Ram questions

[dashelj]

I am planning on putting together a system with a 2500+ (333 FSB), an Asus Nforce2 dlx etc and overclocking it as much as I can. I have seen around 180(360) or so for FSB's. I want to buy the synchronous corsair TwinX memory. Should I buy 2700 or 3200. As my understanding goes it is critical to match the memory speed to the FSB so theoretically 2700 ram could not match the FSB above 166(333). Or does changing the memory timings allow it to match this. The 3200 ram would also not be at the FSB of the overclocked cpu so would it also be useless?

Thank you
Adam

 

[steve_eng]

What you have said is new to me, i don't think it is critical to match the fsb with the ram. I have corsairs twinx ram at 3200 which is 200mhz x2 giving 400mhz. My cpu is the 2600+ 333 and works fine. As regards the 2500+, are you getting the barton core. If so i would recommend that you don't as the others are better for overclocking so i have heard. Go for the 2600+ 333 or the 2400+. They have higher clock speeds, i understand it is advantageous to have the higher clock speeds rather than the bigger cache. As for the ram it does not matter which speed you choose!

Hope this is a help to you.

 

[dashelj]

It is not critical to match the ram with the processor FSB but will it result in a faster performance?
How useful is the extra L2 Cache? I am not really trying to see how fast my chip can go - I just want to get better performance out of a cheaper chip.
So would a 2400 tbred and 2500 barton at the same clock speed be about equal? The 2400 is 60 bucks cheaper (CDN), the 2600 is 120 more than the 2500. Doesnt the barton have a bigger die allowing it to dissipate more heat making it easier to cool?

thanks

 

[steve_eng]

I don't thnk it will result in better performance but i am not entirely sure! I would say it is better to get faster ram. I was under the impression that the barton cores had a lower die and that was why they are not so good for overclocking! If you don't want to spend the exra money for the 2600+, i would go for the 2400+ and overclock it. I have heard that it is one of the best for overclocking. You may then want to spend a bit more on the ram and get corsair twinx pc3200!