RAM advice for Q6600 setup

RichL

RichL

RichL

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Joined
2 Nov 2003
Posts
1,699
Hi Guys,

I'm struggling to work out the best 4Gb RAM to get for my new Q6600 rig (Asus Maximus Formula mobo). I will be overclocking and cooling with a Tuniq Tower.

Is it best to get 2x2Gb or 4x1Gb? Also should I buy PC8000 or go for PC6400 with better timings and overclock it?

Any advice on the best kits would be appreciated.
 
Hello RichL, If you are looking to overclock your Q6600 to around the 3.4GHz mark and up to 3.6GHz then may I suggest the OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2, which for the price, you cant beat it. Now even if you keep this particular memory running at its stated speed of 800MHZ, it will take your Q6600 all the way up to 3.6GHz and having all memory dimms filled up should not make a difference. Now I am also pretty sure, this memory won’t have any problems reaching the 900MHZ mark anyway, so if you are looking at really pushing your Q6600, providing you have adequate cooling and your particular chip can actually clock above 3.6GHz, the above memory wouldn't hold you back.

Another memory kit that you may be interested in is the OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2, they come in the form of 2X 2GB which will allow for upgrading to 8GB in the future if need be. However that's not really the main reason for suggesting these, the main reason is the price, £76.36 inc VAT for this sort of memory is phenomenal in my opinion. Though please take into account that if you are looking to run your Q6600 above the 3.6GHz mark then do not get the above since these, very much like most of the other 2X 2GB memory kits out their, they are very limited in terms of overclocking potential.

Finally moving onto PC8000 memory. In my opinion, actually buying memory faster than 6400 (800MHz) is a waste of money and i would be generally surprised if you would actually be able to notice any kind of performance increase from the two speeds in day to day tasks.

One thing i shall note to you though is, to be able to ultilze the full 4GB of RAM, you will need to be using a 64-bit Operating System, weather that be Windows XP or Windows Vista. :)
 
that 2x2GB OCZ should clock a bit, I have the PC5300 of the same stuff and got it to 724mhz memtest and prime95 stable. with 5-5-5-18 timings which are a bit looser than stock, and at 2.0v.

so if you were only wanting to clock you're cpu to around the 3.2ghz mark like mine, then the Pc5300 ram would be ok, and a little cheaper.
 
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I'll be using Vista 64-bit on this rig. I now think I'm better off with CAS4 PC6400 over PC8000 RAM, I doubt I'll get over 3.6 GHz on air anyway.
 
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I'm down to either:

1. OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz ReaperX (4-4-3-15)

2. OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series (5-5-5-18)

Is it worth getting the ReaperX for the lower timings? The heatsinks look a bit gimiky.
 
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Iv got the OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series (5-5-5-18) and it WILL not go any higher than 805mhz :( Might just be the batch I got though.
 
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