Best DDR2 Choice

kppanic · 23 Jul 2008 at 18:58

I have a choice between:

Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF Matched Pairs 4GB Kit (2x2GB) PC8500 DDR2-1066 CL 5-5-5-15 240-pin Dual Channel DHX Memory w/ Fan

and

Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX Matched Pairs 4GB Kit (2x2GB) PC6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240-pin Dual Channel DHX Memory

for about same price,

to be fitted onto a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L with a Q6600, maybe OC'd to 3GHz.

Which memory sticks would be better?

Thanks

Cob · 23 Jul 2008 at 19:02

Certainly the former.

Tetras · 23 Jul 2008 at 19:06

Short answer: What Cob said.

Long answer: With a Q6600 PC2-6400 gives you 3.6 Ghz (9 x 400) and PC2-8500 just under 4.8 Ghz (9 x 533).

So, if they are both the same price, you might as well get the faster sticks (which if nothing else may carry a higher re-sale value in the future, one which is significant for 1333 FSB CPU clockers as they have a realistic use for it).

kppanic · 23 Jul 2008 at 19:33

Thanks for the reply.

What about:
Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit

vs

Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 240PIN Memory Kit

the only difference that i can see are the timings, prices are the same.
I understand the 6400's are the best for Q6600 OC'ing as they love the FSB.

** Memory is very very confusing!! Where can I go read more about this stuff? I read the stickies but i'm just blown out of my mind **

Cob · 23 Jul 2008 at 19:39

The latter out of those two since 4-4-4-12 is in theory 20% faster than 5-5-5-18.

But out of the three pairs I would still go for the first one listed in the first post if they're all about the same price.

kppanic · 23 Jul 2008 at 19:51

Thanks tons for an awesome reply =)

Cob · 23 Jul 2008 at 20:04

Equivalent speed and timings are pretty easy to work out. Memory can afford to drop a timing (eg- 4-4-4-x to 5-5-5-x) every 200mhz or so. So in theory 800mhz 4-4-4-x would be about the same speed as 1000mhz 5-5-5-x. So 1066mhz 5-5-5-x (PC2-8500) will be a little faster than 800mhz 4-4-4-x (PC2-6400).

That's a bit too simplified, but you get the jist.