Any good? Alternative 800mhz DDR2?

Hi,

That was the RAM i was looking at (well actually the C4 version). It looks like decent RAM from the reviews and Corsair has a good reputation. You could get RAM with tighter timings but i dont think it matters too much as Intel has done a great job with C2D memory prefetchers which means it works great with even crap RAM. C2D at stock uses DDRII-533 (266FSB) as i am sure you know. DDRII-800 should give you plenty of headroom to OC up to 9*400FSB=3.6Ghz on the E6600 or higher if your lucky. You could get away with some Value RAM if you want on the Conroe but make sure its from a respected brand and also you might scarifice some Oc potential. Heres a review on DDRII Ram for the C2D that might interest you -> Linky

agreed, ddr2 800 isnt REQUIRED. what is is DDR2 533. So if you get say, ddr2 667, your still in the clear.

Yes, I shoudl have summarised that better. DDR2-800 is nice to have but not necessary at all. Intersetingly from the Anandtech review I linked too the value DDR2-533 and 667 could all OC to 800 levels with good timings  .

First... Corsair is the best. Their RMA policy is quick and easy. Lifetime warranty buddy. Can't go wrong w/ Corsair.

Second, DDR800 isn't necessary for C2D. However, you might want to get DDR800 and keep it for future use. Undoubtedly, future generations of Core will have a higher bus speed. If you get DDR800 now, you have a better upgrade path. (unless of course a new form of DDR is introduced... but it doesn't look like DDR3 is going to hit the streets anytime soon).

Thirdly, DDR800 is great for overclocking. Esp. if you're going for a lower clocked C2D like the 6300 or 6400.

Thanks for input,
I have considered the lower end C2D, but the double cache in the E6600 is something I don't want to miss out on :wink:

So, what would you guys decide if you got to choose between 800 CAS5 RAM or the same quality 667 CAS4 RAM? (Money is the deciding factor here, so I can't get 800 CAS4 RAM)

get pc2 800 cas 5. intel isn't that picky about cas latencies. Its amd thats like that.

Thanks for all help!