Need suggestion on Memory!!

[keichan82]

Hi. I am putting together a new system and need some suggestions on what memory i should get. So far i got :
Asus AV8 Deluxe
AMD 64 3500+
500w Power Supply
BFG 6800 GT
and... the Corsair XMS PC3200 2-2-2-5

I am planning on Over clocking (first timer, gotta start somewhere) and was wondering what ram I should get?
is the one I go fine or should i get pc3500, pc3700, pc 4000, pc4200, etc?
what is the difference?

thanks a bunch!

 

[imported_IrvinJ]

You are OC'ng, if your pocket book can afford it, get the best and fastest MeM your $$ can buy. Awhile back I built this LIQ cooled SYS with a 2.4 CPU. I purchased Corsair CMX512-3500C2, I purchased two sticks, I run a full 1G of MeM. I OC to 3Ghz (small glitches) and OC to 2.882Mhz rock solid. I run my MeM HOT, voltage wise with a 1:1 ratio CAS/RAS 2-2-2-5 (which comes out to approx 400Mhz BW of RAM). The reason I tell you this is to show you how important it is to have fast MeM if you OC. In your case if you have the $$ get the PC4200. Good Luck.

 

[keichan82]

So is it better to have a pc3200 with 2-2-2-5 than to have , say, pc 4200 3-3-3-7?

 

[Subhuman25]

Very articulate description there Irvin

keichan: Why overclock?It's already a damn fast system.But if you really must OC,then you'll be looking at increased temp's overall wich means better than stock cooling needed.
The Corsair XMS 3200XL memory will overclock nicely,but at more relaxed timings than the 2-2-2-5-1T SPD settings.You'll have to play around and find the magic numbers i.e. 2.5-3-3-7-2T possibly and also you'll need to up the voltage most likely from the stock 2.75V requirement for that memory.
Personally I'd recommend you not OC if you don't absolutely know what you're doing.The system you have is already a top notch system as is.I doubt you'll have a very noticable increase even with aggresive overclocking and is it realy worth it to go through all that trouble and risk of shortened lifespan of components or possibly even damage.
Sure if you had a Yugo,you could slap on a turbocharger and some NO2 if you knew what you were doing,but how long do you think that engine would last?In your case you already have a Porsche.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Many benchmarks show overall system performance with A64/VIA combination benefit more from low latency memory.

With that in mind, using 2-2-2 memory will definitely help your setup achieve optimal performance.

Overclocking will be tough using these kind of memory. If you are new to overclocking and you really want to get into it using this setup, it would be safer to use PC3500 rated memory or higher.

PC3500 and higher are usually cas2.5 or cas3 unless you want to fork the money and get mushkin with cas2 PC3500.

Again: A64 benefit from low latency and Intel platforms benefit greatly from high bandwidth frequency.