NFII Ultra Infinity - great board so far!!! - and a ram question

[CYoung234]

Just wanted to counteract the NFII U400S-AL Ughhh thread I posted a few weeks ago. I suppose the lack of mobile support could have made all the difference here, but the refurb Ultra Infinity I bought from Newegg is running wonderfully. My ram is holding me back, since it is Crucial DDR333 that uses Micron 6ns chips, but I am running right now at 181FSB x 12 at 1:1 with the AGP locked at 66MHz. I am running Dual Channel right now, as well. I suppose if I ran single channel, I might be able to push the FSB higher. I have not really found the exact point it becomes unstable yet, but it is around 190FSB, at least in dual channel mode. I should be getting the new power supply today from Newegg, so I will probably try to push the multiplier some more to get it up to 2.4 GHz or so.

 

I have been reading some threads talking about A-Data DDR and other low cost ram - anybody got any recommendations and sources for cheap but good ram for this board? I have been a little confused, since when I look at some of this memory, some of it seems to be rated at PC2700 - I guess my question is whether it is just the right chips you are looking for, or the rating, or both?

[Shinobi]

For low cost ram that would give you a nice overclock in this board? Hmmm, something that uses UTT CH-5 would be good I know Twinmos SpeedPremium PC3500 used it and that was very cheap and does around 240mhz with tight timings. They appear to have switched to using the *new* BH-5 chips now though, which are to be avoided for these nForce2's...

 

If you could get some cheap Kingston with Hynix BT-D43 chips you would do well too. 250mhz shouldn't be a problem for that, albeit with loose timings...

 

The best choices would be TCCD or *old* BH-5, but these sticks usually ask a premium(unless you get lucky, like me ).

 

You are always taking a risk going cheap, even though you can get lucky. They'll generally use a cheaper PCB etc too... I've seen some cheap generic stuff in the past that used the God Like BH-5 but wouldn't overclock for naught in an nForce2...

 

Ebay can be great for picking up a bargain on quality ram, but it helps if you have knowledge of ram and the chips they are likely to use. Also helps if the guy selling doesn't realise just what hes got either, thats how i got such a good bargain

 

If you can afford it, try and go for a quality manufacturer. Maybe something from OCZ's Value Range would serve you well I know some guys in the other forums have had some luck with that...

 

As for A-Data, some of their PC3200 uses CH-5(or TCCC). Their PC3700 uses TCC5 and Neo has had great luck with his TCC5 in his board, possibly another option?

[CYoung234]

I saw his post, but he didn't note where he got it from.

[Surrept]

Ram has gotten real cheap from when I bought mine, I was looking into upgradeing my system and you can get 1gb 2x512 of mushkin redline pc3500 for $145. Thats not overly cheap but from when i built my system it's a bargain. I'm just useing those as an example because I haven't done any research but it's high end mushkin and you can't go wrong with them.

 

Also I'd say give your mem some more time, you really need to work it. Mine for example has ran well over what it's rated, when I first got this board I couldn't get one stick past 185 and I couldn't get dual channel past 166. Now I've gotten to 200 with very tight timeings and thats with 3 sticks. Patience will get you a long way with this board

[Shinobi]

Well i'd buy your Ram now, asap. Don't think theres a better time to buy it with the prices the way they are...

 

BUT i've heard rumour they are set to rise again, don't know whether its true(but it does seem to have started already from my observations, albeit only by a small increase in some ram)... The rumour i heard about prices coming crashing through the floor certainly was

[red930]

If you are interested in the Redlines,OldGuy should have some by Thur,he said he would test them out in the NF2 MB and give us a report.

 

If they work out in the NF2,it be nice ram to have because they also seem to be excellent for NF4

[CYoung234]

Okay, I saw the Mushkin at the egg - looks like a good deal. I also saw this OCZ for less, and the reviews look pretty good - one guy used an NF7 and was getting good overclocks. Yeah, I know - I take these reviews with a grain of salt too. Anyhow, here is the link:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820146883

 

Anybody using this stuff on an Infinity or LanParty?

[Shinobi]

Looks like it might be a good choice. Maybe Winbond at that FSB/Timings i'd say(233mhz, 2,2,2,5), CH-5?... and you'd get em even higher in a DFI. Nice price too

 

PM AndyOCZ or RyderOCZ in these forums and i'm sure they'll confirm what it is.

[G-Code]

OCZ PC3200 EL Plat Rev 2 is getting reasonable priced at the moment, and OCZ recomend this ram for this Mobo.

 

Cheers Bruce

[Emil]

I'm ozzing with envy ..... everytime I look at mems you guys use,

esp. those with tight timings. They are very expensive here,

costing anywhere from 8 - 12k pesos. Just to put it in correct

perspective, the average guy here earns about 8k a month.

Wow ! a month's wages for 2 sticks of good memory. :drool:

 

So that we often have to contend with cheap, never heard brand,

POS memory. . Usually these would have very untight settings

... cas3,3,3,8..

 

Well I took the risk out of boredom and got 3 x 512mb supposedly

ddr450 POS mem with riveted heatspreaders. I wanted to improve

my video editing system with 1.5 gigs of memory. I told myself the

rivets would prevent anyone from looking at their terrible POS chips!!!

And true enough ... it would not run in dual mode, only in single

mode and only with one stick at a time. In frustration, I almost

hammered the 3 sticks on the 1st day.

 

So I had to calm my nerves, with cold San Miguel beer, and "burn-in"

each stick, for 24 hours. Now I am smiling a bit. After a few tweaks

here and there, I am finally able to have 3 x 512mb work together

at fsb 255 x 9 (ddr510) with Vdimm at 2.7 volts. This config has

passed 1 hour of OCCT torture, Super_pi 32m and 22 loops of

3dmark2001 and over 8 hours of continous games, courtesy of

my 9 year old. It's turning out not to be such a POS after all.

 

And to think, I only bought it at around $43 / 512mb stick.

[red930]

Okay, I saw the Mushkin at the egg - looks like a good deal. I also saw this OCZ for less, and the reviews look pretty good - one guy used an NF7 and was getting good overclocks. Yeah, I know - I take these reviews with a grain of salt too. Anyhow, here is the link:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820146883

 

Anybody using this stuff on an Infinity or LanParty?

 

I'm highly skeptical that the OCZ ram is winbond

[Shinobi]

No, i don't think its Winbond at all after a bit of research... Going off the guys review i thought it maybe... Be interesting to find out what it is though...