DDR2 Timings

blazer666_uk · 26 Jul 2006 at 00:18

Hi,

Just pre orderd Core Duo E6600 and I want to know what memory should I go for?

I really want to know if there is a BIG difference between the DDr800 CL5 and the CL4 (GEIL ) stuff, does it justify the 80 pounds or so difference? ie do the tighter timings make much difference? or is there some better memory I should get?

Ive been a AMD user since day one and this E6600 will be my first ever intel processor (well except for the 386 i once owned many years ago!)

TIA

Indy500 · 26 Jul 2006 at 00:18

You dont need expensive ram, even value DDR2 kits clock well.

Cyber-Mav · 26 Jul 2006 at 01:18

but if u got the cash then get faster ram./

Legionaire68 · 26 Jul 2006 at 16:13

Intel rigs are supposed to perform better with more bandwith than tighter timings, the gain of better timings will be smaller than spending the cash on faster ram.

ATI · 27 Jul 2006 at 13:23

hello all

i,m also curious about this?

can someone please give us names, models, timings for the best ram for a conroe?

div0 · 27 Jul 2006 at 14:11

If you aren't overclocking then none of the Conroes need more than DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) RAM

If you are overclocking then you need RAM capable of a higher bandwidth eg PC2-6400. The higher you wish to overclock and the higher you raise your FSB, the more bandwidth you need from your RAM.

See here for more info:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17592348

In general timings don't really matter for the Conroe's as far as I can tell.

And so unless you are going for some SERIOUS overclocking you don't need to spend loads of cash on RAM!!

The first 2 options in the gskill range seem to be highly recommended on these forums

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/GSkill_Memory.html

mrbios · 27 Jul 2006 at 16:38

whats peoples opinions about the OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-7200 Dual Channel EPP XTC Series DDR2 ?

good/bad/overpriced/wellpriced? ill probably be overclocking but ive never really been one to squeeze every ounce of juice out of my machine, would it probably be overkill or a good buy for general head room incase i push it further then i would push 6400?

dont really know a thing about DDR2, all these new speeds are very new to me

/threadhijackend

EDIT: alternatively im tempted by the Gskill ZX 6400 but mainly because i know gskills customer service on returns is second to none

monkeypants · 27 Jul 2006 at 18:58

mrbios said:
EDIT: alternatively im tempted by the Gskill ZX 6400 but mainly because i know gskills customer service on returns is second to none

The G.Skill HZ 6400 is the kit to get, the chips scale to DDR1000 and beyond.

mrbios · 27 Jul 2006 at 19:31

monkeypants said:
The G.Skill HZ 6400 is the kit to get, the chips scale to DDR1000 and beyond.

ooo sounds like a good buy then, cheers

Devious · 27 Jul 2006 at 20:06

Ram doesnt seem to make much difference on c2d systems.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Save your money and get a beter video card.

blazer666_uk · 27 Jul 2006 at 22:45

Devious said:
Ram doesnt seem to make much difference on c2d systems.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Save your money and get a beter video card.

I already have a 7950 so how can i get a better one than that????

So what everone is saying is get the CL5 suff and dont bother with the cl4 ram. I would like to overclock a bit but nothing mad as the Conroe E6600 SPANKS the athlon FX62 in everything (Games video decoding etc). Come on Overclockers send me my chip!! I have to wait until August now (the order doesnt say when though!!!

)

I had some corsair value select in my Athlon system. I upgraded this to some Corsair TWINX Pro ram which I did notice a difference between the two types.

PS thanks for the very informative replys guys!

blazer666_uk · 27 Jul 2006 at 22:56

Devious said:
Ram doesnt seem to make much difference on c2d systems.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Save your money and get a beter video card.

That is a pretty comprehensive review, I have just read it all and there seems to be a small difference, the CL3 800 stuff is about 1-4% slowerl compared to the CL5 800 or ever the DDR2 1066 RAM which costs more (for 2 gigs)than my 7950GTX2!!!

Also what is surprising is that there is hardly any difference between the DDR2 667 and 800 stuff, so Im going to get some of that stuff I think as it is cheaper and I can get some CL3 in that it seems to be a big waste of money IMHO to get the DDR2 800 or 1066.

blazer666_uk · 27 Jul 2006 at 23:42

Devious said:
Ram doesnt seem to make much difference on c2d systems.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Save your money and get a beter video card.

PS

where did you get the E6600 from? they are not available yet????

Devious · 28 Jul 2006 at 17:56

blazer666_uk said:
PS

where did you get the E6600 from? they are not available yet????

ES chip

PinkFloyd · 28 Jul 2006 at 18:03

div0 said:
If you are overclocking then you need RAM capable of a higher bandwidth eg PC2-6400. The higher you wish to overclock and the higher you raise your FSB, the more bandwidth you need from your RAM.

The way thats writing is leading me to think that there isn't a ram:fsb multi, please tell me I completely miss interpreted this post

Devious · 28 Jul 2006 at 18:51

PinkFloyd said:
The way thats writing is leading me to think that there isn't a ram:fsb multi, please tell me I completely miss interpreted this post

Most boards have a memory divider (except for the gigabyte boards it seems) so you could run your mem at a lower speed whilst having 400+ FSB