Old-NooB question

[scottiemedic]

SORRY, MY LINKS WERE BROKEN, NOW FIXED

So I got a q8200 from microcenter thanks to advice from everyone here. Now I don't really consider myself noob, but I am behind on tech and haven't overclocked since Celeron 300mhz days. I plan on getting a good CPU cooler, and have a Antec Three Hundred case with 2 120mm fans in front, one in back and a 140mm on top, with the option to put a 120mm on the side panel.

So, as for RAM. The processor is FSB of 1333, so do I HAVE to get 1333 RAM, or for OCing purposes, would 1600 be better so I have room to play with? Will the RAM throttle itself down when not in OC 'mode'? I assume not to get 1066, as it would have to 'OC itself' to get to the base 1333 that the 8200 is running at. I got one vote for G.Skill RAM, but OCZ is on sale everywhere it appears, $100 +/- for 2x2 CL8 and $20 more for CL7.

Also, as a side note, any suggestions on CPU coolers for an 8200 besides the stock? I'm going to be running on an ASUS P5Q3 Standard. The RAM I've considered is:

OCZ:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317775 CL8 Gold $109 I think
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317776 CL7 Platinum $129 I think
Both of these have $20 rebates or something like that til 2/16

Some others I've found at newegg before I knew about the greatness of microcenter:
Corsair TW3X4G1333C9DHX - $119.00 (2x2gb) 9-9-9-24
G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-4GBPK - $109.00 (2x2gb) 9-9-9-24

I just want to make sure I get the best for what I can afford. I'm leaning toward the CL8, unless someone thinks the CL7 or even the CL9 (based on brand) is better...

 

[ares1214]

it helps to keep at a 1:1 ratio (fsb and ram) but getting faster ram wont hurt anything, but slightly possibly help with oc'ing. i would just get 1333 though...best suggestion for a cpu cooler is the cooler master hyper 212:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=212-_-35-103-065-_-Product

ocz, g.skill, corsair, patriot all make good ram, but i would recommend this (assuming your mobo uses ddr3)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231318

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145285

CL7 is best, or lower, although nothing really is in the ddr3 sector. also, you want as low as voltage as possible, which is why the ram i selected has voltage of 1.35v-1.65v, basically where you want to keep it. [strike]make sure your mobo uses ddr3 though, quite a few 775 ones dont, so that could be problematic...

[/strike] nevermind, it looks like it does, but check anyway...hope this helped

 

[scottiemedic]

it helps to keep at a 1:1 ratio (fsb and ram) but getting faster ram wont hurt anything, but slightly possibly help with oc'ing. i would just get 1333 though

Seems rather vague... If it might help with OCing, why suggest 1333? Also, Wouldn't getting 12800 be better than 10600? I'm reading guide after guide, and it appears (correct me if I'm wrong) but wouldn't I like DDR3-1600 (extra Mhz) and PC3 12800 or higher (more throughput)?

Yeah, I'm behind in my times, but playing catchup

 

[ares1214]

what im getting at is that cpus have a memory controller, and for that cpu it is at 1333 MHz, as is the fsb, therefore there will likely be no benefit to getting 1600 MHz, as it will read as 1333 MHz at best. this is why you oc everything to get it up higher, but having it already at 1600 would be brought down to 1333...also, 1333 tends to have better timings and be cheaper, so even if that didnt happen, it would still be not much use...

 

[scottiemedic]

ahhh, ok, now I'm starting to get it. Of all things, RAM for some reason has me the most perplexed in the world of computers. I read and understand then poof, it's gone!! I'll start looking into 1333 RAM, cause I noticed it is a bit cheaper, which is always a plus, since my wife knows not how much I really spend on my computer. All she knows is it prints from the laptop to the desktop when she asks it to

 

[ares1214]

haha :lol: yeah, ram is so simple, yet the more you look into it, the more confused you get. :lol: it took me a while to understand cas latency, at first i was like . speaking of cas latency, 1333 typically has lower, and lower cas latency helps a lot when overclocking...

 

[scottiemedic]

So, I think the second RAM choice would be the best? Low CAS and low volts give me room to go up if I need to...???...

 

[ares1214]

ordinarily, i would say yes, but since 775 is old, it might not recognize the voltage on the ram (lots of older mobos dont recognize below 1.5 volts) so it would still work, but it loses its main good feature. because of this, i say get the first set, since it is better at overclocking, and still has the super low voltage of 1.5 volts (average is about 1.65v).

