PC9600, PC8500 worth the price?

[zhaf]

Hi I'm currently thinking on building a new computer. I intended to use PC6400 memory but recently DDr2s have become really ceap. But I want to know if PC9600 and PC8500 really offer any hard preformance bumps? and thus worth the extra money spent on it? For my new computer I'm thinking on a P35 mobo and a c2d cpu... so I'll be overclocking... brobably not to exreme levels but I'd like to see how well I can overclock.

currently the prices are like this (I live in sweden ):

PC6400 2GB Corsair Dominator CL4-4-4-12T (225$/167€)
PC8500 2GB Corsair Dominator CL5-5-5-15-2T (256$/190€)
PC9600 2GB Kingston HyperX CL5-5-5-15 (311$/231€)

 

[zhaf]

aww c'mon... no one got an answer to my dilema?

 

[aevm]

aww c'mon... no one got an answer to my dilema?

The more expensive memory will help with the overclocking, that's what it's designed for. That is, you have a better chance to reach a higher frequency while the computer is still stable. However, the CPU or the motherboard or the cooling system also decide how high you can overclock, not just the RAM, and they will often limit how high you can overclock before the RAM reaches its own limit.

The short answer is to stick with DDR2-800, just pick a high quality brand. The more expensive types of memory rarely justify the additional cost. But that's just my opinion, I'm curious to see what others think...

 

[fredgiblet]

I vote for no it's not worth it unless you are planning on doing extreme overclocking. If you are going to push for a record overclock and are spending lots of extra money on cooling already then the higher rating is probably worth it, but if you're just doing a moderate overclock then no.

 

[zhaf]

Ok... what I'm going to spend on cooling is probably a nice CPU cooler like the Zalman CNPS9700. I'll buy the P182 case and add two 120mm fans to it. I don't think I'll spend more money on cooling.
The mobo I'm thinking of is Gigabyte P35-DS4 and CPU is probably gonna be E4300 or E6320 (might change after price drop in july)

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

For that board and CPU, I'd suggest thePC6400 memory for a mild OC and the PC8500 for a moderate OC. If it was my system, I'd get the PC8500 as it is a better speed grade and will allow a better OC.

 

[GSTe]

If you can get a Thermalright Ultra 120 (or extreme) over there, then I'd go for one of those as they are fantastic. The Dominator PC8500 is good memory, but only really necessary if you are getting a slower speed C2D, unless you want to OC the memory a lot as well. The extra money could be better spent in other areas though, such as graphics card if you play games a lot, etc.

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

The extra money could be better spent in other areas though, such as graphics card if you play games a lot, etc.

Agreed but I was comparing prices. I would personally pay the difference to get Micron ICs and the better chance of lower latencies above DDR800.

Prices from the OP:
PC6400 2GB Corsair Dominator CL4-4-4-12T (225$/167€)
PC8500 2GB Corsair Dominator CL5-5-5-15-2T (256$/190€)

 

[aevm]

The extra money could be better spent in other areas though, such as graphics card if you play games a lot, etc.

Agreed but I was comparing prices. I would personally pay the difference to get Micron ICs and the better chance of lower latencies above DDR800.

Prices from the OP:
PC6400 2GB Corsair Dominator CL4-4-4-12T (225$/167€)
PC8500 2GB Corsair Dominator CL5-5-5-15-2T (256$/190€)


Could you give us an estimate here please: if the OP doesn't overclock at all, how much faster will the PC be with the more expensive memory? If he gets even a 2% improvement for the $31 difference it's already worth it IMO...
I've got the same problem, BTW.

 

[GSTe]

Didn't even look at the prices Yellowbeard... yes your right, the extra $31 is well worth paying.

Think the improvement you will see in typical games is somewhere on the order of 5%.... will see if I can find a link

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

The extra money could be better spent in other areas though, such as graphics card if you play games a lot, etc.

Agreed but I was comparing prices. I would personally pay the difference to get Micron ICs and the better chance of lower latencies above DDR800.

Prices from the OP:
PC6400 2GB Corsair Dominator CL4-4-4-12T (225$/167€)
PC8500 2GB Corsair Dominator CL5-5-5-15-2T (256$/190€)


Could you give us an estimate here please: if the OP doesn't overclock at all, how much faster will the PC be with the more expensive memory? If he gets even a 2% improvement for the $31 difference it's already worth it IMO...
I've got the same problem, BTW.With no OCing at all, given the choices by this OP, there is absolutely no reason to buy anything faster than the PC6400, regardless of the ICs used.

 

[zhaf]

I was thinking that the P35 board can handle FSB 1333 and PC9600 was as closest to that between the given 3 alternatives.

