Need Help Choosing Memory

[zapp_brannigan]

Hi guys,

I am putting together a new system - with budget constraints -, as it stands I am getting an ASUS motherboard with 4xDD2 1066 slots, and a AMD 64 x2 2.7GHz cpu and some memory.

Ideally I'd like at least 3x1Gb's DDR2 1066, since I run a lot of 3d CAD, FEM & matlab code (am an engineering student), XP as my OS. I've never OC'ed.



From my research I've found:

1) OCZ Platinum XTC Revision 2 Memory - DDR2-1066MHz - 1GB EPP 5-5-5-18 - (I can afford 3x1GB)

http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-ocz-platinum-xtc-revision-2-memory-ddr2-1066mhz-1gb--3968853.html

2) OCZ PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB Fatal1ty EPP 2x1GB Kit - CL5 EPP 5-5-5-15 (A bit over my budget, but with a push 4GB total can be bought)

http://www.prophecy.co.za/pc28500-ddr2-fatal1ty-2x1gb-p-33338.html

3) OCZ PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB NVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition 2x1GB Kit - CL5 - EPP 5-5-5-15 (same pricing as (2))

http://www.prophecy.co.za/pc28500-ddr2-nvidia-sliready-edition-2x1gb-p-33337.html

4) Mushkin XP 996684 DDR2-8500 (1066MHz) 2GB (2 * 1GB) Kit CL5 1066MHz Latency: 5-5-5-15
(a bit cheaper than (2)which I can afford two of (i.e 4GB total)

http://www.prophecy.co.za/mushkin-996684-ddr28500-1066mhz-p-34338.html



I cannot for the life of me of me work out which is memory is better, EPP 5-5-5-18 vs EPP 5-5-5-15?
what does the last number mean? is it latency perhaps, in which case 15 better than 18?
edit: okay, did more research and now know about the difference

Is 4Gb excessive for my needs?
Mushkin vs. OCZ, worth forking out more money for OCZ?

Please help, I really muddled as to what to do or even what I really need?

My thanks, Erik

 

[AtaliaA1]

4) Mushkin XP 996684 DDR2-8500 (1066MHz) 2GB (2 * 1GB) Kit CL5 1066MHz Latency: 5-5-5-15
(a bit cheaper than (2)which I can afford two of (i.e 4GB total)

 

[zapp_brannigan]

4) Mushkin XP 996684 DDR2-8500 (1066MHz) 2GB (2 * 1GB) Kit CL5 1066MHz Latency: 5-5-5-15
(a bit cheaper than (2)which I can afford two of (i.e 4GB total)

why would you choose that one though?

 

[Nik_I]

4GB is good to have if you work with 3D stuff at all. and really, that 18 vs 15 stuff has such a small performance difference that you shouldn't even worry about it. just buy whichever set is cheaper. also, i'd suggest getting 800Mhz ram since the athlon X2's don't support 1066.

 

[geofelt]

For any ram you are considering, do your own homework.
Go to the ram vendor's web site, and access their configurator.
Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, OCZ and others have them.
Their compatibility list is more current than the motherboard vendor's QVL lists which rarely get updated.
Enter your mobo or PC, and get a list of compatible ram sticks.

I would not spend too much time on speed and timing.
If you look at real application and game benchmarks(vs. synthetic tests),
you will see negligible difference in performance between the slowest and fastest ram.
Perhaps 1-2%. Not worth it to me.
Don't pay extra for faster ram or better timings unless you are a maximum overclocker.

Since you are a student, you can get a discounted academic license for vista-64 bit. Consider 8gb which can be put to good use, depending on your applications and level of multitasking.

 

[zapp_brannigan]

Thanks for the responses.

i'd suggest getting 800Mhz ram since the athlon X2's don't support 1066.

really? gosh, didn't know that. It isn't worth spending 20% more on 1066 though, so if I do ever upgrade CPU then I won't have to upgrade the RAM? sounds ridiculous though, as who knows how long I'll sit under utilising the memory.

I had another question, been reading through articles, and there is alot of mention that 32bit XP (which I run very happily - no issues for 5 years) can only support 3Gb RAM, but if the motherboard states "Up to 8GB Memory" does that mean that thanks to the clever drivers on the motherboard that 32bit XP can then fully utilise the 4Gb?

 

[geofelt]

Thanks for the responses.

i'd suggest getting 800Mhz ram since the athlon X2's don't support 1066.

really? gosh, didn't know that. It isn't worth spending 20% more on 1066 though, so if I do ever upgrade CPU then I won't have to upgrade the RAM? sounds ridiculous though, as who knows how long I'll sit under utilising the memory.

I had another question, been reading through articles, and there is alot of mention that 32bit XP (which I run very happily - no issues for 5 years) can only support 3Gb RAM, but if the motherboard states "Up to 8GB Memory" does that mean that thanks to the clever drivers on the motherboard that 32bit XP can then fully utilise the 4Gb?

Any 32 bit OS xp or vista can at most address 4gb. However some space must be reserved for hardware, particularly vga cards, so effectively you can only use 3.3gb or so. Normally 2gb is for the OS and 2gb is for your application. This dividing line can be shifted some with the appropriate fix, but the total will be unchanged.
The 64 bit versions of the os eliminate these restrictions. With ram so cheap these days, it seems to me to be a no-brainer to look at 64 bit versions whenever you buy a new os.

 

[zapp_brannigan]

so the 0.7Gb I'd lose regardless of how much ram i have, but if I go over 4Gb then I'd lose out on [0.7Gb + (total ram - 4gb)].

 

[geofelt]

Here is an explanation of 4gb vs. 2gb, and why you might want 4gb:
http://www.corsairmemory.com/_appnotes/AN804_Gaming_Performance_Analysis.pdf

 

[zapp_brannigan]

well that settled that then. I'll order 2x2Gb DDRII 800MHz then, leaving 2 slots for another day. Very much appreciated.