Best DDR2 RAM for system life?

Bungleflare · 31 Jan 2009 at 22:55

I'm a newbee - 1st post - please forgive any newbee errors.

I'm building system around Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS5 / Intel Q9450 /Vista 64-bit/Antec Solo
System required for photo/video editing and simulator games.
Important: Stability, Longevity (I wish to avoid burn outs) and Speed in that order. But i'd like to get best out of system.

I'm hoping to add 4 sticks of 240-pin DDR2 RAM 1.8v (6MB in total)

Need to choose DDR2 Ram modules:-
Ideally would like to run at 1066 Mhz at 1.8v - Found 1 manufacturer (Crucial) but cannot find any suppliers. Don't know if I really need 1066 anyway?

Was considering whether to run at 1066MHz 5-5-5-15 using Kingston HyperX. However, I will nudge up voltage to 2.2v.
Alternative. Corsair XMS2 800 MHz runs cool at 5-5-5-18 at 1.8v

1. Will running at 1066MHz 2.2v create a considerably more amount of heat ?( I was hoping to get away with Intel std Q9450 fan, 1 fan front & rear)
2. Will running at 1066MHz 2.2v reduce longevity of system
3. Hyper X is shown as having timinng 5-5-5-18 at 1.8v. Does that mean that it will appear to the system as 800MHz if I just I don't OC the voltage?

Bit confused - so any help gratefully received.

Bungleflare · 31 Jan 2009 at 23:30

Thanks for tip.
Wasn't thinking of getting Ballistix - Is that because it runs hot or because its more trouble than its worth?

Bungleflare · 31 Jan 2009 at 23:40

Thanks. I'll avoid the Crucial then. I had chosen the HyperX and XMS2 beacuse they sort of looked fairly reliable. But other may know better(?)

Bungleflare · 1 Feb 2009 at 10:53

Thanks Guys,
V. interested because others also have recommended OCZ.
So if I got the OCZ Platinum I have to put the voltage up to 2.1v - Yes?
Is that going to reduce the life of the M/B - compared to using 800Hz?
If I ran the OCZ at 1.8v - would the system see it at 800Mhz?
Do I need to tweak it at all if has EPP (I think Board has it?) ?
Good to hear it runs cool - but how much hotter than the 800Mhz in terms of the need to get better cooling?

Bungleflare · 5 Feb 2009 at 21:42

Thanks guys for all the comments.
Sorry I have been a bit 'snowed in' for last few days.

Re; Yellowbeard's question:_

Just curious, why do you want to use 4 modules?
For longevity, buy memory that operates at 1.8v. There's plenty of PC6400 memory rated at 1.8v that should suit you just fine. And, if you want more than 4GB, I'd suggest using 4 EXACTLY matched modules for a total of 8GB of memory.

Well, I am hedging my bets about the cost of future RAM and would like 8MB but thought it was a bit wasteful.But your point re: 4MB to 8MB of the same RAM is well made.
But you have touched again on the point of my original question. Is PC8500 RAM 2.2v necessary or will PC6400 1.8v do?
Will I really notice a significant increase in speed due to the increased bandwidth and importantly will the increased voltage reduce the life of the motherboard and require more cooling?

Bungleflare · 5 Feb 2009 at 22:37

What I liked about the HyperX (Sorry its not Corsair - but would be pleased to hear if any of their RAM does likewise) is that the spec seemed to allow for it to run at 1066MHz at 2.2 v, but if I did not tweak the voltage and left it run at 1.8v it would run as PC6400. I am I just naive - or is that correct?
Doesn't that then give me the option to o/c it if a particular programme requires it in the future - but until then, I take Yellowbeard's advice and run it as PC 6400?
The only question then is does the System see it as PC6400 until I tweak the voltage?
Am I confused here?