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.

benwoodcock · 31 Jan 2009 at 23:26

I doubt you'll need 1066. Don't get crucial ballistix though

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?

reflux · 31 Jan 2009 at 23:31

Ballistix seems to have a high failure rate....no one seems to know why.

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(?)

Big.Wayne · 1 Feb 2009 at 01:04

Hey Bungleflare,

welcome to OcUK Forums!

I can recommend this kit, been using it a few months and the sticks barely gets warm! Also your hunch is right about getting faster 1066MHz memory, it does give the system some extra memory bandwidth!

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Platinum Series DDR2 (OCZ2P10664GK)

£55.19 inc - This Week Only!

Can your simulator games use more than 4GB of memory? if so I would be tempted to purchase two sets of that OCZ stuff for 8GB of uBer fast DDR2-1066! :cool:

Tom|Nbk · 1 Feb 2009 at 04:02

^^ Just ordered some of that myself from another store. Only went for 4GB. I currently have 6GB of PC6400 and it really is overkill for what I do.

Moving to 8500 to get a little bit more out of my E8400

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?

bobbydigital · 1 Feb 2009 at 13:17

reflux said:
Ballistix seems to have a high failure rate....no one seems to know why.

My old crucial anniversary ram required me to set dram voltage manually even @ stock because the motherboard would pick the wrong voltage, they are basically hand picked ballistix ram so possibly the same issue?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-136-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

or if you want 1066

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-148-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

Odyssey · 1 Feb 2009 at 15:05

is the OCZ Platinum supposed to be better than the OCZ Reaper? It's the same specs, but cheaper

setter · 1 Feb 2009 at 15:13

With the reaper your basically paying more for the heatsink arrangement.

Odyssey · 1 Feb 2009 at 15:28

So it's basically the same? Or do you think it helps at all?

setter · 1 Feb 2009 at 15:39

I currently run 4gb of the pc6400 reaper hpc cas4 ram, @844mhz 2.02v, the ram has always been cool to the touch. From looking at the specs for the pc8500 reaper and the platinum ram, theyre both identical. Id definitely opt for the platinum, especially at the current price. I dont think the heatpipe makes that much difference.

Yellowbeard · 2 Feb 2009 at 20:39

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

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.

reflux · 2 Feb 2009 at 20:42

bobbydigital said:
My old crucial anniversary ram required me to set dram voltage manually even @ stock because the motherboard would pick the wrong voltage, they are basically hand picked ballistix ram so possibly the same issue?

Also had some of that stuff, and yeah, it was a bit irritating, but I've still never seen such an overclock out of RAM. 667mhz to 1100mhz in a jiffy? Yes please

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?

Yellowbeard · 5 Feb 2009 at 21:56

If PC6400 does not hold back your CPU OCing, there is no advantage really in buying PC8500. You will get more bandwidth with PC8500 but, if you don't have a substantial CPU OC, you'll not really benefit from it.

For longevity, the best choice is 1.8v PC6400 memory.

Tom|Nbk · 5 Feb 2009 at 22:09

But PC8500 is really cheap now. You can get a set for not a lot more than a PC6400 set.

Yellowbeard · 5 Feb 2009 at 22:21

Tom|Nbk said:
But PC8500 is really cheap now. You can get a set for not a lot more than a PC6400 set.

Very true and it does provide more options. However, if the OP is wanting to run cool 1.8v memory in his aim for less heat and longevity, then there is no advantage at all in spending the extra money.

Tom|Nbk · 5 Feb 2009 at 22:32

OCZ PC8500 with a slight overclock from 1066 to 1081 with stock volts 2.0v

Cool to the touch