So... help out the Old guy here, is that article saying to go with DDR2 4200 533 in a Conroe setup?
I am a little confused with all the flavors of RAM these days
It's saying that running DDR2-533 doesn't degrade performance(compared to DDR2-800) as much as would be expected. In other words, you still get great performance with cheaper RAM. There still is performance to be had by using faster RAM, but it isn't that much ~4-8%. The high speed RAM is needed if you want to run high FSB's(through overclocking) and maintain synchronous memory speed (1:1).
Cool, so If I understand correctly The Value DDR2 such as This:
A-DATA Vitesta 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820211011
Should be a great choice for a Conroe gaming rig, which might see LIGHT overclocking, do you agree?That's okay
if you're going to stay at stock speeds. If you plan on overclocking, then 667 would be better. See, that 533 will run 1:1 with the FSB, but lets say you bump the FSB to 300 or more, that equates to DDR2-600+. That memory may overclock to 600+ speeds, but if it doesn't then you would have to run the memory ascynchronously(less than FSB), which would hurt performance, and likely negate any performance gained from the higher clock-speed. A-Data Vitesta has made some killer RAM, and it likely will overclock, but i would search around some forums or reviews and find out. If not, try to get some PC4200 that does overclock, or get PC5400. Or else you may as well not overclock. Sorry it sounds so confusing, but overclocking can change the rules and/or generally accepted practices. :?