Hi,

Is DDR2 800Mhz (4x1GB) enough for a heavy overclock on an X38/X48 motherboard? A few forum posts said you would need about 1000Mhz DDR2 to reach around 3.8Ghz on the Q9450. The below memory links both have reviews that they overclock quite well. However is it worth paying extra for 1066 vs 800? I found 4x1gb of the DDR2 800 version for $80 vs $160 for 4x1gb of the 1066.

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpart [...] 9CA5CA7304
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpart [...] A5A5CA7304

Thanks

well, you can overclock the memory too

Hi. Well yes, I was planning to overclock memory as well to help with the Q9450 overclock. But what I was asking was if I should go with the 800Mhz or the 1066Mhz as a starting point. Again though, 4x1gb for 800Mhz is $80 vs $160 for 4x1 of 1066Mhz.

Find out what FSB you're going to be setting the quad to. For example, If you were to set it to 450, then you would either want DDR2-800 that can easily hit 900Mhz (450x2) or DDR1066 that you downclock to 900.

I don't see you pushing it a whole lot more than that, then again the multiplier sucks on the Q9450. DDR2-800 in my opinion.

your probably not going get the fsb any where near 533 so if you used 1066, it would have to be underclocked, but if you get the fsb higher than 400, then the ddr2 800 would have to overclocked as well... so it depends how much you want to overclock, and remember: the less things you have to overclock to get what you want, the better it is.

As per the below review, it seems the Gigabyte X48-DQ6 can reach 545 FSB when using an QX6700:
This motherboard also supports DDR2-1200Mhz memory, so I could go even higher then 1066Mhz memory if needed.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] index.html

even if the fsb is that high, the system wont run at that speed, even if it did, the vcore would be so high that running it for long periods will damage it. as for the q9450, unless your trying to run it at 4 ghz, the fsb will be lower than 500, at fsb 400 it will be 3.2, and at fsb450 3.6.
it you want no more than 3.2, ddr2-800 would be the best choice. any more than 3.2 means overclocking ddr2-800 or under clocking ddr2-1066.

What ram would be needed for a goal overclock of 3.66Ghz/3.80Ghz? I think for 3.8Ghz you would need 475FSB, which on this motherboard, looks to not be a problem. As I said, this motherboard supports up to DDR2-1200, so you can go with 800/1066/1200. Was looking to go with 4GB of whatever ram speed is needed.

Overclocking 4GB of RAM @ 1200MHz might be more trouble than you think. It sounds like you guys want huge overclocks so be smart and get DDR2 1066 for the ultimate overclock, its better to have more headroom.

I'm planning to do a build with the same CPU and looking at running 4ghz at a 500FSB, right now I'm pretty much decided on this ram:
[url]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231145[/url]

These will do 1:1 at that speed stock. They also make DDR2 800 in this model as well if you choose to go that route for slightly cheaper. Getting faster ram and then underclocking might give you additional room to tighten timings as well.

Sounds like DDR2-1066 is the way to go then.

C0llin, G.SKILL also makes a 2x2GB version of DDR2-1066. However, it is $50+ more then the 4x2GB DDR2-1000 version. So doesn't seem worth it, or maybe it is?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166

nope, 50$ more is not worth it. with ddr2-1000, you can overclock the cpu (q9450) up to 4.0 ghz without overclocking the memory.

The cost is way more then $50... in fact, it is $75 more. So not worth it at all for just 66 extra Mhz.

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) : $189.99
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) : $114.99

This forum has 11 pages worth of posts about the G.SKILL DDR2-1000Mhz. It seems to max out at about 1150Mhz.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=163668

Some G Skill memory, such as the PC6400, uses micron chips. But the G Skill PC8000 uses the inferior powerchip chips. Also here is more on G.Skill PC8000 from the unhappy folks that have bought it: G.Skill PC8000 Reviews

If you are looking for 2x2GB, might I suggest the
MUSHKIN 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996593-REDLINE - Retail Cas Latency: 5
which uses the real deal, micron D9GMH chips?

Lastly, here is a good RAM reference: ramlist.ath.cx

That must be why the G.SKILL DDR2-1066 2x2GB set costs $75 more then the G.SKILL DDR2-1000 2x2GB set. It would seem it has the higher quality micron chips, but you pay a lot extra for it.

those mushkins look delicious

Too bad they aren't 1066.

I bet they'd run 1066 no problem.

I e-mailed and will call G.SKILL tomorrow to find out if their DDR2-1066 2x2GB set uses micron chips or powerchip chips for the memory. Does anyone know what chips this memory uses?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166

Called G.SKILL and was told that the 2x2GB DDR2-1066 set uses the same memory chips as the 2x2GB DDR2-1000 set. He said they don't use micron chips as they don't last longer then six months?