Will this RAM 'bottleneck' my system?

This is better than the Mushkin. Buy it and laugh at his waste of money.....   You really won't need any better memory with an E6600. You could buy fancier stuff and OC it, but the performance difference would be negligable compared to the money you'd have to spend. And I think this GSkill OCs nicely anyway.

Thanks!   Was there supposed to be a link or model name/# in your post?

I've just built a very similar PC for a friend, I bought generic samsung DDR-800 and I have his machine running an E6300 @ 3.2ghz with the memory set at 5-5-5-15

once the AS5 has been through it's burn in period I'll be hitting it with 500mhzFSB / 3.5ghz proc speed (I did this briefly when I had it with me still and it ran up windows fine, I just declocked in the meantime to make sure it's completely stable at 3.2 before sticking it back up to 3.5)

        Long day.....

Here you go:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...

lol... morning here... thanks!

I guess all of you must overclock your machines, because in normal circumstances the speed of the DDR2 RAM only has to be half of the FSB, which in the case of an E6600 would be 1066/2 = 533MHz. The E6600 only needs PC4200. I personally never overclock.

If you aren't going to overclock, the advantage of that 800MHz RAM you are eyeing will be negligible...maybe 1 - 2% increase on benchmarks.
The only other practical reason I can think of for buying memory that is rated at more than half your fsb is if you are planning on upgrading to a faster CPU that runs at a higher FSB in the future. Otherwise what the hell is the point?

You also have to take into account that while you are paying $230 for it now...it will likely be substantially less than that when you upgrade in the future.

Brink has a point. If you're OCing, or even think you might in the future, go for DDR2-800. DDR2-667 can also OC but 1GB 667 sticks aren't much less expensive than 800, if at all, so it's definitely worth getting 800 over 667 for 1GB sticks.

But if you're not OCing, you can pick up something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...

Performance difference at stock speeds (or mild OC) will be small at best, though you're not going OC those guys to the same levels as DDR2 800.

Thanks for the info. guys. I actually just placed my order for my new PC w/ Newegg.... Should be here Mon. or Tuesday!! I went w/ the G. Skill posted above. I would like to give OC a try... seems like another cool hobby to fiddle with...

I'm soooooo very excited.

Several yrs ago I bought a HP a230n PC when I knew jack about computers... little did I know it's much cheaper & fun to build your own.

I'm going from

CPU - Athlon 2800+ 2.2 Ghz
VC - 6600 GT (I added)
RAM - 1 gig kingston (also added)

to

CPU- E6600 (yeah baybeeee)
VC - 8800 GTS 640 MB
RAM - 2 gig G. Skill (pc6400)

Think I'll notice the difference?  

  Just a bit! That RAM will let you reach 3.6GHz with the E6600 provided you get a good chip and adequate cooling..... planning on an aftermarket cooler for your CPU?

Yes actually. I'm already getting the Antec nine hundred gamer case which seems to have great stock cooling.

And, I'm planning on getting an aftermarket CPU cooler. Although, I'm waiting until I assemble my PC to see what kind of spacing I'll have to accommodate a cooler so that I won't have any problems with fit.

I have an Antec 900 and an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro which fits fine.....

If you aren't planning on a side fan, then you have about another 40mm clearance which should easily accomodate a Scythe Ninja or Tuniq Tower....

Let us know how the OC goes anyway

I was actually thinking about the Scythe Ninja. How do you like that Antec 900?

I really, really like it. Keeps everything very cool, looks good in my opinion, I like the 2 removable hard drive cases, and there's plenty of space. The only downside is the side fan.... the way it attaches means that it isn't secure and vibrates noisily.... can't see why they didn't just have screw holes instead....? Have put an anti-vibration thing on it and it has quietened it a lot, but still a bit loud for my taste. Other than that though, yeah it's great  

Cool, I believe I will pick it up. Was wondering where did you get your vibration reducer from and what's the name of it?

I live in the sunny UK, but I found this supplier for you in the US:

http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?query=vibration+dampening&first=10&only=0&categ=all&catalog=xoxide

I swapped all the fans out for red LED ones and it looks cool (if you like that sort of thing, of course). I wanted a yellow tube in the bottom of the case to give the impression of molten lava, but it wouldn't fit unfortunately.  

Hope the project goes well anyway and keep us informed of both your success, and how much better than your friend's it is