Compatible ddr2 cards for MSI P965 Neo w/ Pentium D 2.8Ghz

bentcircuit

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I have been researching memory all day and I want to make sure the ddr2 is compatible with my setup.

MSI P965 Neo
Pentium D 2.8Ghz

My mobo is compatible with Dual Channel DDR2 533/667/800 expandle to 4GB @ 800 or 8GB @ 533/667

I have decided to purchase 4 2GB DDR2 667. I want to get the best(fastest? stable?) RAM my computer will support.
Price is not a major concern.


Now I am confused about which chips are right.

1. Do I want PC2 5300, or PC2 5400 or is this just a rounding preference

2. What ram timing should I use? I have read too many contradictory things about this to make a confident decision.

3. Brand?


Any help is greatly appreciated, and recommendations are welcome.


Thank You in advance for your time and patience.
 

bentcircuit

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I am currently running 4 512gb of ddr2 pc4200 @ 4-4-4-12, and I do cpu/memory intensive music production/recording/editing. I run multiple programs wired into each other and many virtual instruments and my computer is lagging on windows xp 32 bit(fresh install). I am planning on dual booting windows 7.

Is 4gb of ddr2-800 really that much better than 8gb of ddr2-667? Even with a 64 bit operating system?
 

bentcircuit

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Sorry I had to work today, and I also have to work tomorrow. I am very appreciative of your responses. The nature of my 'bottleneck" is hard to recreate, as the nature of these propriety vsts etc, is quite random depending on how extensively I use them, and which DAWs are involved. You are completely right in your requirence of these statistics, but it is hard to view in the middle of a recording session.

I have read the full memory faq. And I appreciate the responses immensely.

What most interests me know is the reason why I would use 4gb 800 instead of 8gb 667.

I am not a video gamer, I only posted the card because of compatability reasons.
 
At a minimum check the Peak Commit Charge in Task Manager and the CPU Usage History right after a run completes.
What most interests me know is the reason why I would use 4gb 800 instead of 8gb 667.
Install 4GB if the Peak Commit Charge isn't even close to 4GB; otherwise install 8GB which might also work fine at 800MHz if you buy high quality modules like the G.Skill PI Black http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209&cm_re=g.skill_ddr2_800-_-20-231-209-_-Product or the G.Skill HK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219&cm_re=g.skill_ddr2_800-_-20-231-219-_-Product Both kits require 1.9V to run stable at 4-4-4-12 timings.

I presume that you already know that Windows XP 32 can access a maximum of 3.25GB of memory and that if you install 8GB of RAM you need to use Windows 7 64-bit to access all available memory.
 

bentcircuit

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Thanks for your responses guys.

I have decided to take your advice and get the 800 ram. Worst case scenario I still have ram that will work when I buy a less dated motherboard. Besides most of my hardware extensive activities will take place in 32 xp until the programs I use are 100% 64 bit (W7) compatible.

Quick question though (if it comes down to it later)...If I run 2 800 1 gb cards dual channel, and then 2 667 2 gb cards dual.............I understand they will all run at 667. But will this give me an extra boost if 4gb isn't enough when my software is supported and i move to 64?


Basically:

4gb 800 vs 2gb 800 + 4gb 667 vs 8gb 667

Thanks for your thoughts on this.