I want to get a gigabyte mainboard Ga-8knxp http://www.essencompu.com/nupplysingar.asp?ID=4083 with a p4 http://www.essencompu.com/nupplysingar.asp?ID=3749 Whats the best type of memory to use to get the fastest performance out of this rig (gamer) I have been looking at ocz pc4200 533mhz dual channel enhanced latency is this a good type to go with? Do I need dual channel for better performance? The main board has 6 dim slots I wanted to fill them all with 256Mb and not break the bank but also again get the best performance thanks for your help in advance PS I'm a gamer is that helps I love this fourm you guys have always been a wealth of knowledge thank you for the past present and future another question can the sata on the mainboard be set in raid0 and if so is it hard to do?
Still need help I was also looking at this motherboard http://www.essencompu.com/nupplysingar.asp?ID=5192 Anyone have clues on whats the best type of Ram to use for gaming/overclocking PLz
I would say that Abit board is much better then that gigabyte simply because abit make the best motherboards You definately want to utilize the dual channel ability of those motherboards but filling all slots with 256mb modules really isn't going to do you much good. What speed ram u need really depends on how much you want to overclock. If u've got money to burn go with 2x512mb PC4200 ram, Corsair is good stuff, i've never really liked ocz, Muskin stuff is good too, along with lots of other brands. If u do go for pc4200 make sure it is CAS2 because some is cas3 which will be much slower.
I'd personally go with the IC7 MAX3, and 1gb of OCZ PC4200 EL, it's supposed to be the fastest combination around at the present moment, and you'll get the best timings from the OCZ, the Corsair, Mushkin and Geil offerings are all very high latency memory modules compared to the OCZ EL series at PC4000+ OCZ EL series is proven to work very well with intel motherboards, but performs quite badly with AMD based systems.
Also if you are buying high rated memory for overclocking, you definitely don't want to be buying a 3GHz, save yourself some bucks and get yourself a 2.4 or a 2.6, a 2.8 at a push if you are gonna have real good cooling. most of the 800MHz FSB chips will overclock to about the same core speed but the initially slower chips will have higher FSB at this speed. If you are going to but RAM capable of DDR500 (250MHz) or more, you definitely want one of the chips with a lower multiplier. For instance I will be buying 1GB of OCZ PC4200 EL (agree with bigZ here) and a 2.6c. With the RAM cranked from 200MHz (standard) to 266MHz (rated) the core speed of the chip will be 3.46GHz (266MHz*13 multiplier) PS I'm getting an IC7 Max3 too
if i were getting a new p4 board i would go gigabyte probably one of the SIS655FX based board purely for performance and value for money (and as i currently have a SIS655 board) IMHO i would go with 2 sticks of 512 DRR 400 or faster twinmos are very good and very good value for what you get. Also you are best of only using 2 banks ie dual channel if you can afford the oczpc4200 but only in 4*256 go for the 4000 stuff but get 2*512
I have the IC7-Max3 and Geil Golden Dragon 1GB PC3500 RAM, Definately get the board, but get some Corsair XMS Dual Channel PC<highest rating you can find> 1GB RAM -If your going to overclock with air cooling, get the 2.4Ghz C -If your going to overclock with water, get the 3GHz C -and if your going to overclock at all, get the Corsair RAM -but if your not going to overclock anything, get the Corsair XMS and 3GHz/3.2GHz processor
If you are not going to overclock at all I would get some PC3200 with really tight timings, what is the point of having spare headroom in the RAM if you are not going to use it? If you are not overclocking at all I would get either Muskin PC-3200 Level2 Dual Channel 2-2-2-5 Or, for actually a few dollars less, the Muskin PC-3500 Level2 Dual Channel 2-2-2-5, which will give you a little overclocking headroom at the tightest timings
if you want to run in 1:1 get OCZ's PC4200EL, it is rated at tighter timings than the Corsair... Anandtech have got a comparison of pretty much every decent memory module around at the moment, the OCZ4200EL comes out top trumps... http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1902 the last page is of particular relevance to this thread... http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1902&p=8
I agree that it is the best all rounder, but Anandtech don't disclose what timings they get it running at at DDR400 beyond the CAS2 rating. If you are absolutley not going to overclock, they IMHO you would get tighter timings from the Muskin. Of course if someone can link to some results of the OCZ 4200EL running at DDR400 with timings of 2-2-2-5 or better, I will retract my statement
the 4200EL was ran at 2-3-3-5 in the DDR400 tests However if you're after RAM for the P4, the OCZ3500 looks a good bet, will do 2-2-2-5 @ DDR400 2-2-2-6 @ DDR433 and max stable overclock was 466FSB. It depends on whether you want high fsb, or super tight timings... With a low spec P4, you want higher specification RAM, so you can get every last Mhz out of the FSB, with a high spec P4, you will find more use from using slower spec RAM, which is designed to use much tighter timings. As the higher spec P4's will clock to around the same speed as the lower spec P4's with a much lower FSB, 230-240Mhz as opposed to 260-270Mhz. Here I'm referring to circumstances using good aircooling. If you want to buy a high end P4, I'd suggest purchasing either OCZ3500 or Mushkin Level II PC3500, you'll get around the same performance, but the Mushkin will top out before the OCZ according to anandtech. If you're buying a low end P4, buy OCZ PC4200EL, it's the fastest RAM around at the moment. However I will emphasise again that the OCZ RAM is not a brilliant performer in nForce2 based systems. You'd be much better buying Mushkin Level II PC3500, it's highly unlikely that your RAM will top out before your processor in this case.
