4x1gb or 2x2gb with Gigabyte mobo

Hello,

I recently got a GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L with OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066. It works fine with xp but I want to get 4gb with vista 64-bit. Should I go with another 2x1gb ocz ram or just refund the ocz ram and get 2x2gb ram? The gigabyte memory support page says that the only 2gb it supports is micron. Is this because the site isn't updated.

And if you say that I should go with 2x2gb ram, then should I go with ddr2 800 or 1066? I play games like Crysis, will it make a big difference?

Another possibility for me is to get vista 32-bit, keep the 2x1gb ocz ram and buy another gig of ram.

What should I do?

Thanks ahead of time.

if you can go for vista 64, then i would go with that. As for the support page for Gigabyte, don't worry about that. That just lists that micron ram has been tested with that board. It doesn't mean it is the only brand it will support.

If you go for vista 64, then get the 2x2gb modules, so you can upgrade later if you want.

As for Crysis, you won't see much difference between 800 and 1066 in terms of FPS, that is more dependant on your GPU.

it shouldn't create a problem if you fill all the memory slots as along as you run the memory at correct timings and voltages.

Also, what resolution are you running crysis at? an 8800GT is a good card, but it's gonna be hard to get good framerates at higher resolutions with crysis

The 8800gt is the superclocked version. I am actually playing on low resolution but with high setting because it was automatically set to that. I think it was about 1000 to i don't know 800. I have a small 17" monitor anyway.

So for the timing and voltages I just set it to what it is supposed to be in the bios after I install OS, right? So do I use 5-5-5-15 for timing. That is what it has as specs on newegg. But for the voltage it has 2.1 to 2.3. Which one do I use?

OCZ Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227178

EVGA 8800gt sc
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130319
It is deactivated now, lol. But newegg still has the non-superclocked version.

From a software point of view, there is no difference between 4x1gb and 2x2gb. A 32 bit os will have about 3.3gb to work with. Crysis should run fine with that amount of ram. It will be the vga card that limits your frame rate in crysis.

The ram you mentioned is really ddr2-800 ram that has been binned, and is certified to run at a higher speed if you give it additional voltage. 1.8 or 1.9 volts is the normal spec.

The timings do not make a whole lot of difference. I would return it and get a 2x2gb kit of basic ddr2-800 ram for less$ that runs at the stock voltage of 1.8 or 1.9v.

Adding 2x512mb of the same ram will almost certainly work. You will then have 3gb in dual channel mode.

The Corsair memory works just fine. I have 8gb of those modules in my DS3R. It's cheap, and they have good support also.

You cant run 4 1gb sticks on that board, i know i have that board and tried it, wont post, i would get 2 2gb sticks of 1066 thats what im running, if it did run on 4 1gb sticks its alot more work for the memory controller anyway, get 2 2gb sticks, you will be in good shape.

Would recommend Mushkin memory if you're buying new - very thorough Gb forum at tweaktown indicates that Gb boards are generally 'happy' with Mushkin RAM; certainly doesn't mean anyone else's WON"T run, just seems Mushkin needs fewer 'tweaks' to run, and if you're interested in DOING tweaks to OC, you might be able to push the Mushkin further...