Q6600 Overclocking, DDR2 or DDR3..

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 17:25

I've got a Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R board with a Q6600. I've got 4x1GB OCZ 2P800LP2GK / PC6400. And recently a stick of memory died so i'm running two sticks 2x1GB currently and want to get back to where I was.

Would you bother getting an identical stick and topping up, or going to DDR3? Advantages worth it on that board?

I'm currently running the chip at 3Ghz with a bit of headroom with temps / volts wise, which would help me get to 3.2 - 3.4 better?

I did have a quick search but couldn't find anything matching my situation really.

Any advice would be great!

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 17:29

Maybe something like this if the gains are going to be worth it?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-183-OC

cmndr_andi · 24 May 2011 at 18:23

Looking at this, the board does well with DDR3 RAM and DDR3 is also cheaper these days.

Personally I would buy this ram (it runs great at 1.5v) and run it at 1333mhz.

in terms of performance, if you look here using DDR3 instead of DDR2 on this board doesn't really give you a performance boost, but DDR3 is still the best option (mainly due to cost and since it is current-tech it can be carried over to future systems).

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 19:08

Yeah that was my thinking the cost / future-proofing aspect. Just i've read people saying about the timing and DDR2 being better to overclock with, I only understood it slightly, that anything to worry about?

Thanks for the example too, yeah looking at those examples the difference is almost non-existent, but as it costs less anyway it's definitely worth thinking about.

cmndr_andi · 24 May 2011 at 19:27

loaky said:
Just i've read people saying about the timing and DDR2 being better to overclock with, I only understood it slightly, that anything to worry about?

Aye, DDR2 has better timings - but this is more than compensated by DDR3's increased bandwidth, hence you see in the real-world tests there is basically no performance difference (with DDR3 being slightly better). As for overclocking - as you can see in that review, with a DDR3 kit installed they are able to push the 65nm quad core to 3.64GHz. DDR3 isn't going to impede your overclocking any more than DDR2.

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 19:48

Think you've sold it to me! Thanks for the advice fella.

Think i'll get a DDR3 kit and flog the 2x1GB and 1x1GB DDR2.

beninfluence · 24 May 2011 at 20:14

I run mine with DDR3, it's overclocked to a smidge under 3.6 and I think it can be pushed a bit more once I get a new fan for the cooler. I've never used mine with DDR2 so can't compare the two.

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 20:29

beninfluence said:
I run mine with DDR3, it's overclocked to a smidge under 3.6 and I think it can be pushed a bit more once I get a new fan for the cooler. I've never used mine with DDR2 so can't compare the two.

Good to hear from someone with an identcal setup, well MB and CPU anyway. What cooler are you using out of interest? I've got the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, size of a breezeblock, and weighs the same!

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 20:41

In fact i've just noticed my OCZ's have got a lifetime warranty on them, worth punting a set back to them?

cmndr_andi · 24 May 2011 at 20:49

loaky said:
In fact i've just noticed my OCZ's have got a lifetime warranty on them, worth punting a set back to them?

Yea man, for sure. When you get the replacements back you can sell them on and recover some of your DDR3 costs.

May I ask what stepping Q6600 you have B3 or G0? (you can check using CPU-Z)

Also, I should have mentioned before - running two memory sticks instead of four will put less strain on the memory controller and should make overclocking a bit easier. So another plus for going down the DDR3 road.

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 20:55

cmndr_andi said:
Yea man, for sure. When you get the replacements back you can sell them on and recover some of your DDR3 costs.

May I ask what stepping Q6600 you have B3 or G0? (you can check using CPU-Z)

Also, I should have mentioned before - running two memory sticks instead of four will put less strain on the memory controller and should make overclocking a bit easier. So another plus for going down the DDR3 road.

Mine is the more sought after G0 stepping one.

I've requested an RMA with OCZ, I suppose I just forgot assuming everything is the stock years warranty. Yeah I did think the 4 vs. 2 stick aspect was a winner too.

Avathar77 · 24 May 2011 at 21:05

I heard OCZ not doing DDR2 RAM any more so not sure if they would give DDR2 but they may give you DDR3 instead!
P35C DS3R is a great board1 I had it with my q6600(G0) as well, every thing is very easy with that board. I was just going to buy the ddr3 ram from ocuk today afternoon at the firesale

loaky · 24 May 2011 at 21:15

Avathar77 said:
I heard OCZ not doing DDR2 RAM any more so not sure if they would give DDR2 but they may give you DDR3 instead!

That was my thinking too!

..although knowing my luck they'll find one DDR2 set right in the back corner they'll send to me!

Yeah it does seem like a good choice of board, i've always liked it.

Used the Intel RAID function on it for the first time too, had 2x250GB disks cluttering the place, just striped them, saved me buying an SSD with a quarter of the space! Although SSD's have there advantages I suppose..