Maximum PC

Greetings

I have spent several months reading these forums and to say I have learnt is an understatement. Thank you one and all for all your posts, they have been elightening.

OK to the crux of the matter - the bug has bitten and I am going to attempt a self build.

It will be based around the ASUS SLi board with a AMD 3500 Winchester core.

However where I find I am still confused is in regard to RAM.

I do not plan to over clock - normal net use and some fps style game playing will the the norm.

Who's RAM and what version would anyone recomend.

Thank you

Jorvik

pretty much any top tier brand will sve you well. names to look for include mushkin, crucial, corsair, kingston, ocz and patriot. with that in mind, patriot seems to be hot right now, they offer good memory for very good prices, if you are running that board i recommend dual channel pc3200, either 512mb or a gig, with a gig being my recommendation. patriot pc3200 512mb dual channel kit
patriot pc3200 1gb dual channel kit

Hi Jorvik. I would HIGHLY reccomend Crucials' Ballistix memory.

Which for that mobo, it would support the Crucial Ballistix PC3200 (ddr400) module(s), which I reccomend getting two sticks of 512 for a grand whopping total of 1gb. I love the memory and it's the exact same kind as mine.

As an added tip, make sure you set your memory voltage to "auto" in BIOS and set your Tras timing to 10. Cas Latency needs to be 2, Trcd 2, and Trp 2. Also make sure 1t, that's better compared to 2t.

dont get 2 256MB modules, you'll kill your upgradability. If cost is a factor get 1 512 and get the other later. You dont get that much from dual channel.

i just dont think that price is justified for him

^By going your route he would save $77, true, but in getting Crucial your getting the best.

Patriot isn't bad RAM though Jorvik, so if your wanting to save some dough, go the route Athlon11 is pointing out. Both the Patriot and the Ballistix are Dual Channel RAM, even though the newegg link dosen't specify the Ballistix is dual channel.

yea, if you want some of the best, crucial ballistix cant be touched, but you also pay for it. either way, you will get good ram that you should not have a problem with.

Thank you all for your replies.

athlon11/InstigatorX

Thank you for your links - both your recomendations are with in budget -

To summarise, both will work fine but the Crucial is the top end of the line in quality/reliability?

From a practical experience, will I notice significant difference in performance between the two? (My other components will be 2 x MSI 6600GT - I have teenage children and those games bundles will keep them quiet!!!! - plus the drive I am leaning to is the Maxtor SATA II with NCQ).

Thank you

Jorvik

yes, the crucial is on the very top end of the memory spectrum. that being said however, the chance that you will notice any difference in performance is slim, you may notice it, but it will be very slight, and may not be noticeable at all.

what is better: the patriot ram (512x2) that was posted above or corsair value ram. They are both around the same price

id take the patriot, just because it isnt value ram means it should oc higher.

I'm a Kingston fan myself. Like others I recommend getting two 512MB sticks of pc3200 to run in dual channel mode. Also, I'd go with 2.5 CAS latency at least.

Yes, some of that corsair value ram is CAS 2.5, which is better for overclocking etc.

Edit: crap crap crap. Was commenting on 512kit! thanks for pointing that out.
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I think the obvious here is the G.Skill 1G DC kit for $150 shipped.

• It's a Gig of memory at a great price
• It uses Samsung TCCD
• It's Dual Channel
• 2-3-3-6 Timings
• Supported to 2.75 V
• Lifetime Warranty

This stuff will get you going and running in real good form, and if you want to OC as you go along, It'll let you play ball.

Even the worshipped Patriot boots at 2-3-2-5, and you pay more for it.

Hmm... I see 512MB(256MBx2)... Not bad though for using Samsung TCCD though...

Arquero

yea, chumly you linked to a 512mb kit, not the gig kit, im betting that the patriot gig kit is cheaper.

I edited the original post about 2 hours ago. The quote's remain though. The only way to edit the quote is out of my hands.

Same price, and still good timings when compared to some "extreme" patriot at a higher pricetag. The Patriot may come in handy down the road once he really cares to OC, but so will the G.Skill...

i wasnt saying patriot was better, i just never heard of g skill so i never thought to look at them.

That's not their Samsung TCCD based RAM. The G.Skill Samsung TCCD's can be had for just $2 more though, right HERE:

• Samsung TCCD
• Dual Channel
• 2-2-2-5 Timings
• Supported to 2.85 V
• Lifetime Warranty

HOWEVER, as for Samsung TCCD's in either 512mb or 1g kit variety, everybody should be looking at Kingston's HyperX sale currently going on:

512mb Kit HyperX 2-2-2-5 1t - $108 shipped!!!
1g Kit HyperX 2-2-2-5 1t - $206 shipped (available 3/3/05)

That's a nice price for RAM that strays away from Value. I was going to mention value RAM, but the timings and price of the G.Skill put it to shame.



Is there some kind of coupon going for these? They're showing up as $140 for the 512MB kit and $268 for the 1GB.