@GSte:
The prices for the coolers are currently:

Thermalright Ultra-120 (65$/49€)
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (78$/58€)
Zalman CNPS9700NT (82$/61€)

so is the Ultra-120 eXtreme better than the CNPS9700NT? Is there a big diffrence between the ultra and the ultra extreme?

@XMSYellowbeard:
Yes I will OC. I don't want to break any record but I definitely want to put my hardware up to test.
But not any of you recommend the PC9600s?... too expensive or too little gain?

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

Yes I will OC. I don't want to break any record but I definitely want to put my hardware up to test.
But not any of you recommend the PC9600s?... too expensive or too little gain?

Well, honestly I don't know how the P35 based boards are handling memory dividers just yet. But, You should be able to get a very substantial OC and performance gain with the PC8500 at 1:1 or 4:5. But, you need a VERY fast FSB and a 1:2 or 2:3 ratio to really use the full speed of the 9600. It's good RAM and ICs but, it's not nearly as cost efficient as the other 2 choices.

You'll do well with any of the 3 for sure. But, as I said, if it was mine, I'd get the 8500 all factors considered.

 

[GSTe]

I was thinking that the P35 board can handle FSB 1333 and PC9600 was as closest to that between the given 3 alternatives.

@GSte:
The prices for the coolers are currently:

Thermalright Ultra-120 (65$/49€)
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (78$/58€)
Zalman CNPS9700NT (82$/61€)

so is the Ultra-120 eXtreme better than the CNPS9700NT? Is there a big diffrence between the ultra and the ultra extreme?

But not any of you recommend the PC9600s?... too expensive or too little gain?

The Ultra 120 extreme is the best air cooler available at the moment (no fan included though). The Ultra is very good also, but it's worth the extra $13 for the extreme:

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2981&p=3

The Zalman is not so good I'm afraid.... I have the Ultra Extreme though and it is unbelievably better than my Scythe Infinity.

If you can get hold of it over there, this is better than the Dominator PC8500 for OCing, and should be cheaper if you buy it somewhere other than crucial:

http://www.crucial.com/eu/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=17FA0F58A5CA7304

My friend has this in an ASUS P5K deluxe (P35 chipset) motherboard and has had it running at 630MHz 5-5-5-15, 540MHz 4-4-4-12 and 475MHz 3-4-3-6. If its too expensive though, the PC8500 Dominator is still very good.

 

[zhaf]

another question popped upp... The store have now two diffrent types of the Dominator 8500, one that is named:
Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5D Dominator (235$/176€)
and the other is named:
Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5DF Dominator (265$/198€)
The F is the diffrence in their names. The one without F is cheaper but I don't know what the diffrence it makes. They also changed the prices a bit, the cheaper one somewhat below the old price and the more expensive one a little over the old price.
I also found the Crucial BallistiX PC8500 for (245$/183€).
Wich one would be the best buy?... the fans on the Dominator brings cheap extra cooling and the crucial is said to be better OCs?

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

The "F" model includes the Corsair Dominator Airflow fan. If you are interested in the fan, you may want to see what it costs seperately as the $30 price difference sounds high to me. I think the fan retails for about $17 US.

 

[ZOldDude]

Themalright makes the best air coolers period...not just for CPU but also for GPU/RAM/MB chipset/voltage regulators.

As for the memory question....look at Patriot and G.Skill and OC them for the best $ value.

 

[GSTe]

Get the ballistix and a Dominator fan.

 

[hawk33]

I have the thermaltake Bigwater and it's been one of the best cooling systems I ever had, No messy fans to clean on CPU It's worth spending the extra for it when you can get them for around 100bucks if ya shop around I was tired of buying air coolers that said they would do this and that and all of them seemed to fall short when I overclocked in realworld not just testing for some numbers, I wanted a nice cool system I am a very old gammer, The problem I ran into is the northbridge and southbridge heat trouble, even with the heatpipes on the motherboard it will still get hot ,
I have the Thermaltake case huge one and the ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium WIFI with the QX6700 and a 128 PCI AGEIA PHYSX card with the EVGA8800GTX, 2 X 4 DDR2 800 Reaper OCZ and 6-Western Digital SATAII's
2-750's 2-640 aaka's and a 250 and a 350. 1-Plextor 20xDVD and 1-Liteon
20XDVD power is the OCZ 850 gammers extreme PSU They all generate alot of heat in the case ..there is no way any air cooling is gonna save me...lol I just recently bought the ASUS Rampage Formula because I wanted the new 780i and also wanted to stay with SLI. I say Spend a few bucks more and get a water cooling setup well worth it and as far as the ram goes I would also go with the 1066 or better, why settle for less when you know you won't be happy unless ya get the better one, I could take the 800 and maby run it to 1066 but why when for a few bucks more I can get the 1066 and run it at 1200 or better thats how I feel this is just my 2 cents worth.. FOLLOW YOUR HEART!! SPEED!!!! Peace out