Hello folks!
Going to build a machine and go with a the GA-P35-DS3L and give it a Q6600 cpu despite some of "the hick-ups" I have read about this board.

I really want this to run nice and clock it a bit to at least 3GHz...I have built quite a few machines, but I am not the brightest bulb when it comes to a few things! The first 2 that jump out is overclocking and ram..in fact I will admit I am just plain RAM STUPID, so please feel free to flame, but feel free to help me as well....please?

I really need help with picking out my memory for this new unit, and what i need to know is...Should I go with DDR2 1066 or DDR2 800 with this mobo and cpu combo? I know the 800 is really cheap right now, but if I will gain a lot and be more stable with 1066, then that is the way I will go. As I said, I want to clock the Q6600 to around 3GHz, and from what I have read, it does not seem like that will be any problem at all, I just want this thing to be fast and stable as possible. Any advice from you guys in trying to help me configure this and me getting a better understanding would be great!

Also, I am not going to install a 64 bit O.S....Sticking with 32 bit XP PRO for now, so will I be hurting or helping this adventure by putting 4x1 (4)gigs of ram in this system?

Most likely going with a GeForce 8800GT card aleady have a brand new Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER 700W PSU(on sale+40 buck rebate plus a gift certificate from frys i have been sitting on for a year, got it for almost nothing out of my pocket) as well if that makes any diff to the thought proces here.

I really appreciate any help and /or direction you folks could give me! Thanks!

Hello and welcome to the forums mate

Get a DDR2 800 RAM, because the difference between DDR2 800 and
DDR2 1066 isnt much and also DDR2 800 RAM will OC very good
so get a DDR2 800 RAM with 4-4-4-x or lower timings

Thanks for your input Maziar!

I still would like to get a bit more detail from anyone who would like to weigh-in on this topic. Anyone running this board or a box simular to what I am going to build, and is running a certain memory configuration and wants to tell me what specific brand, speed, settings he or she is happy with or anything else that might be helpful would be greatly appreciated...

As well as this question from the original post:

Again, thanks you guys for your input!

Hi there Pup Trainer, (First post for me ! Yeah!) anyways, I just bought this board with the q6600 and some Patriot PC2-6400 PDC22G6400LLK DDR2. It wasn't listed on the compatibility list, but New Egg had such a good deal on a 2gig kit I couldn't refuse The memory runs flawless at 4-4-4-12 2.2v(Stock voltage) @870mhz and cpu @ 2.6 1.15 volts(b3 core) I know, not a hell of an overclock, but I'm waiting for a Thermalright 120 before I get crazy and this pc hasn't had proper time to settle in anyways(only a week old). Look up the review of the mem and you'll find it has no problems hitting about 1066@cas5 .And it should still have the $40 rebate to boot, $80 after rebate for 4 gigs! Guess it depends how crazy you wanna get
I think Vista 32 will recognize about 3gigs after using 1gig for paging file. someone please correct me if I'm wrong
Hoped this helped.
Have Fun


P.S. This is all running Vista 64 Flawlessly

go to the QVL list n get ddr2 800 rams. if u overclock to 3Ghz, ull need to run ur FSB in 333Mhz. so ur 800 rams will be able to handle them flawlessly. since 333 x 2 = 666 which is lower speed then the actual rams itself. SO u might be able to overclock ur cpu more than 3Ghz n maintain ratio of 1:1

My dad has that combination (Q6600 + P35-DS3L) and I got for him 4Gb of OCZ Platinum II Rev. 2 PC 6400 (the same one I use). He is rock stable @ 3.6Ghz. I got it @ Fry's. It's $29.99 after a MIR (2Gb). Great RAM.

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5398158

The DDR2 800 (PC6400) at timings of 4-4-4-12 is the best I've found so far for this chipset. I am also building a new system and I picked out the same Gigabyte board you did. However....

Tonight I discovered that the board does not offer support for the GDDR3 RAM, which is on a lot of the newer PCI-Express graphics cards. Another board - the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R - supports both Dual Channel DDR2 and DDR3. Although this board costs quite a bit more.

About three gigs is correct. But you lose this extra RAM because the OS needs to reserve some of it's total 4 gig addressing ability for addressing other memory, such as video card memory for example. Not the same as the paging file on your HD, if that is what you were suggesting.

Crucial Ballistix....$50 at newegg, but its rock solid and overclocks like a monster (yay Micron chips)

I believe you are confused. The GDDR on the graphics card has nothing to do with the main memory support of the motherboard. These boards will support any PCI-E card that isn't a defective freak of nature.

-mcg

I'd like to second MrCommunist's point, quickly, before you do something wrong. The DDR3 on a graphics card has nothing to do with DDR3 support on a MOBO.

Get this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145590

Shadow.....would you stop with that memory.

I think you've posted it in every thread, even ones that don't even pertain to memory.

Here is how you determine what speed memory you need to do an overlock.

First you need to figure out the default FSB speed of your CPU.
For Intel Chips, it will be 800 (E2xxx,E4xxx), 1066 (Q6600,Older 6xxx), or 1333 (E6x50/Penryn).

This is basically 4x the real FSB value since you memory is quad-pumped with dual DDR2. So the real values are 200, 266, and 333.

You will also want to Drive the DDR2 Speed of Chips in half since it's dual pumped. Example - DDR2800 can run at a FSB of 400 until you need to OC it.

For your Q6600, it runs @ 2.4Ghz with a FSB Speed of 266.
If you increase the FSB to 400Mhz you will reach 3.6Ghz.
(2.4Ghz divided 266 times 400)

Not to hijack the thread, but I am in the EXACT same situation as the OP.

Zen, I'm basically understand what you are saying... but what is the answer? You said "Here is how you determine what speed memory you need to do an overclock"... but what is that answer?

What speed RAM is needed to OC to 3.6? I'm sure the answer is right there, but I'm not seeing it. Do you just mean it needs to be DDR2-800? Or is it more complex than that?

Will the memory need to be 'adjusted' in the BIOS to achieve the 3.6? (I'm shooting for a 3.6OC, but I want to make sure I've got all the right components to do so.)

This is the memory I was planning on getting --- Is it a good choice?

http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820231148
4-4-4-12 with a voltage of 2.1 - 2.2 (I still don't completely understand what those numbers mean, but I've been told to look for them!) And its 2x2GB so I can upgrade to 8GB someday, and I do plan on using VISTA64

Again, sorry to hijack the thread, but at least it was OT!