800Mhz vs 1000/1066mhz

[mikedi]

I have finally decided on a new PC. Going to be used for moderate gaming, some programming, movie transcoding etc.

I am probably going to keep this PC for ~4 year, with 1-2 GPU upgrades and maybe a mem upgrade.

Specs will be:
Antec P182, Core w Quad Q9550 (2.8Ghz), Zotac Geforce 8800GT AMP. I plan a quick replacement of the GPU, but unhappy with current gen GPU's so waiting for 55nm Geforces.

On to my question: The really hard part, i think is to choose the memory sticks. I have been staring at several ram tests recently, and I really can't spot any major difference between DDR2-800 and DDR2-1066. (2%-5%) in most scenarios.

Choises are down to (2x2GB): Corsair XMS2 6400DHXCL4 ($140), Corsair XMS2 Dominator CL5 PC8500 ($180), OCZ Gold PC6400 ($100) or OCZ Platinum PC8000 ($130).

I need some convincing arguments to go for i.e Corsair Dominator 1066 vs an 800 Mhz part perhaps even with lower timings. Keep in mind that I will likely keep this PC 4 years.
Right now i am having a hard time convincing myself to splash +80% (100$) vs (180$) on the Dominators instead of the OCZ Gold.

So I am wondering, when the difference in for instance gaming is so minimal is it because games/programs are not really bandwidth starved at all?

 

[Yellowbeard]

The main difference is going to come from a CPU OC. If you are not OCing or if you are going for a moderate OC, get the PC6400 from the company you choose. If you want the best OCing potential, get the PC8500.

 

[mikedi]

I don't think I will be overclocking! In fact, I mean not to!

So I guess that The 800Mhz should be ok, even if the PC needs to last a few years. Another question is, say i buy the 4GB Corsair PC6400 DHX, and wants to upgrade to 8GB in about 2 years, just to be safe. What are chances the same memory sticks will still be around... or is it customary for the RAM companies to rebrand a product, and will it then be compatible with existing RAM

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: mikediAnother question is, say i buy the 4GB Corsair PC6400 DHX, and wants to upgrade to 8GB in about 2 years, just to be safe. What are chances the same memory sticks will still be around... or is it customary for the RAM companies to rebrand a product, and will it then be compatible with existing RAM

Unfortunately the chances are very slim that these ICs will be available 2 years from now. DDR2 will be phased out for the most part like DDR has. And, most likely the ICs made 2 years from now will be far more dense than the current ones and it will be much more feasible to buy a 2 x 4gb or 2 x 8gb kit assuming the ICs progress to do this. DDR3 will be plentiful and cheap by then.

 

[mikedi]

Unfortunately the chances are very slim that these ICs will be available 2 years from now. DDR2 will be phased out for the most part like DDR has. And, most likely the ICs made 2 years from now will be far more dense than the current ones and it will be much more feasible to buy a 2 x 4gb or 2 x 8gb kit assuming the ICs progress to do this. DDR3 will be plentiful and cheap by then.

Suppose that makes sense, but unfortunately my motherboard of choise P5Q Pro does not support DDR3 Memory afaik. Guess i'll just have to keep my eyes pealed for a good deal on another 2x2GB of DDR2 within the next year or so. Anyways I don't see DDR3 falling very much in price before Nehalem becomes mainstream, so perhaps the DDR2's will remain cheap and around for a little while.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If you're not over-clocking but you are comfortable running a CPU : RAM divider other than 1:1, these are pretty good:


Corsair DDR2-800 CAS4 DHX-ers

You'll find that I threw my 2-cents in for the customer reviews.

It may depend on your motherboard, but you should be able to push these higher than DDR2-800 if you want to run a 3:4 divider. Running them at their stock 800 Mhz DDR speed would give you a 5:6 divider, but 3:4 would be better. Getting 3:4, you would have to clock them higher than 800 Mhz, specifically 888. If you can't get them there at the spec timings of 4,4,4,12, you can loosen those timings; there should be some indication among the other customer reviews for slightly looser settings -- possibly with CAS=5 instead of 4, or maybe 4,4,4,14.

I haven't tried looser timings on these, because I wanted to run them at a 1:1 ratio. For that, I think I was able to get them to around 840 Mhz (DDR), but I didn't do the stability testing. Corsair (Yellowbeard) says they'll support a RAM voltage variance of 5% above their warranty maximum spec of 2.1V -- which would be 2.2V, and as I said in my post at NewEgg, two benchtest reviews at Overclock3d and Guru3d simply pushed them to 10% above the "tested" voltage to 2.3V. I apparently posted my Newegg review before I got further clarification from Yellowbeard.

But you want to run the processor at stock setting, and you would either have to underclock them needlessly to match the CPU_FSB in a 1:1 ratio, or run the 5:6 or 3:4 divider with them. According to Anandtech, the three or so best CPU : RAM dividers to use include 1:1 (obviously) and 3:4.

There are a lot of good RAM kits out there, and they're getting dirt-cheap. I'd say that if you anticipate increasing to 8GB, you'd best buy two 4GB 2x2GB kits now -- Yellowbeard, the Corsair tech, is probably correct about future availability. With these, whatever the maximum allowable number of rebates per person or household (and I believe it is just one) -- well -- you'd probably shell out around $180 for two kits. Personally, I don't anticipate needing 8GB, but I've been wrong before with inadequate anticipations about the future of software and other factors. For one kit, the after rebate price seems to be as much of a steal as other competitive kits.

EDIT: CORRECTION: Since I've been working with a 1:1 CPU : RAM ratio, I had forgotten exactly what the Anandtech article about over-clocking certain high-end Penryn CPUs said about "optimal ratios." I was checking my other system, in which I'd employed a divider that fit into Anandtech's "optimal" ratio settings. It wasn't 3:4 -- it was 4:5 -- and this would make the match for a system FSB of 1,333 Mhz an easier fit with the DDR2-800 kit -- probably within or close to the stock DDR2-800 setting. About DDR2-833, I think . . .