Fastest Dual Channel 2 x 1GB Ram???

[nate247]

Hi people,

 

Looking to purchase some new Ram (2GB, 2 x 1GB sticks) for my PC, have come accross a few possible selections (Corsair1024-4400C25, but not sure if this will work as my Mobo says it only allows DDR400 and this is DDR550. Corsair site says its compatible though :confused: ) , also seen some decent OCZ and Crucial Stuff BTW.

 

Money isn't a massive consideration although around the £200 mark would be sweet . If its worth spending more I will, just want the best that's out there that works well with my Motherboard.

 

Any suggestions would be cool as its been 8 months since my last Ram upgrade and I know how fast things change in that time (i.e best manufacturer to go with) lol

 

Look forward to any help, Regards, Nate

[hitman012]

Personally, I love this Crucial Ballistix PC4000. It's doing 3-3-3-7 1T at 265MHz with only 2.7 volts! Feed it 2.8 and it should do it all the way to 275MHz+, some will make it up to 290 with these settings. If you're not a fan of high-voltage RAM then it's definitely the one to go for

[Fight Game]

Many have had problems getting the corsair's to work at stock speeds, and faster. I think after some tweeking most get them to work, but the ocz pc4000 1 gig sticks seem to be more user friendly, and have even been oc'd to ddr550 speeds. Not saying this is the case for everyone, since some have had no problems at all, and some have had problems with ocz, but on average I guess you could say. Yea the board says ddr400, but the fastest ddr1 sticks out there have been known to work (DDR700 I think?). But keep in mind that ANgry Games has proven that memory speed/timings only play a very small role in performance, and something that will only be seen in a benchmark, if anything.

[nate247]

I currently have 2x512MB DDR PC4000 Ballistix Part No (BL6464505), but I have an opportunity to sell these for almost what I paid and then upgrade to 2 x 1GB sticks (of something) leaving me 2 slots on the Mobo for the future.

 

Is it worth doing this or should I just buy more of the above Ballistix and hit the 2GB ceiling (i.e 4 x 512mb modules) and worry about the future when I get to it??? lol

 

Edit; Sorry just seen the above post..... So with this in mind, i.e timings / stuff playing only a small part in performance (only seen in a benchmark) what would be the best option for me??? I use my PC predomanently for Ram intensive Music Production programs, plus I plan on getting a couple of Graphics cards shortly to run in SLi & play games with, so performance with games would be good also.

 

Sorry to sound so stupid, just want everyones expert opinion as I don't really know alot about Ram (too long outta the PC game)

[Ricky78Italy]

Personally, I love this Crucial Ballistix PC4000. It's doing 3-3-3-7 1T at 265MHz with only 2.7 volts! Feed it 2.8 and it should do it all the way to 275MHz+, some will make it up to 290 with these settings. If you're not a fan of high-voltage RAM then it's definitely the one to go for

Hi Hitman,

i have to buy the same hw you have (DFI lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D, A64 x2 4400 and Ballistics).

Can you tell me the timings of the Ram at default (DDR400), please?

 

 

Thanks

[Unfun]

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2560&p=3

 

Might wanna check that out....

[hitman012]

I didn't really experiment with DDR400, but it should do fairly good timings, but as it's not guaranteed, your mileage may vary. I got it memtest/win-memtest stable at something like 2-3-2-5, but I can't remember exactly. If you want low latencies at 200MHz, this RAM isn't really for you - it's mainly overclocking stuff. You could probably find some cheaper RAM if you just want good performance at DDR400.

[Squid1]

Many people get good results with Crucial Ballistix, although I didn't have good luck with them so far. The Ballistix set also does not specify good timings, it just happens to often have them.

 

OCZ has a new "EL" PC4000 kit which is specifying good timings, I would go with that.

 

Personally I'd say anything more expensive than the G.Skill PC4000 2x 1GB kit is a waste of money as far as actual application speed is concerned. But if you have the schotter and like something good any of the above will do.

