Help me choose mobo+RAM please

Artheas

Artheas

Artheas

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15 Mar 2006
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i'm a little wary over compatibility issues over my last purchases, the mobo and RAM seem to have their own issues too >.<

CPU will need to run at 250-280MHz FSB, socket 939
RAm preferably at 2gb, preferably a good overclocker without raising voltages over stated limits.



I'm looking at:
DFI LanParty UT NF4 SLI-D (what does UT stand for?)
DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR EXPERT (could someone tell me where the £30 between the 2 go, other than the layout?)

Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2-3-3-6) (are stated timings guaranteed? http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/products/specs/twinx2048-3200c2.pdf)
G.Skill 2GB DDR HS PC3200 (2.5-3-3-6)
Mushkin 2GB DDR XP4000 Extreme Performance Dual Channel Kit (3-4-3-8)
Which of these would manage the tightest stable timings at 250MHz?

Oh, and it'd be great if the mobo and RAM actually work together at the specs they're supposed to :P

Thanks
 
Unless you want to spend around £240 for 2gb of ram forget about tight timings at 250mhz. What you should be doing is buying some very good PC3200 ram and leaving it at tight timings 400mhz FSB and then running it on a divider from the HTT. You can then run the HTT at whatever speed you like (depending on mobo) without compromising the ram.

Corsair and DFI sometimes have issues together, some people have reported in the Memory forums.

Forget about the Expert board unless you want to SLI 2 gfx cards! Either buy the Ultra-D or if your budget is restricted then buy the MSI Neo4 which is a very good cling board and underated IMO.

For Ram I would recommend the OCZ PC3200 Platinum kit, tightest timings you'll get for PC3200 ram. Then run it on a divider.
 
I am thinking of using SLI in the future (put into a bit of doubt though with dx10 coming).
I've just read that some DFI boards arent able to read temps properly.. which is a big issue for me. Is it a frequent problem? Can you RMA with that as a reason?

Also i read that AMD says DFI boards dont support the Opteron (socket 939) which worried me, but i think most people on this forum use DFI with an Opteron? So it's nothing to worry about?


Oh, and could someone tell me which they think will be faster-
Opteron 170, (250x10)MHz
2GB RAM, 2-3-3-6, 1T 5:6 (208MHz)

or

Opteron 170, (250x10)MHz
2GB RAM, 3-4-4-8, 1T 1:1 (250MHz)


Thanks for any help, i should be making the purchase tomorrow :)
 
Don’t worry about the lack of official support for opteron’s they are all supported unofficially. ;)

I have been thinking about building a similar system and the general census is that either quick timings or highs ram mhz speeds are about the same in performance. Check out dfi street.

I was going to go for the OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC4000 Dual Channel Gold GX XTC Series EL-DDR CAS3 (OCZ5002048ELGEGXT-K) (MY-060-OC) or the G.Skill 2GB DDR HZ PC4000 (2x1GB) CAS3 Dual Channel Kit (F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ) (MY-008-GS) but not sure, swinging towards the ocz. :confused:
 
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Artheas said:
I am thinking of using SLI in the future (put into a bit of doubt though with dx10 coming).
I've just read that some DFI boards arent able to read temps properly.. which is a big issue for me. Is it a frequent problem? Can you RMA with that as a reason?

Also i read that AMD says DFI boards dont support the Opteron (socket 939) which worried me, but i think most people on this forum use DFI with an Opteron? So it's nothing to worry about?


Oh, and could someone tell me which they think will be faster-
Opteron 170, (250x10)MHz
2GB RAM, 2-3-3-6, 1T 5:6 (208MHz)

or

Opteron 170, (250x10)MHz
2GB RAM, 3-4-4-8, 1T 1:1 (250MHz)


Thanks for any help, i should be making the purchase tomorrow :)
Click to expand...

Almost certainly the former. Tighter faster ram :)
 
AmaTeX said:
got any evidence for that?
Click to expand...
Just the general advice of the forums... AMD's aren't affected by non-1:1 ratio on ram speed and well tight timings are ALLWAYS good.
 
Yes but its not the only way to go, either fast ram with slow timings or slow ram with fast timings will get the same results. You would have much more flexibility with faster ram if the mobo disliked certain dividers.

Once top cpu speeds are reached then the ram can be tweaked to hone the timings.
 
I'm on an Athlon X2 4400+, and am using PC3200 RAM for tight timings, I had to run my RAM on a divider to get 2.6GHz on both cores. Though I have trouble running the 2GB set on 1T, even on slacker timings... which was rather frustrating and was almost regretting and that I should've got some higher FSB sets.

But if time allows, I might have another go at playing around with the timings and the rates.
 
AmaTeX said:
Yes but its not the only way to go, either fast ram with slow timings or slow ram with fast timings will get the same results. You would have much more flexibility with faster ram if the mobo disliked certain dividers.

Once top cpu speeds are reached then the ram can be tweaked to hone the timings.
Click to expand...
Let's be honest, the benefit either way is marginal at best. Don't worry about it :).. You may benchmark a difference but you won't SEE a difference.
 
I think i'll stick with pc3200 then since pc4000 is more expensive :P


Right now, i think i'm going to go with
DFI LanParty UT NF4 SLI-D
G.Skill 2GB DDR ZX PC3200 or OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Plat

Which would you chose between the 2 sets of RAM? Same speed/timings, G.Skill cheaper by about £12.


Might actually be the end of the month before i buy them though, i wanna get a vf-900 too, i have £86 in the bank :(
 
Any opinions on which to choose between

DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR EXPERT
DFI LanParty UT NF4 SLI-D
DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D

My worries/thoughts:
The EXPERT seems to (potentially) have a lot of problems, from reading temps wrong, not running SLI, dual channel RAM issues, to cold boot problems and CPUs getting murdered. But it easily has the best layout for me, and seems to have the best support (maybe it needs it more?)

I've read that the Ultra-D can be modded into the SLI-d, so for me the only difference between the 2 is having to do the mod if i go SLI. Seems to be a good board, although it doesnt seem to get much support or updates.

I'm leaning towards the Ultra-D right now..
 
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