Going to 2GB, but which kit. Want to run it at 260FSB!

mc_bob · 20 Mar 2006 at 08:06

Hi
Im deciding to move to the world of 2GB and was wondering which kit to buy. Im looking at a budget of around £150. I game a lot so I think I would benifit from running it with no divider. Here are the kits I picked.

G.Skill 2GB DDR HZ PC4000 (2x1GB) CAS3 Dual Channel Kit (F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ) (MY-008-GS)
Price: £129.95 (£152.69 Including VAT at 17.5%)

G.Skill 2GB DDR ZX PC3200 (2x1GB) CAS2 Dual Channel Kit (F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX) (MY-007-GS)
Price: £124.95 (£146.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

G.Skill 2GB DDR HS PC3200 (2x1GB) CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit (F1-3200USU2-2GBHS) (MY-007-GS)
Price: £124.95 (£146.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-079-CS)
Price: £124.95 (£146.82 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Corsair 2GB DDR XMS4000PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS3 (MY-094-CS)
Price: £129.95 (£152.69 Including VAT at 17.5%)

I would pick the Ballistix kit but apparently they dont really test them before they send them out so i'll leave that.
Im not sure which kit would fit my needs.
Cheers

MC_Bob

Chandler_90 · 20 Mar 2006 at 10:03

I would imagine you'd have more chance with the PC4000 stuff..

You might wanna have a look at the Mushkin in this week only too..
Seems like a cracking deal..

DrMekon · 20 Mar 2006 at 12:32

I have the Mushkin RedlineXP PC4000... have them running at 254mhz (9/10 divider at 280mhz).. with 2.72v... they should go higher and I still have headroom with the volts...

I too was keen on balistix, until I read all the horror stories, so after much research I went for the Mushkins, and glad I did...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Mushkin/XP4000-2GB/2

mc_bob · 20 Mar 2006 at 16:11

Ok cheers, Ill have a look around.

MC_Bob

welshtom · 20 Mar 2006 at 16:30

why does everyone still think running a divider is bad?

bah, this memory forum never changes

smids · 20 Mar 2006 at 17:06

welshtom said:
why does everyone still think running a divider is bad?

bah, this memory forum never changes

Lol, so true Tom - either AXP converts or ex-Intel users methinks.

@ OP: You'll probably want the PC4000 really.

mc_bob · 20 Mar 2006 at 17:52

welshtom said:
why does everyone still think running a divider is bad?

bah, this memory forum never changes

Well correct me if Im wrong but running on a divider will have a loss of performace?
Had a look at the Mushkin Memory but it's a bit expensive.
Cheers

MC_Bob

malccy · 20 Mar 2006 at 18:23

I was once under the impression that using a divider affected performance, now I know better. On an Intel setup yes but on an A64 little if none at all.

A set of good PC4000 will usually goto 260-270fsb on a 1:1 setting but you will still need to use a divider to go further.

Explicit · 20 Mar 2006 at 18:33

mc_bob said:
Well correct me if Im wrong but running on a divider will have a loss of performace?

...incorrect...

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Guides/athlon64oc/
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Guides/athlon64oc/4.html

What have these tests proven? They've proven that overclocking your K8 system while using a memory divider to keep that cheaper DDR RAM within spec is nothing to be ashamed of. We saw quite healthy gains in all departments, including memory bandwidth, merely by raising the CPU clock even though we kept the memory at ~200 MHz at all times. I repeat: You are not a weenie if you use a memory divider.

welshtom · 20 Mar 2006 at 19:32

corrected

mc_bob · 20 Mar 2006 at 19:32

So should I be more worried about timings then? Or neither?
Cheers for that info explicit

MC_Bob

pieman109 · 20 Mar 2006 at 20:42

I think it was "smids" here (but could be wrong) who did a comparison of the same memory at 200mhz, tight timings and 250mhz with slack timings and result was nigh on identical, give or take a few points.

mc_bob · 20 Mar 2006 at 21:21

Oh ok, so with a pinch of sugar, 90% of 2Gb kits will perform the same?

MC_Bob

smids · 20 Mar 2006 at 22:19

pieman109 said:
I think it was "smids" here (but could be wrong) who did a comparison of the same memory at 200mhz, tight timings and 250mhz with slack timings and result was nigh on identical, give or take a few points.

I quoted another person (Angry_Games from DFI-Street [DFI Technician]), but yes.

Basically his findings were that 2-2-2-5 200mhz performs pretty much the same as 275mhz 2.5-4-4-7 etc. Thus, FSB was irrelevant if the timings were loose as performance was lost in loosening the timings. Not all 2GB kits are the same - some will only do loose timings e.g. G.skill HZ 3-4-4-8 @ 250mhz and about 2.5-4-3-8 @ 200mhz. The reason I chose mine is that it can do 2-3-2-5 @ 200mhz or 3-3-2-5 @ 270mhz (good set) thus I can use either tight timings or high FSB, depending on my clock - makes it very easy. I have the best of both worlds with this kit. However, a cheaper kit would be the G.skill ZX @ 2-3-2-5 @ 200mhz and then stick that on a divider as FSB will make no difference. If however, you can use tightish timings @ 250mhz, this this is better than 200mhz. E.g. BH5 can do 2-2-2-5 @ 250mhz which is the best performance - tight timings AND high fsb. However, BH5 is only available in 1GB kits - it was just an example.

trojan698 · 20 Mar 2006 at 22:52

I wonder how well this kit - OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 would clock, and if there much difference between it and the pc4000? apart from £55!

Any ideas?

pieman109 · 20 Mar 2006 at 22:59

trojan698 said:
I wonder how well this kit - OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 would clock, and if there much difference between it and the pc4000? apart from £55!

Any ideas?

I'll let you know in a coupla days, I've just installed 2gig of this memory today.
Smids, could you give me a ballpark figure for timings and voltage to run this memory at 250mhz please?

trojan698 · 20 Mar 2006 at 23:01

He's using the PC4000 stuff I believe. £146 is very very tempting, if only I could shift this ballistix.