I am totally confused with DDR ram. Please help.

[ScottyB]

Can some body please explain to me how the different how the different speeds work with AMD vs. P4 mobos? I am getting one of the following combos:

ALBATRON INTEL 845PE & 2.4 ghz P4
ASUS P4PE/L &2.4 ghz P4
Epox Motherboard EP-8RDA+ & AMD 2400+
LEADTEK Motherboard K7NCR18D-PRO & AMD 2400+


I need to be able to upgrade in the future and I want to have a pretty fast system. I will overclock but I won't be unlocking any chips. I have a 1.2 ghz amd tbird that I can use for now and upgrade the cpu in March with around $300 or I can get it now for $200 and get a $300 video card in March.


***The Main Question***
I am confused on what ram to get for these boards. There are so many different speeds and some say they support the ram and others don't I just need to know what is the fastest ram I can officially or unofficially put in them. The ram sticks I have been looking at are the: Samsung, Geil, and Corsair verisons of the PC2700, PC3000, PC3200. Price differences don't matter I just want the best of these that will work with my board.


***Secondary Question****
What are your impressions of these combos, (i.e. if I gave you the money to buy one for yourself what one would you buy)?
I already have video + sound + LAN, so if it has them, it doesn't matter but if it doesn't have them it doesn't matter either but I would like good performance.

"Oh look at that one. It looks delicious." - Cartman

 

[Crashman]

If you think you're going to build an upgradable system, think again! Intel is upgrading their bus speed in less than a year, and AMD is replacing their current CPU entirely in about the same time period. The platforms we have now have been around for quite some time, and are getting close to the end of their life cycle. I expect the P4 at todays 533 bus to reach around 4GHz, and the Athlon to reach an XP rating of around 3600+.

So you know that unless you'll be limitting yourself to a relatively minor upgrade from todays fastest, you're going to replace your CPU AND BOARD again at your next upgrade! The only thing I can recommend to future proof your system is top quality DDR400 memory, such as Corsair's XMS PC3200 Cas2.

If you want to wait 3 months you'll probably find P4 boards that will support the new "800" bus speed. That should give you perhaps a 2 year upgrade path. AMD's Athlon 64 will be introduced a few months after that, and platforms for it should have as much as a 3-year upgrade path.

Of course, there's always something to look forward to. So I recommend you wait as long as possible to upgrade, thereby skipping some upgrade intervals and thereby saving money. But if your system is already not good enough for your needs, then you've already waited as long as possible.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[ScottyB]

So which setup do you think I should get of the four I chose? I like the Nforce2 boards and the 8x agb, but the p4 setup looks a little faster.

"Oh look at that one. It looks delicious." - Cartman

 

[juin]

ASUS P4PE/L &2.4 ghz P4

Not bad setting if you overclock

Now what to do??

 

[Crashman]

There are lots of nice boards for the P4, but none of the chipsets have the same features as the nForce. Most of the chipsets are as good, but I happen to like the features of the nForce. I'm a little pissed at AMD for the last 6 months because they keep delaying releases. I'm not pissed off enough to misrepresent them though. Right now I prefer the P4 simply because it's so darned overclockable, and most likely has a slightly longer upgrade path.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>