i found my 2.8 clocks higher(marginally) than my m8's 3.0, we both have the max 3, but he has ocz pc4000 gold (1gig)
Thanks so much for all the Great info looks like i'm going with the pc3500 muskin looks to be the best and fastest for what i'm doing with my main rig
Before I order me ram I was told that it was best to have all dim slots filled. I just got the Abit IC7-MAX3 Intel875 Sk478 533/800 FSB today 4open slots should I get 512x2 or 256x4 whats better and why? again I was looking at this ram below 256x4 http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushk...c00250ec82740c0a8010505e4/Product/View/991097 512x2 http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushk...c00250ec82740c0a8010505e4/Product/View/991098 Both seem to have the same speeds so just wondering if it makes a difference For the Intel 875 and 865 chipsets, the rated specs are: CAS latency: 2 RAS to CAS Delay: 3 Precharge Delay: 2 Active to Precharge Delay: 6 DDR Voltage 2.5-2.75V Please note that this limitation is due to the chipset rather than the memory. Some customers may be able to achieve 2-2-2-6 CAS latency on the 875 and 865 chipsets, but we cannot guarantee this
Everything I've read suggests that stability "can" be an issue when all the slots are filled, though this hasn't really been confirmed either way. If you really must get 1GB, then get two 512Mb sticks. Oh, and the OCZ Platinum Series PC3500 is supposed to be better than the Mushkin level 2. It can do DDR400 at the same 2225 timings as the Mushkin, but also clocks higher. There is a good round up of current memory here. It is the conclusion to their most recent memory review, and summarises all they have found out in the recent bout of testing. A worthy read! 8-ball
I did refer to the OCZ being a better buy for a P4 user in some other thread, can't remember quite where at this present moment, however, I'd still stick with the Mushkin Level II or Kingston HyperX PC3500 for an AMD based system (providing the Kingston is BH5, but this can't be garaunteed, whereas until the end of 2003 the Mushkin level II is garaunteed BH5)
The OCZ platinum 3500 also uses BH5 chips, though this memory has been available from pc-memory-upgrade for a while, yet the review has only recently surfaced on anandtech, so I am wondering if it is the same stuff. Possibly a more recent revision? 8-ball
I'm sure that the anand review said that it didn't use BH5, but used a new PCB which enabled them to achieve the low timings that have been achieved. BH5 has been (rumoured to be) discontinued by Winbond anyway, it's just Mushkin managed to backstock enough to keep their Level 2 line running until the end of 2003. hopefully by this time, they will have come up with another way to achieve the low timings without the need for 3v+ going through the modules. Ok, I (literally) just re-read the frist paragraph, and I read it wrong. BH5 is in short supply from what I've been hearing, and there is no garauntees that it'll be around for much longer. Kingston can no longer garauntee it (it's what most of the top scores on the ORB have been achieved with), Corsair's rev2 PC3200LL couldn't achieve 2-2-2-5 timings in anand's testing. My TwinMOS (winbond) PC3200 was CH5, it's becoming less readily available, sadly... I'm trying to find more info on the BH5 situation at the moment, cause it'll be interesting to see what's going to happen as far as the market is concerned.
