Which 8500 DDR2 ?

Soldato
Joined
18 Jun 2005
Posts
3,434
So OCZ SLI, Corsair Dominator or Crucial Ballistix.

They are all 5,5,5,15 and I think they all use Micron IC's.

So should I just get the cheapest ?
 
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Thanks.

If my 4gig Corsair kit I ordered doesn't work out I will get these.
So is there any real difference between any of the 8500 kits I mentioned besides price. The OCZ seem particularly good value and work at 2.1v and can go up to 2.4v.

Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
£170.36 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817


OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-8500 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel DDR2
£117.49 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-082-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit
£129.24 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-093-CR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817
 
There is very little difference as they all use MIcron memory. The last three letters specify the exact type of D9 used, but they will all be reasonably equal in performance. Crucial's RMA service just wipes the floor with everyone else though.
 
It looks like I will get the Crucial, but another one I am considering is the OCZ Reaper 9200. From reviews I have read this reaches the highest clocks of all for the money, and it can do 800mhz at low voltage with 444 timings or possibly 333. Only high voltage needed once you go over 1000mhz. What you reckon ? Are these worth it, or are the Crucial 8500's still the best buy.
 
You returned your 4gig Corair kit then :)

Anyway, if money was not an object would you get the 9200 reaper or this 5300 Ballistix ?

The reaper will go higher I think, but also higher voltage to get there...not a good thing since nvidia over on the evga forums have pretty much said 2.4 volts kills the memory over time. Still I read a review where this stuff will do 44412 at a little over 2v, and around 2.2v will hit 1000mhz and still good timings. Can the Crucial go that high ? Is it the same stuff as the Crucial 6400 and 8500 but just not binned at a high speed.
 
The pc5300 Crucial will do 4-4-4-12 @1000mhz @2.2v. Looser timings and more vdimm lets it hit over 1100mhz, and more in some cases.

I'm pretty certain the pc6400 is the exact same stuff.

But the pc8500 does seem to be slightly better chips, as can be seen here.

Whether it's worth the extra ~£55 over the pc5300 is arguable.
 
I'm leaning towards the 5300 stuff at the moment, if money was no object then ofc i would go for the 9200 as i know i will be able to hit high speeds. Reality says go for the 5300 though.
 
Ok...

So I am buying 2gigs in about an hours time. Whatever I buy will run in the rig in my sig below which I am building this week. I hope to get the most out of my quad and it's an A1 EVGA 680i mobo so the FSB issues should be sorted. And the memory has to be compatible.

So what should I buy ?
 
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