Memory advice please

[Brainpain]

Hopefully, this is posted in the appropriate forum

New system spec – P4C800-E Deluxe, 2.8C P4, 1Gig (2X512 DDR), ATI 9700 Pro, SATA Raid 0 setup

Question – Best bang for the buck DDR Ram.

A lot has changed since I built my last system 24+ months ago and I am getting a brainpain trying to figure out the best cost/speed ratio and still stay within my budget. At the moment I want to put in 1Gig of ram, but would like to upgrade to 2Gig in the future. I have read on numerous forums that the Intel 865 / 875 chipset have problems with running 4 dimms with tight timings, so upgrading to 2 Gig might not be a viable option.

I believe I have narrowed down the best memory to use with this MB to the following. My problem is that I do not have a clue if it is worth the money for the lower latency ram (around $100 more for 2-2-2 latency ram). Also, should go with a slightly slower ram to be able to upgrade to 2Gig of memory in the future?

Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 – Retail
Latency 2-3-3-6 1T ($213)

Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200
Latency 2-3-2-6 1T ($251) ß Recommended Ram form Corsair

Mushkin 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 Level One Dual Pack – Retail
Latency 2-3-3 ($199)

Mushkin 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 Level II Dual Pack – Retail
Latency 2-2-2 ($308) ß Recommended Ram from Mushkin

Both manufactures recommend their most expensive memory (of course). I just am not sure it is worth the $$ verses the actual increase in system performance. Which is the reason I am posting here.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Bleep]

Out of those, I would go with... Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 – Retail
Latency 2-3-3-6 1T ($213)

The reason I say this, is because that is what my memory is rated at, and it will run at tighter timings. Keeping my timings at 2-3-3-6, I am able to overclock quite a bit, with a slight voltage increase to vdimm. Of course, if I loosened the timings I could overclock more.

If you haven't already, you may want to check the compatability of those ram modules with that motherboard.

Also, if you want to do some serious overclocking, and also have memory at relatively tight timings, then you should look at the 3500 and above ratings.

 

[Brainpain]

Thank you for you time.

I just read a post on tomshardware.com that compared ram latency to over all system performance. The result was the same for the P4 and AMD; that the lower latency ram doesnÂ’t necessarily mean an increase in system performance. Nice review.

 

[Bleep]

Yep, plus if you O/C, then you'll need to relax the timings anyway.

BTW 2-3-3-6 is not really tight timings.

 

[Brainpain]

By tight timings I was refering to the 2-2-2 latency ram offered by Mushkin. Once I started reading their boarts they are sujesting to relax the timing to 2-3-2 in alot of cases. Why pay for 2-2-2 latency ram when the chipset cant handle that tight of timings?

I also want to upgrade to 2 Gig a ram in the future and it appears that the chipset has a hard time handling 2 dimms at 2-2-2 timings, not to mention trying it with 4.

 

[Brainpain]

Quick question again, would the 3500 level I ram from mushkin increase system performance since the FSB would be running slightly faster? Or will there be potential problem that I am not seeing by running the 3500 ram?

 

[Bleep]

Those modules that are labeled 3500 and above...some even at PC-4200, are rated by the manufacturer to run stable at higher bus speeds (raising the memory clock speed). They are made for major overclocking, and don't support fast cas latencies times.

EDIT:

since the FSB would be running slightly faster?

BTW, buying a set of PC-4000, rated at 500MHZ DDR (250MHz) won't automatically raise the FSB, or increase performance. It is made to handle higher FSB speeds...but you'd still have to overclock the computer to get it to run at 500 MHz.