Memory and Overclocking questions

[CheesePoofs]

Hi,
Ive been reading these forums for a few months, but this is my first time posting (i havn't really had anything to post about before )

In January I plan on upgrading my rig to:
A64 3200 (939)
Thermalright xp-90 (AS5)
Nf4 non-sli mobo (if i can afford it)
6800 gt
OCZ 470 or 520 watt power supply
PC 3200 ram (see below)

The rest of the parts i am going to reuse from my current comp, which includes:
80 gig Maxtor HD (pata)
20 gig Maxtor HD (pata)
Antec Plus660AMG Case
No name CD-RW drive.
Floppy drive.

If see any problems with this setup please let me know.


I have built a few comps before, so i pretty much know what i'm doing. However, I plan on OCing this comp, which i havn't done before, and i had a few questions about that.

First, im not really sure what ram i should get. I want to try and hit a FSB of 240-260 (2400-2600GHZ) if my proc can handle it. The Crucial Ballistix memory seems to get the best timings in this range and its what i'm leaning toward. However, when ever someone asks what ram they should, everyone seems to responds with the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2. Im probably missing something, but i dont why this would be recomended over the Ballistix, seeing as they cost about the same.

My second question was how you would recomend I go about overclocking. Should i lower the multiplier first, push the ram to my desired FSB, then raise the multplier up (1X at a time). Or should i lower the memory ratio, try and get the CPU to 2600ghz, if it will, then raise the multplier back up. Or should i do one, then the other, and try and find a FSB that is as close the both part's max as possible. Or is there some other way thats easier/quicker?

I apologize if either of these topics has been covered before, but i havn't seen anything about them.

Thanks in advanced for the help.

 

[nick1985]

dont worry to much about memory timings

 

[CheesePoofs]

I realize timings don't really matter, but if i can get ram that runs at lower timings for the same price, i don't see why not.
But the Ballistix also seems to perform better than the OCZ ram in the 240-260 range. This is why i am confused as to why it would be recomended.

 

[imported_whatever]

there is no reason to get an nforce4 board if you are not going SLI. the PCIe 6800GT is harder to find and more expensive, and there is no performance advantage.
also, good choice on the RAM.

 

[CheesePoofs]

I was only going to get an nforce 4 board if it and the pcie 6800gt cost at most 20 dollars more than their AGP counterparts, and then only so i could use future pcie add in cards in the future.

Does anyone else know anything else about the ballistix ram? i thought i had read somewhere that people were having trouble getting it to run at stock speeds @ 2-2-2 but im not sure. Also, any ideas as to which of the above methods of overclocking would work the best?

Any help here would be much appreciated.

 

[aixenv]

well i have pretty much the same setup as you're lookin to get except no nforce4 board,

msi k8n neo2 w/ 3500+ winchester and ocz el plat rev 2 ram, i've tested this system out and i can get a prime stable 2.7 with 2T timings fairly tight, the 1T timings when i took out 2 sticks was slightly faster bandwidth wise but in the real world of computing i wouldnt be able to notice the difference

the ram was pricey tho (275 for 1gb) so i'd say go with the pdp i hear a lot of ppl having good luck with that ram

i havent had any problems with the ocz it can go to a high fsb like 270ish in with 133/166 with looser timings in 2T and can also do a 1:1 with a nice 245-250fsb

 

[hamidjunior]

Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
I realize timings don't really matter, but if i can get ram that runs at lower timings for the same price, i don't see why not.
But the Ballistix also seems to perform better than the OCZ ram in the 240-260 range. This is why i am confused as to why it would be recomended.

I'm torn between the same RAMs for my future machine. Can anybody clear it out? And can actually somebody that had OCZ and Ballistix AND PDP say what's all the rumpus about?

 

[CheesePoofs]

Bump - anyone have any other thoughts or ideas?
I was looking at PDP's 2-2-2 ram, it looks nice, but has anyone had any actual experience with this ram?