PC8500 RAM and Motherboards

[RBBigDog]

Hello all -

I have a general question about RAM and motherboards (and hope someone out there can shed some light on the subject of PC8500 RAM and motherboards).

I just started picking up parts when I find a good deal out there. The plan was to build a new rig using the E6420 chip. I'm trying to keep the cost down a bit and I'm not a hard core gamer, but I do quite a bit video encoding. The initial plan was to buy either a 650i or a P965 based MB and overclock the CPU to somewhere between 2.8GHz and 3.2GHz (nothing major...just a little more of a boost). I wasn't planning on using two video cards up front, but wouldn't mind having the option down the road.

Now to finally start my question....I just got a very good deal on a OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit. It actually cost me less than a good pair of 1GB PC6400 RAM sticks.

All of the motherboards I've looked at state the standard RAM being DDR2 800 (PC6400).....actually, I've only seen a few 680i MB's state standard RAM speeds higher than DDR2 800 (and those were 1200). Since the RAM didn't cost me any more than PC6400 RAM, I figured I'd still use them in the new system I'm building.

Are there any issues using DDR2 1066 RAM in motherboards that max out with DDR2 800 RAM? I realize that I'm not making use of the extra speed of the RAM, but again, it didn't cost me anything extra to get it either. Of course, I don't want to hurt any performance of the system just because it was a good buy!

I'm not sold on any one particular MB, but I was leaning toward the new DFI P965-S MB. Any other sub $150 motherboards that I should consider (I realize that's a pretty objective question and everyone has their own opinions on the matter)? I've also seen some good things said about the GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 and the ASUS P5B-E that both use the P965 chipset. One the 650i side of the house, I've read some good things about the MSI P6N SLI-FI and the ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboards.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far (if you have) and hope to hear some opinions from the folks that know so much more than I do on this subject.

Thanks!

 

[GSTe]

I just ancountered a problem with that exact OCZ stuff yesterday. My board is an ABit AW9D and I have just discovered to my horror that you can't get RAM above about 460MHz on this board. I think the P965 boards /680 boards you have mentioned are the best bet. I know for definite that the Asus P5B Deluxe supportshigh OCs/frequencies of RAM.

 

[RBBigDog]

Thanks for the response and information GSte....sorry to hear you ran into that issue (I'm trying to avoid the same thing here before I buy a motherboard).

I'm just trying to figure out if I would be better off selling/trading this DDR2 1066 RAM for some DDR2 800 RAM. I don't mind if the RAM is overkill (since I got at a great price), I just don't want it to actually cause me problems if it doens't work well with whatever motherboard I finally get!

 

[GSTe]

Another problem I had with this RAM that I forgot to mention, is that it doesn't run at cas3 at DDR800. I have the Sli kit..... is that what you got?

If you want to be sure just stick with a P5B Deluxe, they're supoosedly very good CPU overclockers anyway. The Gigabyte is also a firm favourite isn't it, and I imagine the DFI will be good quality also.

 

[RBBigDog]

Yeah....The SLI kit is what I got (the local Frys had it advertised wrong in the paper and had to give to me alot cheaper than it really was).

I really don't want to build my computer around this RAM (that seems wrong in so many ways), but I would like to use it if I could. I just assumed that it would work well with whatever board I choose, but I got a little concerned about that assumption and started this topic to get feedback from people who have actually built computers with this type of RAM (I really do appreciate your feedback on it too).

Even though I consider myself pretty good with hardware, I really have to admit that I'm little overwhelmed when it comes to all the choices out there....it's hard to keep with all of it unless you work with this stuff on a daily basis!

Thanks again!