Memory decisions (1600 or 1066)

[solce]

This memory will be on an Asrock intel x58 extreme mobo with a xeon x5550 processor.

I am in the position to get 6gb ddr3 1066 ram for dirt cheap (30$?), or get 6gb of 1600 for 140 (after a rebate). How much benefit is the 1600 over the 1066? Will I see any difference in gaming now or in the future? I'm seeing mixed information. Do the 1600 rams come as 1066, just with the ability to OC to 1600? Also, I do plan on overclocking my CPU (stock is 2.66ghz)

 

[solce]

nvm. going with 1600

 

[jonathan7007]

Where was that 1066 memory coming from? I have heard that I am better off with the conservative RAM if I want everything to work smoothly without tweaking settings a lot. I just want some sources and there aren't many - it seems.

jonathan7007

 

[j12david]

That's pretty much good advice, I'm running ddr3 1600, that comes stock at 1066. I haven't even bothered to bump it up, but on the flip side, when the rest of the hardware catches up to the speed of ram, you won't have to upgrade.

 

[JDFan]

Buy both and then resale the 6GB 1066 to recover part of the cost of the 1600

 

[jonathan7007]

I have to say that the numbering/labeling conventions for memory are really confusing.

I talked to Crucial for a while today and they suggested buying the 1333-level sticks and leaving the voltage lower. I don't know if I'd be lowering it as an active step or just letting the board set the voltages by itself. (Gigabyte GA-X58A-3UR) 3 sticks x 2GB. I will not be gaming; I am building this for Photoshop work. Having 6Gig, a 64-bit OS, GPU acceleration, and a really fast processor will be an amazing uptick in productivity so I feel that the little bump I'd get from tweaking RAM at this level of detail would not pay itself back after time invested in learning, experimenting, trying different solutions.

My 2 cents.

jonathan7007