Core 2 Duo What - Which DDR2

Exibit

Exibit

Exibit

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Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
450
Location
Halifax
Hi Guys

I have tried looking on the forum but it seems that the topics that would help seem to talk about everything but what I need to know.

I am looking for 2G of DDR2 for my new build, I am very happy to purchase it from OC and find the service excellent.

Ok the system will be
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Asus MotherBoard
Memory ??
Graphics - Waiting for Direct X 10 Card

I just read a good article in last months custom PC but this has confused me more so the rig will be used for gaming, video encoding ect..

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Exib
 
Get the GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit on offer for £165 here
 
Exibit said:
Hi Guys



I just read a good article in last months custom PC but this has confused me more so the rig will be used for gaming, video encoding ect..

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Exib
Click to expand...

Is that the month they tested loads of different Rams sets and the GeiL doesnt get a mention?,, cause i wondered about that.

Anywho i went for the Geil 2GB set.
 
Yes thats why I'm so confused as they tested 27 sets of DDR2 and the Geil was not even in the list

I need more help before I spend £200 to £250
 
I'm in the process at this very moment priming the same memory at 950mhz @ 5-5-5-20 @ 2.2Vdimm. Really good ram this, overclocks like a demon. Mind you, you'd probably get the same out of the Gskill.
 
Exibit said:
Yes thats why I'm so confused as they tested 27 sets of DDR2 and the Geil was not even in the list

I need more help before I spend £200 to £250
Click to expand...

Mate as good as it is im starting to dought a lot of things this mag does, the current one the did a big motherbaord test, yet didnt mention the Giga DS4 (one that i just bought), which i was peeved about.

Im taking anything they write now with a pinch of salt.

I built my first every PC last year going by what everyone here ansewered to my questions, and have doen the same with the Conroe, i would do the same, their are to many owners of the GeiL here that say its good to dought it IMO.
 
pieman109 said:
I'm in the process at this very moment priming the same memory at 950mhz @ 5-5-5-20 @ 2.2Vdimm. Really good ram this, overclocks like a demon. Mind you, you'd probably get the same out of the Gskill.
Click to expand...
- in theory you should be able to get 1000MHz @ 4-4-4-12 @ 2.2 with g.skill 6400 HZ - in practise I found I had to bump the vdimm up to 2.35 to keep it 100% stable - was 99.9% stable for me at 2.2, with 5-5-5-20 timings the g.skill _should_ do 1200+
 
Rroff said:
- in theory you should be able to get 1000MHz @ 4-4-4-12 @ 2.2 with g.skill 6400 HZ - in practise I found I had to bump the vdimm up to 2.35 to keep it 100% stable - was 99.9% stable for me at 2.2, with 5-5-5-20 timings the g.skill _should_ do 1200+
Click to expand...
I'm guessing your using some kind of extra cooling on the actual ram? If so what type of fan are you using etc?
 
I had a high speed 80mm mounted above the ram using an arm attached to the 5.25 drive bay... at above 2.2 with the g.skill active cooling is a must.
 
I'm starting to wonder about Custom PC magazine too.

They are not the overclocking/hardware review gods they like to think they are IMO! ;)

For instance, my plain old Corsair DDR2 667 Value RAM didn't get much of a write up in that review, but I ran the benchmarks that they did with my RAM at the same speed to see how I compared.

Using the Custom PC benchmarks, my rig came in just slightly slower than what they'd achieved with the same RAM. (I expected this as I was running my E6300 at E6700 speeds to match their test CPU in all but cache...)

When I ran Super PI 32MB, my pc beat their results by a good minute and a half, putting it second overall vs their winning RAM, which was very expensive.

They also didn't get anywhere near the OC I've managed with 6 different sticks of this Value RAM, and I managed to run 4-4-4-12 on all 6 sticks too, whereas they said they could only get 800mhz running 6-6-6-18. Come to think of it, on their motherboard reviews, they didn't get anywhere near the max OC for the Asus P5B either in my experience. Not surprising really I suppose, as they can't have time to get to know every component intimately with their mag deadlines etc.

So, what am I saying? You're doing the right thing by asking around on here, but I'm also saying don't necessarily be blinded by the 'more expensive the RAM, the better the performance' argument. I could have spent over twice the money for the same performance with my RAM for instance.

Don't get me wrong, I was in the market for some faster RAM, but then I'm overclocking a low divider E6300 where I would see some benefit from RAM capable of going faster. But, prices went up to the extent where I'm now just as well selling my E6300 and upgrading to an E6600 instead, as it would be cheaper!!

To answer your question, finally :D , I would recommend just plain old 667 RAM, either the Corsair or the Crucial. Whatever is cheapest really! You should easily get 3.2Ghz with an E6600, and probably more.

If you're not going to overclock, then there's even less point spending any more to be honest. You're system won't run any faster with 800mhz - 1Ghz RAM in there, but your wallet will be emptier!! ;)

EDIT: Having said all that, that Geil RAM on this week only is a very good deal (cheaper than the Corsair at the moment), so you should be fine with that! Fill your boots! :D
 
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Custom PC Magazine while its very well laid out in my opinion, doesnt give accurate results in a lot of areas. Hence why I read it in a shop & dont buy it! :rolleyes:
 
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