Opinions on RAM

[garth2002]

I'm a brand new member of this forum, but I love the site.

I'm trying to put together a system. A good system, but I know it won't be top of the line because price is an issue. I am not planning to overclock but I want as much speed and stability as I can afford and I do game a little (1 or 2 lan nights a month plus a handfull of sessions on my own). I'm ready for an upgrade and I want to take advantage of some of the newer technologies out there.

Here is what I plan for the core system so far:

DFI LanParty UT nForce4 Ultra-D mobo
3500+ Winchester
6600 GT PCI-e
Antec TruePower 480W

Now here is the dilemma, what RAM to use. I was set on Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPT (2x 512MB DDR400 Platinum Heatspreader, CAS 2-2-2-5) for 400 clams. Then I thought I would save a little money and go with Kingston HyperX PC3200(DDR400) 1024MB Matched Pair Memory Retail(KHX3200ULK2/1G) which has the same Cas Latency as the Corsair but it is 100 bucks less. Then I saw GeiL Dual Channel 1Gb PC3200 (2x 512MB DDR400 , CL=2.5, 8-4-4) which has a higher Latency (2.5) but it is half the price of the Kingston. So here is what I need your opinion on, which one do I go with:
1 gig Corsair (2-2-2-5) for $400
1 gig Kingston (2-2-2-5) for $300
2 gig Geil (2.5-8-4-4) for $300

Thanks to anyone who chimes in!

 

[ts3433]

You do know that you'd see better gaming performance and be able to go to higher resolutions with a lesser CPU and 6800GT, right? There's also hardly any difference between 1GB and 2GB of RAM for any games except MMOs, IIRC. Additionally, latencies don't make much of a difference either, so you could just get 2x512MB of Corsair Value for $140 (EDIT: $105) and not notice any difference.

 

[Jotho]

I would agree. Corsair VS seems to be a great choice for value memory. The money saved could be well spent on a better video card. Also, 2GB is a waste right now IMO.

 

[mwmorph]

use value ram. ts3433 is right. if you just checked the memory matrix, youll have known tahyt even pc2100 dosent really slow down a game too much on a amd64. go buy a 3200+, some value ram(1gb) and upgrade yourself to a 6800ultra or x850.

 

[ssvegeta1010]

Value RAM is the best perf/price. And 2GB is hardly ever used, much less needed.

The Memory Matrix- as mentioned in above post. A very good read, thanks to Zebo.

 

[ribbon13]

$108 Corsair VS1GBKIT400
Straight link, no bull.

 

[garth2002]

Thanks everyone, I think I was getting all caught up in those nice looking stats associated with premium RAM. If the price/performance value is good with name-brand value RAM, then that is what I'll go with. Now if I can just convince my wife of spending that much on a video card.

Now that you've got me thinking of a new video card, two more things:

For the difference in price (like the advice you all gave on the RAM decision) what would I get more value with, a 6800GT or 6800 Ultra?

Does anyone have anything good to say about GeiL memory?

Thanks again for any input.

 

[garth2002]

I forgot to mention, the only reason I was thinking about 2 gigs of memory was for Longhorn. I'm able to get legit beta copies through work and I had heard that if you like the way XP performs on 1 gig of RAM, you will need 2 gigs for Longhorn to perform the same way.

 

[ts3433]

A 6800GT is a much better value than the 6800 Ultra. You could even shed another $100 or so by going with an X800XL, which is quite close to the 6800GT in terms of gaming performance.

If you're actually going to be using Longhorn a whole lot, go ahead and get 2GB of RAM, preferably in two 1GB sticks instead of four 512MB sticks. This will allow you to keep the memory speed at 200MHz instead of defaulting at 166MHz, and you won't have to run a 2T command rate, which is a lot slower than 1T on A64s.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Ahh.. get 1 gig of dual channel value ram, either Cosair like ribbon said, or Kingston Value Ram, put the rest of the money into videocard either 6800 GT or Ultra of course the Ultra costs more, and plays games better, its up to you to justify the worth though, in the video section of this site it gives you a breakdown of performance.. it may be helpful if you tell us, what you have, what you want, and how much you have to spend

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

the only way longhorn would need 2 gigs of ram if its the worst operating system ever

 

[ribbon13]

Longhorn actually takes up less resident memory than XP, from what task manager tells me.

