memory question

[kmwrestle]

Right now i have 2 sets of 2x1gb corsair xms2 6400 c4 ram. I see alot of people reccomed the crucial ballistic ram here. is there any benefit i would see if i changed? or is it 6 of one 1/2 dozen of another?

 

[badgtx1969]

Best DDR2 for overclocking uses Micron chips if we take a look at the RAMlist
http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/
Your 2x1gb corsair xms2 6400 c4 may or may not be Micron depending on the revision. Crucial is normally recommended since it is owed by Micron - so you always get Micron chips in Crucial ram. Ballistix are the highest binned of their chips. However any ram rated similarly with the same micron chips should OC about the same. Always trust in the ramlist.

 

[grieve]

kmwrestle i would think if you are running stalk, the CL4 ram you have is plenty fast and you wouldnt notice a difference with a different brand.

 

[Zorg]

Don't bother, it's a waste of money.

 

[hairycat101]

Just run what ya got. I don't see any system specs. So whatcha runnin'? CPU? How fast is the system bus? Are you running 4-4-4-12? What MHz? I really really really doubt that you would see any noticable difference switching chips.

 

[kmwrestle]

SPECS
------------------------------
INTEL Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 GHz CPU
4GB CORSAIR CMS6400 C4 RAM
MSI P35 NEO2-FR ATX MB
PNY 8600GT 256MB VID CARD
WD 40GB SATA 10000RPM HARD DRIVE (OS + PROGRAMS)
WD 1TB 7200RPM 16MB HD (DATA)
2 X Samsung SH-S203N SATA DVD-RW
ANTEC EARTHWATTS 500W PSU
ANTEC NINE HUNDRED CASE
SAMSUNG SYNCHMASTER 2232BW 22" LCD 2MS
WINDOWS XP PRO

I am going to be ordering an 8800gt shortly to upgrade the video card

 

[kmwrestle]

i just checked i have revision 2.1 which is the pro mos chip not the micron

i dont plan to overclock now but may in the future.

can i mix 2 sticks of crucial and 2stick of corsair with dual channel? for a total of 4gb?

 

[Zorg]

Yes you can mix sticks as long as the same sticks are in the same bank. As I said earlier, there is no need to "upgrade" to the Ballistix. XP pro 32b will only see about 3GB so if you don't have 64, again don't bother. Move on to something productive.

 

[kmwrestle]

well i am building a comp for my mom as well so i can buy myself the ballistic and give her my corsair......more or less my train of thought. just like i'm giving her my 8600 and buying myself a 8800gt oc

 

[hairycat101]

At what speed is your ram running? Defalt would put it at 333 MHz. That ram is rated to run stock at 400 MHz. There should be an option in the bios to change the ratio for the ram. It might come as a ratio or the speed of the ram expressed as PC 6400 or possiblly DDR2 800. Ram speed does matter. Make sure you are doing 400 MHz. It should be a common ratio. You can check what speed you are at by using CPU-Z.

 

[Zorg]

well i am building a comp for my mom as well so i can buy myself the ballistic and give her my corsair......more or less my train of thought. just like i'm giving her my 8600 and buying myself a 8800gt oc

That's fine. What you should understand is that if the RAM is the same speed and has the same timings, then it doesn't matter who it's made by, barring some junk, which neither the Corsair nor the Ballistix are. The only consideration is whether it plays well with your mobo, which can be determined from the QVL page on the mobo Mfg. website.

 

[hairycat101]

That's fine. What you should understand is that if the RAM is the same speed and has the same timings, then it doesn't matter who it's made by, barring some junk, which neither the Corsair nor the Ballistix are. The only consideration is whether it plays well with your mobo, which can be determined from the QVL page on the mobo Mfg. website.

REALLY good point. If you have ram that you know works with your MoBo, then there is absolutely no reason to risk it. In your case, you have ram that is currently working and like Zorg said manufacturer won't help performance provided that the speeds and timings are equal.