 

[Deleted member 217926]

SORRY, MY LINKS WERE BROKEN, NOW FIXED

So I got a q8200 from microcenter thanks to advice from everyone here. Now I don't really consider myself noob, but I am behind on tech and haven't overclocked since Celeron 300mhz days. I plan on getting a good CPU cooler, and have a Antec Three Hundred case with 2 120mm fans in front, one in back and a 140mm on top, with the option to put a 120mm on the side panel.

So, as for RAM. The processor is FSB of 1333, so do I HAVE to get 1333 RAM, or for OCing purposes, would 1600 be better so I have room to play with? Will the RAM throttle itself down when not in OC 'mode'? I assume not to get 1066, as it would have to 'OC itself' to get to the base 1333 that the 8200 is running at. I got one vote for G.Skill RAM, but OCZ is on sale everywhere it appears, $100 +/- for 2x2 CL8 and $20 more for CL7.

Also, as a side note, any suggestions on CPU coolers for an 8200 besides the stock? I'm going to be running on an ASUS P5Q3 Standard. The RAM I've considered is:

OCZ:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317775 CL8 Gold $109 I think
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317776 CL7 Platinum $129 I think
Both of these have $20 rebates or something like that til 2/16

Some others I've found at newegg before I knew about the greatness of microcenter:
Corsair TW3X4G1333C9DHX - $119.00 (2x2gb) 9-9-9-24
G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-4GBPK - $109.00 (2x2gb) 9-9-9-24

I just want to make sure I get the best for what I can afford. I'm leaning toward the CL8, unless someone thinks the CL7 or even the CL9 (based on brand) is better...

Ummm you have a socket 775 processor are you sure you are using DDR3? What model motherboard do you have? DDR2 is much more likely.

You have a Q8200 at 2.3 ghz.......this is reached by having a 333mzh FSB with a 7 x multiplier or 7x 333=2.3ghz. So if you have a DDR2 board to run at a 1 to 1 ratio with the RAM you would use DDR2 667 since DDR is double data rate or 333 x 2. To leave overclocking room I would use DDR2 800 with a 4 4 4 12 cas.

Edit: Should have mentioned I am running an E8400 that stock has a 333mzh FSB and a 9x multiplier for a 3.0 ghz stock speed. I have it overclocked to 3.6ghz by increasing the FSB to 400. So with a 9x multi you get 9x400=3.6. So overclocked at 3.6 my processor runs at a 1 to 1 ratio with my DDR2 800 since DDR2 800 is 400x2 dual channel.

what im getting at is that cpus have a memory controller, and for that cpu it is at 1333 MHz, as is the fsb, therefore there will likely be no benefit to getting 1600 MHz, as it will read as 1333 MHz at best. this is why you oc everything to get it up higher, but having it already at 1600 would be brought down to 1333...also, 1333 tends to have better timings and be cheaper, so even if that didnt happen, it would still be not much use...

LGA 775 CPUs do not have a memory controller.

 

[ares1214]

but it does on the mobo, and i found out it is actually 1066 MHz for most boards, which makes sense as most are ddr2. and i checked, his mobo is ddr3, one of about 5 i guess :lol:

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Yeah you are right its DDR3.....I totally missed that he did post MB model. Oh well at least DDR3 is about the same price as DDR2 right now even if LGA 775 chips can not really make use of the higher memory bandwidth. OP would have been better off with an i5/i7 build. But as long as you are not trying to build a gaming box you should be happy. It should be fine for general use.

This is a great overclocking guide. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

It is actually pretty easy. Good luck.

 

[scottiemedic]

Sorry, just read the posts, been at the four letter WORK... Yeah, the mobo is DDR3 as you know by now (I really like what the board offers, exactly what I needed for now, though I will soon have 4 gigs of Corsair DDR2 for paperweights), which is cool, I got the mobo dirt cheap and can use the DDR3 down the road for a Core iX build once they pop down in price a bit then use the 'old' 8200 for a media server or dedicate it to ripping audio/converting video or what not. I'm running a P4 660 right now, so I'll be in CPU heaven just getting the quad core! WooT!! Payday is Friday, so I'm hoping someone gets a ripping deal on memory in the next few days!

It will be a gaming box, but I still have Bioshock and the 3 FEAR versions to play, so I'm a bit behind, my 8200 will kill them and when I get ready for another round of games, I'm sure I'll itch for a nice new proc and some Crossfire action

 

[scottiemedic]

Best answer selected by scottiemedic.