RAM selection

[monkeylizard]

New build (obviously)

Core 2 Quad 6600
Arctic Cooler Freexer 7 Pro 92nm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128083
XFX GeForce 8800GT 512MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150273
Seagate Baraccuda 7200.11 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
Hiper R-II 680W http://www.xoxide.com/hyper-type-rii-680w-blue.html

I'm still lost on how to choose RAM. According to its specs, the MoBo will handle "DDR2 1200 (O.C.)/1066"
Questions:
■Does this mean it won't handle 800?
■Since the CPU is a 1066, should I mate it with 1066 RAM? Would 800 (assuming the MoBo can handle it) cause the overall system to clock down?

In the 1066 modules, I see lots of 5-5-5-15 and some 5-5-5-18. Which is better and how does it compare to the 800's that I see at 4-4-4-12?

Since the 1066 is about x2 as much as 800, I don't want to waste cash where it won't help, but likewise I don't want to bottleneck the build from RAM speed over a lousy $100 and have to live with it for some time.

 

[monkeylizard]

After reading a bit more, I'm second guessing my CPU choice. This is primarily for gaming. I don't do any photo/video editing. It sounds like the C2D E8400 may be a better choice. NewEgg has them at essentially the same price (+-$15).

I do plan on venturing into the OC world with this build.

I'm upgrading from an old AthlonXP+ 1700, if that tells you how long it takes for me to convince myself that it's time for a new build. Given that, I'm still leaning towards the Q6600.

Opinions?

 

[grieve]

I think Q6600 is the way to go (or a better quad)... read the below link, it is a q6600 VS. E8400 thread

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248327-28-overclocked-q6600-e8400-compared-benchmarks-included

 

[grieve]

This is the certified vendor list for that MB you have...
http://www.gigabyte.in/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-ep35-ds3p_2.1.pdf

 

[grieve]

You mention you will not OC…
With out question you will want a CL3 or CL4 DDR2 PC6400 (800MHZ) the extra speed from higher clocked Ram is not worth it right now, to much money for too little gain.

 

[monkeylizard]

thanks for the links
Q6600 it is.

I do actually plan to OC, just not right off the bat.
Does that change which RAM I should be looking at? I don't mind OC'ing the RAM later if needed.

 

[monkeylizard]

And what's CL3 and CL4?

 

[grieve]

Cas Latency

**edit**
CAS Latency (CL) is the time (in number of clock cycles) that elapses between the memory controller telling the memory module to access a particular column in the current row, and the data from that column being read from the module's output pins.

When selecting a RAM card, the lower the CAS latency (given the same clock speed), the less time it takes to fetch data from it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency

 

[monkeylizard]

While we're here, I saw in the THG Best Gaming Graphics Card article that the 8800GT 512 is a better choice for only a few dollars more over the Radeon 3870. That's why I have opted for the 8800GT.

I could change the MoBo to the DS4 instead of the DS3P and get dual PCIe 2.0 x16 channels.

Dual cards is not something I plan on doing right away. Is crossfire becoming enough of a standard that I should opt for ATI and the dual slots now to have the option in a few years? ISTM that I could simply buy a better single card later and never bother with duals. Of course, if what seemed right to me WAS right, I wouldn't be asking for help....

 

[grieve]

This is just a personal opinion…

I would stay clear of SLI/Crossfire unless you have the cash to buy two cards now and are running a huge monitor.

I went SLI (sig below) thinking ill buy another GTX one day… but as time goes by you realize that when the card you want comes down in price (or is even needed) that there is a bigger badder card available.. So now you are spending cash on something obsolete.

1) If you don’t have a Big monitor – don’t do sli
2) If you don’t have the cash for two top end cards - don’t do SLI.
3) Sli is not supported in every game, just some.
4) You need to buy a more expensive MB and power supply to support SLI.


At the End of the day… There are not too many benefits really. Buy the best single card you can afford and be pleased as it will be up to the task you need it for.

 

[monkeylizard]

OK, I found these on NewEgg, but I don't know what the differences mean.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16820231087,N82E16820231114,N82E16820231065

I noticed that the 1st and 3rd have the same x-x-x-x values, but the 1st has a lower Voltage.

I know it's hard to base off price, but is the 3rd option realy THAT much better than the 1st or 2nd?

Should I be looking at something else?

 

[monkeylizard]

And there's this one from GSkill too. 4GB for $90, but CLS5.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
Would I see a difference between 5 and 4?

 

[monkeylizard]

How does the voltage come into play? I see 2.1v and 2.2v

 

[Crashman]

I'd go with this RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

It can be overclocked to around 1200MHz (both my sets go past 1250MHz) data rate, so there's lots of room to play around.

Generally speaking, the more voltage you need to reach rated settings, the lower the grade of RAM. But some companies rate their RAM at higher-than-required voltage, so it's not a hard rule.