sites at all) and am wondering if I should just leave my perfectly working RAM alone or not. I love this RAM and wanted to initially get the 2X1 configuration but at the time, was too expensive.

So, should I just leave it or try to upgrade. Any suggestions and opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

1GB is fine for the time being, but with Vista and highly demanding games coming out, you might want to start thinking about 2GB. Not immedietly, but sometime in the near future. If you can afford it, go for OCZ. However, if you really don't want to upgrade, just stick with 1GB. One of my friends has: AMD 3000+, 1GB RAM, 7800GT and he plays any game (except FEAR, second highest) on the highest settings.

I can't afford OCZ. I get G.Skill 2GB. Whee.

 

[falsterbo]

Take one game for example BF2, it needs 2Gb ram. You can play it with 1Gb but you´ll loose so much peformance that you want to eat your computer...

Do NOT buy 4x 512Mb, because I did that and now it won´t overclock more than about 230-240FSB... After that the ram goes crazy, and I have DDR550 -> 275MHz FSB without a problem.

 

[mitch074]

Strange. I have single 1 Gb RAM stick and a 6600 on a 3800+ X2, and I can play FEAR on HIGH (in1280*1024) pretty well - but then, maybe it's just because I've trimmed the software so much that Windows+antivirus (nothing else loaded) use up only 120 Mb of RAM at all times...

 

[falsterbo]

On high, does that mean everything on maximum??? I have everything on max and it doesn´t show high, it shows custom...

And F.E.A.R and BF2 are not the same game. Fear is better built... BF2 takes a lot of ram memory, it would lag on your computer, because of 1Gb ram... it takes about 1,2-1,6Gb when it is fully loaded.

 

[mitch074]

no, graphics and CPU on 'high'. I haven't tinkered with custom settings, I was only trying the demo. Once I finished it, I uninstalled it.

 

[PX7800GT]

As I Know You Are A HardCore OverClocker I Highly Recommanded Get 2x1Gb OCZ Revision 2 Platinum (Samsung TCCD) !! They Are Great And Stable Even in 290MHz ... You Know Better ... It Is Only My Oponion Man :twisted:

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

I have a DFI UT SLI Expert board with 2X512 Crucial Ballistix RAM installed currently running @280Mhz with 3-3-3-7 timings. The machine has an Opteron 165 overclocked to 2.5Ghz.

The machine runs great and I love it but what i'm wondering is, should I try to upgrade the RAM to 2Gigs? Crucial apparently doesn't make the 2X1Gig kits anymore (at least I haven't seen them on any sites at all) and am wondering if I should just leave my perfectly working RAM alone or not. I love this RAM and wanted to initially get the 2X1 configuration but at the time, was too expensive.

So, should I just leave it or try to upgrade. Any suggestions and opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Just move those 2 x DIMMs to the bottom two slots, and see if they work with the same settings.

There should also be a BIOS option to enable clock for ALL SLOTS vs ONLY POPULATED SLOTS - Turn it on to test this.

If if works with clock signal to all DIMM slots, with those settings, and those 2 x DIMMs in the bottom 2 slots (furthest from CPU), then you should be able to install another 2 x DIMMs with equal settings.

Make sure to test it good though (Prime95, my reco settings, overnight).

As an overclocker I am sure you understand what my above post implies, clock signal integrity wise... if / when the 3rd/4th 'extra' DIMMs are installed (in the top two slots, assuming you leave these sticks in the bottom two), you may need to raise VDIMM by 0.1V though. (vs the current settings, assuming they work, once / if you do install 4 x DIMMs all up, also make sure to get the same, or better memory, same DRAM chips if possible).

Why did none of the other overclockers point this out ?
Man I am so getting back into OC'ing once the new CPUs are out.... my current rig ain't good for games, and is pretty loud. My laptop is quiet, but only has Radeon X200 level video (single channel X300 = X200 ).


PS: Fear is about 5x better coded than Battlefield 2 is. :roll:

 

[luminaris]

yeah, DFI recommends that if you have two DIMMS, use the bottom two or in my case, the two orange slots. That is currently where my two sticks reside.

I've never seen anything in the BIOS about this other option before but, I've never really looked for it either. Thanks for the tip.

 

[mpjesse]

I can never find Crucial Ballistix stuff with ultra low timings.

OCZ and Corsair always seem to have the lowest timings for new memory. Corsair was the first with 2-2-2-5 DDR400 if you'll remember.

I dun really care for Crucial to be honest. So I'm biased I guess...

 

[luminaris]

Hey man, how dare you be like Dat you crucial basher! You anti-crucialist! LOL :lol:

Actually, I've heard so many different opinions about Corsair and the DFI expert board. I've heard from some peeps that the corsair won't overclock well and OCZ is the shiznit! I think it's just a matter of pure luck.

Well, we'll see how it goes. Right now, I think i'm gonna wait and see. With the new processors coming to town, I think i'll just ride it out. That is unless I can pick up a great deal on a pair of 2X1Gig sticks.