Upgrading memory in my current rig

Hatake · 13 Mar 2008 at 20:28

I need some more memory but after having a look, I've come to the conclusion that I don't know what I'm looking for. I've got a budget of about £30 after VAT and I don't think I'll be overclocking anything so that's not important.

I'm on Windows XP Pro 32-bit, although thinking of upgrading to XP 64-bit (still not a Vista fan) if there's merit for it, although I'm not intending on exceeding the 4GB memory limit anyway.

I'm currently running a Socket AM2 Athlon64 4600+ on an ASUS M2N-E mobo. I'm currently using this memory Corsair 1GB DDR2 Value Select PC2-5300 and my mobo memory spec is "8GB DDR2 800/667/533 ECC and non-ECC, un-buffered memory" So I think my current memory is causing a small bottleneck. Also, my mobo only gives a max of 1.95v to the ram so that limits my options.

I've got 2 free memory slots left and I'm looking for 2GB total, don't think I'll need 4gig. Currently thinking about G.Skill 2GB DDR2 NR PC2-6400 or GeIL 2GB PC2-6400C4.

Is the extra £5 for the improved latency worth it, especially since I don't intend to overclock it?

Cob · 13 Mar 2008 at 23:52

The Geil usually needs 2.1v to run at its advertised settings.

The G.Skill or this Geil would be your best bet.

steve258 · 14 Mar 2008 at 00:33

Why not the OCZ 2Gb PC6400 it's only £28 with CAS4 latency as well.

Robzere31 · 14 Mar 2008 at 00:52

I have the Geil 2*1GB kit which I grabbed for £25 a couple of months ago.
Had it running from new at 4-4-4-12 2T 900mhz @ 2.05v
It does 4-4-4-12 2T 800mhz with 1.9v however.

Also got the OZ 2*1GB kit (£28) in my other machine running 4-4-4-12 2T 800mhz 1.8v

Both kits seem decent, but I haven't tried overclocking the OZ yet.

Hatake · 14 Mar 2008 at 01:38

@Cob, I didn't see the black dragon Geil, it does look better than the one I listed. But in actual use, would I even notice that improved latency?

@steve258, someone told me that OCZ usually needed more than 1.95 vdimm to actually run at 800Mhz but going by Ronzere31's specs, I guess that someone was wrong.

It's now up to 3 sets, either the original G.Skill one, Geil Black Dragon, or the OCZ one.

I'm leaning towards the OCZ one since it offers CAS4 latency for the cheapest price and since I'm not overclocking (which is effectively crippled by my motherboard's 1.95v vdimm limit anyway), I don't need the top of the range brands and models.

Is it worth shelling out that tiny bit extra for Geil, or is the OCZ one a good choice?

Hatake · 15 Mar 2008 at 02:22

anyone with a final recommendation?