 

The absolute fastest 2 GB on the DFI boards is probably 4x 512 Geil One BH, if you have a memory controller which manages 4 sticks well. You need 2T but if you pump in high enough voltage you will probably make good for it with other timings. You will produce a lot of heat, though. I would consider this a "sports" solution. Also, the 2x512 MB Geil One BH pops up around $200, that's a steal.

[Fight Game]

Ricky, you should first make a sig, per forum rules, then use the search function, then start a new thread, rather than "hijack" this one.

 

Nate, with 4 sticks you'll have to run 2t, which doesn't mean much, but is a tad slower. But like I said memory mhz and timings is a very small role. By the time you're ready to use anything more than 2 gigs, you'll probably be upgrading the board too. So either way really. If you can sell them for close to what you paid, then I'd go for 2x1gig sticks of, first the most compatible, and secondly, the cheapest.

And with SLI...don't do it. Many older games don't run with it, and each newer generation card is better than the previous generation times 2 in SLI. I was going this route at first. I bought a 6600GT, and figured when prices were better, and I needed more I'd get another. But after all the reports of incompatibility with some games, and the hassle of doing it, and knowing that a single 6800 performances about the same or better...you get the idea. SLI is really only for those that have to have the very best (I think for bragging rights more than anything), like 2 x 7800GTX's, which is waaay overkill for anything out there right now. And I'm sure the next generation card is right around the corner and will outperform it, at less cost than 2 7800's.

[Ricky78Italy]

I didn't really experiment with DDR400, but it should do fairly good timings, but as it's not guaranteed, your mileage may vary. I got it memtest/win-memtest stable at something like 2-3-2-5, but I can't remember exactly. If you want low latencies at 200MHz, this RAM isn't really for you - it's mainly overclocking stuff. You could probably find some cheaper RAM if you just want good performance at DDR400.

I have added the sign with my actual system.

 

Now i have a S.Diego 4000 with 2x512 G.Skill (TCCD, week 440).

I have to buy a new computer and i leave the precedent in the office.

I want to upgrade to a Dual Core (4400 1MB cache L2) and 2 GB of Ram.

I'm looking for the best solution.

The Ballistics seems to be the best... for frequencies and timings (and... not least, compatibility).

[nate247]

Some great words of advice there guys, thanks allot.

 

Great find Unfun with the Anandtech review, the OCZ stuff does appear to be the best in that review and is tempting (will have a look at prices in the morning I think).

 

A couple of points Fight Game raised, i.e "by the time I need more than 2Gb ram I will probably wan't to upgrade the mobo" this is a good point and something I was thinking earlier, although as you say the conundrum is that I can sell my ram for a good price so might be just as well to get shot of it and go to 2 x 1gb sticks just in case (plus hopefully in a year or so the 2 x 1gb sticks might hold their value better when I choose to sell and upgrade again???, just a thought ).

 

Also re the GPU's, again good advice thanks, bought a XFX 6200 to tied me over for now as not many games out I wanna play currently, plus I saw that the GPU market was going through a bit of a transition so thought I would give it a few months until everything calmed down Only I am so keen to get something that I thought SLI was the best option but you are probably right, should maybe wait a few more weeks and see what is announced!

 

I guess bottom line is that I am just after something good outta the box but with potential to overclock sometime in the future (something that will hold its weight in a few months from now) thus why I thought about getting some real fast stuff but from what Martin and Fight game are saying, perhaps the fastest may not be the best solution because of a few variables like heat etc etc???

 

Hmmm decisions, decisions lol

 

Again thanks for the help so far guys.

[Ricky78Italy]

Ricky, you should first make a sig, per forum rules,

i have done it but i can't read it...

It could be displayed in the next post...

 

edit:

It was so...

 

Sorry for the OT.

 

 

p.s.

I have a DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D and i'll buy a new one.

It has only a great problem problem, in my humble opinion, this motherboard: the temperature of the chipset.

If i use the slot PCI-Express 16X for my VGA i have in idle 48°C. and 55°C. in full load. :eek:

(Smart guardian shows red numbers at 50°C.).

I have spoken with a DFI american engineer by mail and he has said that the maximum temperature supported could be 70°.

Consider that my system actually is at default...