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Choosing between two memories...

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Memory - Choosing between two memories...

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dannyaa   08-19-2004 at 07:39:55 PM

OK I am upgrading to a P4c 3.2 with an Abit IC7 mobo, and need to know what I should do for RAM. I am looking at either:

1GB RAM (2x Crucial 512mb DDR pc3200 CL3 RAM) for $180
-- but should I get parity or ECC? Ecc = $50 more total. What is the difference and why or why not should I get ECC?

OR... I could go with

Corsair XMS PRO PC3200 512M CMX512-3200LLPRO, which is their performance memory for gaming... except it costs $340 total - almost twice as much! Is this really worth it? Is this overkill?


I don't know enough about memory here and want to make sure I make a good decision. I am on a budget and want to know what I'll be compromising by going with the $180 RAM (or $230 for ECC) if I choose Crucial.

Thanks for the help,

Dan

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addiarmadar   08-19-2004 at 08:54:31 PM
- 0 +

Screw ECC RAM.

Crucial RAm may give you a slight jump but only 512mb. If you do something that require over 512mb then the rest is paged to the HD therefore that 1gb of crucial ram will outperform.

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to XT(463/795)

Reply to addiarmadar
dannyaa   08-19-2004 at 09:05:35 PM
- 0 +

SOrry, I should have clarified. 1GB crucial = $180, 1GB corsair = $340. Whats so much better about the corsair (see details above)? What would you recommend?

Reply to dannyaa
Mr5oh   08-19-2004 at 10:05:54 PM
- 0 +

I didn't look up the specs, but most likely the price jump is because the cosair is low latency. And to be honest there really isn't much difference between CL of 3 and CL of 2. The nicer more exspensive memory does tend to overclock better, but overclocking the ram generally isn't necessary. For the $180 you will get 90-95% performance, it's always the last 5-10% that you really pay for.

Mushkin sells 1gb for about the same price but in CL 2.5, anyreason you picked those two RAM chips?

From those two I would get the crucial, the small (and I mean small) performance you are going to get from the low latency memory isn't worth the price jump.

Check out this article here on Tom's Hardware for benchmarks on the different memory timings and chips:

<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html</A>

My Desktop: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html</A>
Overclocking Results: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc2.html</A>

Reply to Mr5oh
addiarmadar   08-19-2004 at 10:07:20 PM
- 0 +

Corsair has better timmings and less noise and would better suit your dual channel needs.

I know its a HUGE price jump but Id go with the Corsair. Ive had issue with CL3 ram. Have you looked into that Crucial BallistX ram from Crucial yet?

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to XT(463/795)

Reply to addiarmadar
dannyaa   08-19-2004 at 10:29:20 PM
- 0 +

Ok I checked out the Crucial BallistiX. They have 512MB DIMMS at CL2, Pc3200, Non-Parity for $140 each (so $280 for 1GB as oppossed to $180). Do you really think the extra $100 is justifiable? --- oh, and I picked Crucial & corsair because I often hear them mentioned as the best memory, and have used them in the past.

And a random mobo question. I just realized they have both an ABIT IC7 and IS7... which one is the one that I will want to run a P4c 3.2GHz 800MHz (non Prescott, non LGA775), why, and whats the difference? Thanks again for all the help!

Dan

Reply to dannyaa
addiarmadar   08-19-2004 at 10:44:33 PM
- 0 +

That additional 100 bucks is very much justifiable if you want more quality and reliability. These are hand-picked ram waffers for the least amount of noise and lower timmings and less change of errors. CL3 ram is usually the crap ram that whos know what could happen.

Heard alot of good comments with the BlastiX ram and build a rig with it and does very good. Id say you can use it with that Mobo and CPU. Weather if the cpu is Northwood of Prescott is irrelevant. Its a good choice and much cheaper. Crucial has always been good to me.

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to XT(463/795)

Reply to addiarmadar
Crashman   08-22-2004 at 03:14:37 AM
- 0 +

Crucial doesn't SELL crap RAM. Their CL3 is the same quality as everyone elses CL2.5. Their CL2.5 is the same quality as everyone elses CL2. Crucial does that to give their RAM more stability on out-of-spec systems, preserving their good reputation.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

Reply to Crashman
RichPLS   08-27-2004 at 10:00:25 PM
- 0 +

Buy the best memory you can afford, one of the most important componunts of your system. Errors in memory result in lost data and unexplained system crashes.
My vote is Corsair 3200XLPro


========================
Try everything...
Do not be afraid of failure, for this is how we learn and grow...
Live life to the fullest...
Do not regret what you have not done!!!

Reply to RichPLS
jammydodger   08-28-2004 at 12:59:41 AM
- 0 +

Have a look at the new geil ultra-X, it is the fastest memory anandtech has ever tested.

Reply to jammydodger
HardWareBoss   08-29-2004 at 06:10:49 PM
- 0 +

Buy the IS7. Best mobo for the money. Unless you need the features of the IC7. Buy at least PC3500 ram.

Reply to HardWareBoss
HardWareBoss   08-29-2004 at 06:12:38 PM
- 0 +

Do you plan on OCing your Cpu?

Reply to HardWareBoss
Crashman   08-30-2004 at 08:43:41 AM
- 0 +

Hehe, IS7 has more features than IC7. IC7 doesn't even have LAN (non whatsoever)!

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

Reply to Crashman
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