What memory for an overclocked gaming rig?

[Rocket21]

I'm am building a gaming rig which I would like to overclock a bit. I reading the cpu overlocking thread, I see that overclocking your fsb can be capped by your memory. And ideas on what memory I should get?

My rig will be:
AMD64 3200
ASUS K8N-E Deluxe
ATI x800 Pro
1gig of ???? memory

$210CND for:
2x 512Mb of standard regular PC-400 PC3200 DDR

$510CND for:
2x 512Mb of Corsair 512Mb PC/3200 Xtreme Low Latency Platinum Series [CMX512-3200XLPT] - Timings: 2-2-2-5

How bad is standard RAM? Is great RAM worth the price? Is there a "fast-enough" RAM that I can overclock well yet is still a good price?

 

[Mr5oh]

I don't know about prices in Canada, but around here in the US there isn't much price difference between the different speeds (even the slower speeds!).

Generally low latency memory isn't worth the extra price, especially with that A64 chip. See this article: <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html" target="_new">http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html</A> , its getting a bit dated, but still good information.

My suggestion would be to get faster RAM than PC3200. This way you don't have to worry about overclocking that RAM or anything. PC3500 would be the next step up, but you may want to go up a little farther.

Really how much are you wanting to overclock? Are you just trying to get away with whatever works on air cooling?

What brand is the "standard regular?" That Corsair X LL RAM you list there really is not necessary. Generally for low latency memory there is a huge price jump (generally double price), and a very very small performance gain. I never recommend getting generic, stick with a brand name, even Kingston, sells a "budget" ram. Here recently I have been using Mushkin and have had very good luck, most people on hear will also say they are a good company.


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>

 

[Crashman]

Yes, overclocking your FSB CAN be capped by your memory. So buying the stock memory speed doesn't make sense when overclocking the FSB. I'd go with PC4000, specifically Crucial Ballistix PC4000. Crucial.com sells in canada too.

The next speed step up from PC3200 is PC3500, a meager 8% gain. PC3700 is a bigger step, PC4000 gives you a 25% increase in speed "limit".

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