Which Memory for INTEL Core2 Duo E6600?

[Rairun]

Hi all
What should be speed of memory(ddr 6400,5400 etc.) for using with INTEL Core2 Duo E6600 proccesor?
Thanks
(i'm thinking to buy corsair,would you suggest me a model name?)

 

[jaQa]

Hi,

this isn't answerable in general.
It depends on two factors, the chipset of your intended motherboard and if you want to overclock or not.

If you want to overclock, get DDR2 800. These ensures that memory will not limit your overclocking intentions.

If you don't want to overclock:
If you get a 975 chipset MB, memory doesn't matter.
If you get a 965 chipset MB, get at least DDR2 667 (DDR 2 533 performance on that chipsets comes with a performance loss in games)
If you get a Nvidia chipset, get DDR2 800.
On any other chipset (Via PT880, Intel 945(G/P) and everything else that's out there) memory doesn't have much influence on performance.

Memory prices don't differ that much, if you can afford a E6600 i would say don't save on memory and just get value DDR 2 800.

Christian

 

[Ktaan]

Looky Here

 

[cptblackeye]

prozac has it right. if your not OCing, don't waste your money on 667. get the 800 or save a few bucks and get the 533.
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=472
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2810
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2813
Good Luck

 

[Rairun]

Hi,

this isn't answerable in general.
It depends on two factors, the chipset of your intended motherboard and if you want to overclock or not.

If you want to overclock, get DDR2 800. These ensures that memory will not limit your overclocking intentions.

If you don't want to overclock:
If you get a 975 chipset MB, memory doesn't matter.
If you get a 965 chipset MB, get at least DDR2 667 (DDR 2 533 performance on that chipsets comes with a performance loss in games)
If you get a Nvidia chipset, get DDR2 800.
On any other chipset (Via PT880, Intel 945(G/P) and everything else that's out there) memory doesn't have much influence on performance.

Memory prices don't differ that much, if you can afford a E6600 i would say don't save on memory and just get value DDR 2 800.

Christian

So i should think about ram after deciding to motherboard.Could you tell me which MB/chip set is the best E6600?
By the way, i may OC if my system gets old.
Thanks for all opinions

 

[jaQa]

Hi,

So i should think about ram after deciding to motherboard.Could you tell me which MB/chip set is the best E6600?
By the way, i may OC if my system gets old.

Yes and no

Since you want to OC go for DDR2 800.
If you get DDR2 533 your memory will most likely limit your overclocking potential.

Why?
Since you can only overclock the Core2Duo by raising the FSB.
When raising the FSB the memory gets overclocked also.
You can avoid that by setting a memory multiplier, but since the smallest memory multipier you can set is 1:1 your RAM will at least run at your FSB speed.
e.g.
FSB memory multiplier memory speed CPU Speed of E6600
266 1:1 266 Mhz (DDR2 533) 2,4Ghz
333 1:1 333 Mhz (DDR2 667) 3Ghz
400 1:1 400 Mhz (DDR2 800) 3,6Ghz

So, the higher you push the FSB, the better memory you'll need.
By getting DDR2 800 you have complete freedom how much you want to push the FSB up to 400 without overclocking memory. Headroom up to 400 FSB is more than enough for the E6600 since it has a multiplier of 9x,
so at 400FSB x 9 you're already at 3,6Ghz which you probably won't get stable anyway without a very good CPU cooling solution.

Could you tell me which MB/chip set is the best E6600?

The best .. - i don't like that phrase "the best" -
there are a few boards that are targeted at the overclocking crowd, but these are also the most expensive one's, you'll also need a very good CPU cooler if you want to reach high overclocks since you'll have to raise the CPU voltage (which will increase power consumption and thus heat dissipation).

Reading these articles:
Core2Duo motherboard comparison
P5B Deluxe
will probably answer the question what board is best for YOU.

Edit: having read the first article again myself, if you're on budget value DDR2 will also be fine, since it seems that one can easily overclock most DDR2 sticks up to DDR 800 speeds by raising the RAM voltage.

Edit 2 :
Depending on your budget, it probably makes more sense to invest in a better graphics card instead of a high end motherboard, since the graphics card will be the bottleneck when gaming even when running your E6600 at stock speed.
To give an example: it doens't make much sense to get a E6600 with a Asus Deluxe motherboard for over 200$ and pair that with a midrange graphics card ala X1900GT or 7600GT. Getting a X1900XT or 7900GT(X) and a "normal" sufficient motherboard in the 120-160$ price range, would be the better system overall.

Christian

 

[Rairun]

Thanks jaQa,now it seems ASUS P5W-DH Deluxe is a great choice.
Now i must choose one:
Kingston HyperX PC2-6400 or Corsair 2GB PC2-6400 (2x1GB)?

 

[jaQa]

Hi,

i don't know if these prices are representative.
Corsair
Kingston

but reading through the reviews, you can't get wrong with the Corsair memory which is considerably cheaper. I think none of these two will let you down. But investing so much money into memory (Kingston) is a really bad value if you ask me.

Christian