Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > Gigabyte > Memory and CPU Fan/Heatsink for GA-X48-DS5
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pjs   10-11-2008 at 08:03:54 AM

I have a Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 and an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield.

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128332
cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115041

Trying to decide on memory and CPU fan. I'd like to get a full 8GB.

The mobo specs say "4x1.8v DDR2 1200/1066/800/667". However, I went to crucial.com and looked up the mobo, and the website suggested:

4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 memory module
http://crucial.com/store/mpartspec [...] 51A5CA7304

I'm a little unknowledgable here. The mobo specs say max DDR2 1200, but crucial.com is suggesting PC2-6400.

What is the relationship between "DDR2 1200" and "PC2-6400"? Do they mean the same thing?


Lastly, the fan. My preference would be something passive. Is it possible to cool this CPU with this motherboard _RELIABLY_ using a passive cooler? If not, what are some recommendations? Money is not really an issue. I'd like something really great and quiet. But if I can't get that, I'll take just really great. :-)

Thanks!
Pete

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Bronze Motherboards badge o1die   10-11-2008 at 01:36:52 PM
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The 1200 is the highest rating you can get with ddr2; not worth the price premium; it's probably double the price of pc6400. I would look for 2x2gb kits of pc6400; newegg has a corsair 2x2gb kit for $70 with $25 rebate. Start out with 4 gb, unless you are using vista 64. With all 4 memory slots filled, you may have more difficulty getting a stable overclock if you want to try it. For the cpu cooling, get a large zalman or arctic freezer pro 64 and turn the fan setting on low, using the motherboard bios. It has multiple fan speed settings; I use 0 or 1. It is possible to use a fanless setup, but you'll need other fans to remove the heat from the case. Multiple large fans set on low speed give you the lowest noise level overall. There is one fanless water cooled setup for around $250, but I don't recall the name. I would avoid water cooled setups unless you're an experienced builder.

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Bronze Motherboards badge bilbat   10-11-2008 at 04:20:36 PM
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There's a GREAT Gigabyte forum over at:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69
Gb boards, in general, seem to 'like' Mushkin RAM. Not to say others' WON"T work, just that Mushkins seem to take less fiddling with, and if you ARE willing to fiddle, might OC better. I'm planning a new workstation based on a DQ6, and was going to buy 8Gb OCZ 1066 as it was a little cheaper, & they seem to have good support (especially at NewEgg); but, it seemed to me, I'd GLADLY pay $15 a stick to cut several hours of cursing at the BIOS while tweaking. Mushkin also makes 800's, and, if you're not trying to squeeze the last FPS gaming, or doing video encoding, might save some money without noticeably degrading performance.

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pjs   10-11-2008 at 05:50:19 PM
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Sorry for the dumb question (newbie) but just for my own knowledge, how is 1200 faster than 6400? 6400 is a larger number. I thought the higher the number, the faster the RAM stick was clocked?

Also, why is 4 sticks less stable than 2?

Thanks!

Message quoted 1 times
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roadrunner197069   10-11-2008 at 06:21:38 PM
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pjs wrote :

Sorry for the dumb question (newbie) but just for my own knowledge, how is 1200 faster than 6400? 6400 is a larger number. I thought the higher the number, the faster the RAM stick was clocked?

Also, why is 4 sticks less stable than 2?

Thanks!




PC2 9600 = 1200
PC2 6400 = 800

4 sticks requires more voltage.


Message edited by roadrunner197069 on 10-11-2008 at 06:22:18 PM
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Bronze Motherboards badge o1die   10-11-2008 at 06:30:10 PM
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It's not impossible to get 4 sticks stable; but 2 tend to work better, especially with higher speed memory. Here's the lowdown on naming:

pc2 5300 is the same as ddr2 667
pc2 6400 is the same as ddr2 800
pc2 8500 is the same as ddr2 1066

Pc2 6400 is the industry standard for 1.8 volts. Any memory rated higher has to be run at higher voltage. If your motherboard has no memory voltage adjustments, and only runs at 1.8 volts, then it won't run the faster stuff. If your board has a memory fsb setting in the bios, use the ddr2 number to set your memory speed manually. For example, ddr2 800 would be set at 400 in most bios, while 1066 would be set at 533.


Message edited by o1die on 10-11-2008 at 06:33:37 PM
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Bronze Motherboards badge bilbat   10-31-2008 at 07:30:43 PM
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Here's my DS5 being prepped, with an Artic Freezer7Pro (modified to allow 'daisy chaining of another PWM fan) and a CoolitSystem's RamFan (with the original sixty cent fan yanked, & replaced with a 60mm CoolJAG PWM)...
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/2726/dscn1735halfls4.jpg

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