To get faster DDR 2Gig kit or not?

[MooSey-UK]

Im running 2 Gig Geil value pc3200 at the moment. to achieve the best O/C from my cpu I have to run a divider obviously. Im still getting 221MHz out the Geil which aint too bad.
However I've recently fitted a 8800GTX. Whilst it's fantastic and S.T.A.L.K.E.R runs a treat @ 1920x1200 Oblivion and 3dmark06 could be better.

(specs in sig)

The bottom line is, if I were to run a 2 Gig pc4400 kit at a 1:1 ratio not only could I get a slightly higher o/c, but I'd get more bandwidth.
Is memory bandwidth the culprit for holding back a cpu such as mine (4400+).
Would more bandwidth improve my GTX's benchmark/games performance?

I always thought the 939 X2's preferred higher clock speeds and lower latency than higher memory bandwith. Since the intro of the 8800 series im not sure if this still rings true.

Obviously a 1:1 ratio at 266 to 270 fsb is going to improve matters but Im not sure if its worth it as overclocking DDR Ram seems hard to come by and expensive.
Overclockers don't stock any anymore. If anyone could recommend a brand that clocks to 275 (2 Gig kit) I'll try and hunt some down..... if it's worth it.

(I can't afford C2D/mobo and DDR2 in one hit but might be able to find £150ish for memory if its worth it).

 

[MooSey-UK]

hmmmm, tempting. trouble is i just blew a grand on monitor,card and psu!
the mrs might not be very happy
i was hoping to get an extra boost to see me thru until vista/dx10 and true multicore games become reality.

DDR overclockers RAM seems to be outrageously expensive though

 

[MooSey-UK]

upgrading the RAM has now become a neccessity.
for some reason my cpu has decided it'll go higher than before (burn in? new psu?) which throws my speeds and dividers. to run at 2.7 i have to have the RAM at 192mhz (all be it tighter timings) where as before I had 2.66 with RAM running at 221mhz. I've yet to bench in games but superpi and 3dmark06 are up despite the lower bandwidth.
by fitting pc4000 i can run 1:1 and get more bandwidth.
the performance may or may not be greater but running a 8800gtx in oblivion or stalker at 1920x1200 needs plenty of coal to stoke the fire. fitting some decent RAM should make a noticeable effect in those game titles.

 

[MooSey-UK]

MooSey-UK, I've currently got my Geil value PC3200 DDR running at over 500MHz (check sig.)

You should try overclocking yours but setting lots of settings manually.
I mean, my DDR will only work at ~485MHz with 2.5-3-3-5 latencies or looser, where as once I hit ~510MHz I have to loosen them to 3-4-4-6.
Also, just to put things into perspective, I gained around 700MB/s bandwidth taking my ram from 400MHz with 2-3-3-5 to ~520MHz with 3-4-4-6.

Also, if you're using 2x1GB then your ram may be set to run at 1T, which means you'll already be getting a very good memory bandwidth at ~220MHz (around the same as me, I'd imagine)

There really isn't any point spending a huge amount of money on high speed DDR.

Also, fobose, are you serious? You spent £120 on 2GB of PC3200 DDR?!
That's pretty crazy, to say the least.

Banjo ;_;

my Geil is at it's limit at 221 3-4-4-8 1T. 1mhz more and it all goes ****.
im currently checking out the bay for something more sporting.

 

[MooSey-UK]

unfortunately when hardware is no longer current generation and many shops stop stocking prices rocket
im happy to spend up to 80 notes secondhand. any more and i'd have to consider selling cpu/ram/mobo/hsf and going c2d.