And if you really want 2 gigs...
2x PQI MD441GUOE
or if you like those crazy specs and the associated cost.
2x Patriot PEP1G3200LL

The rig I'm building for my gf has two of these Corsair VS1GB400C3 running at CAS2.5 no problem

 

[mwmorph]

2gigs would be insaine. no f'in way man. anyway, anyone actually hav a screenie of the longhorn interface? id like to see how dx9 effects are incorperated into it.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
$108 Corsair VS1GBKIT400
Straight link, no bull.

That RAM + Leadtek/BFG/eVGA 6800 GT or X800XL = great value & performance.

Don't worry about the 6800 Ultra, as most 6800 GTs will hit Ultra speeds if OCed.

And frankly, i would just get the 3200+ & OC it as far as it goes, which will very likely be well over 3500+ speeds.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: ribbon13
$108 Corsair VS1GBKIT400
Straight link, no bull.

That RAM + Leadtek/BFG/eVGA 6800 GT or X800XL = great value & performance.

Don't worry about the 6800 Ultra, as most 6800 GTs will hit Ultra speeds if OCed.

And frankly, i would just get the 3200+ & OC it as far as it goes, which will very likely be well over 3500+ speeds.

HE specifically said he will not over clock and is looking for stability.

 

[ts3433]

Originally posted by: ComatoseDelirium

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: ribbon13
$108 Corsair VS1GBKIT400
Straight link, no bull.

That RAM + Leadtek/BFG/eVGA 6800 GT or X800XL = great value & performance.

Don't worry about the 6800 Ultra, as most 6800 GTs will hit Ultra speeds if OCed.

And frankly, i would just get the 3200+ & OC it as far as it goes, which will very likely be well over 3500+ speeds.

HE specifically said he will not over clock and is looking for stability.

Even if not overclocked, there's not a whole lot of disparity between the GT and Ultra or the 3200+ and 3500+.

 

[n7]

Ah, i didn't read very well.

My recommendations won't change though, except maybe getting the 3500+ if he feels he has more money to work with.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Nope, your right N7 I would go with what you recommended.. for graphics card, and get the 3500+, and get the ram ribbon recommended

 

[KamiXkaze]

yep there is know need for that much ram unless you are doing photoshop work or video editing
stick with 1 gig of value ram


KxK

 

[garth2002]

Thanks guys, you know, my first instinct was to go with the 3200 as well - I don't remember why I changed my mind. I think I may drop down to the 3200, save some money on the RAm and then buy a 6800GT instead of the 6600GT. I don't think the 6800 Ultra is worth the extra $180-200.

Btw, I didn't mean to imply that you needed 2 gigs for Longhorn - just as you don't need 1 gig for XP. I had just heard that you need twice the amount for Longhorn that you would use for XP. So, just like I wouldn't recommend anything less than 256 for XP - it would be 512 for Longhorn and instead of the smooth operation of 512 with XP - it would be more like 1 gig for Longhorn, and so on.

Thanks all.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: garth2002
Thanks guys, you know, my first instinct was to go with the 3200 as well - I don't remember why I changed my mind. I think I may drop down to the 3200, save some money on the RAm and then buy a 6800GT instead of the 6600GT. I don't think the 6800 Ultra is worth the extra $180-200.

Btw, I didn't mean to imply that you needed 2 gigs for Longhorn - just as you don't need 1 gig for XP. I had just heard that you need twice the amount for Longhorn that you would use for XP. So, just like I wouldn't recommend anything less than 256 for XP - it would be 512 for Longhorn and instead of the smooth operation of 512 with XP - it would be more like 1 gig for Longhorn, and so on.

Thanks all.

Your theory about Longhorn needing double the RAM XP does makes complete sense to me.

That's the way i see it as well.

98 needed 128/256 MB for smooth operation; ME liked 256 or more; XP likes 512+, so 1024 makes sense for Longhorn, with 2 gigs being good for gamers.

However, i have a feeling that we will want to be running off dual-cores for Longhorn with DDR2 by then, so i wouldn't try to buy for that far into the future.

Oh, garth2002, btw...i think we all assumed you are gaming.
If that is not the case, just get the 6600GT, since you won't need the 6800 GT if you're only watching movies & surfing the net

 

[garth2002]

Thanks n7, I'm glad you agree and that's a very good point about DDR2 - never even thought that far ahead. Realistically, Longhorn is still almost 2 years away (although they say 2006) so that is a good point. However, my wife would kill me if I built a whole new computer again in less than two years. Of course, I can always sneek in a couple of upgrades along the way