Help: What memory to buy? (I hate this)

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SelRahc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
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First, let me apologise for my lack of knowledge in this department. I have probably asked this a few times and I am still lost >.< I hate shopping for memory.

Basically I want the BEST memory I can buy that will work well, and OC good later in
these 2 mother boards:

MSI Neo2Plat or an Abit AV8.
( I ordered both boards since I'm not sure which I will like better so it needs tow ork well in both.)

My system build is AMD FX-53 (939) and will be Water Cooled from the start. My plan is to run stock no OC for a while at first, then OC later. So I don't want to re-buy memory for the OC.

What memory should I get?

I was looking at the top memories from OCZ, a brand most people seem to like, as reference, but that's not a requirement.

The boards are raited at PC 3200 @ 400 MHz. but I see most people with faster ram.... PC3500 seems to be the most common along with PC4000. so I guess I have a few questions that I can't get a grasp on...

1. Will the faster memory, like PC4000, run ok at stock MB speeds? Will it perform the same as 3200 at stock?

2. Looking at OCZ as an example, is their best line the Platinum Edition Dual Channel DDR memory featuring Enhanced Bandwidth Technology? Is that worth getting?

3. What speed do you recommend??? 3200? 3500? 4000? /cry so confused. :confused:

I just want the best memory I can get, that will work fine at stock, and overclock like a bat outa he11 when I'm ready to do so.... OC being sooner than later. PRICE IS NOT A CONCERN HERE. Memory is 1 thing I do NOT want to skimp on.

I don't want to buy 3200 or 3500 if I'll hit myself later for not getting faster......

Can anyone slap me in the right direction?

(crawls into a corner to cry)
 
high-end corsair 3200LL or something similar is a good way to go. ocz tends to be sort of all or nothing: it's great awesome etc or it dies in 2 weeks. corsair is steady as a rock.
 
twajetmech said:
Look at the Mushkin Level II rev2 !
Click to expand...

What speed? I guess what I'm really wondering about is the speed.... which PC#### I should get.
 
PC3200 or PC3500 if you want to keep the low latancies (the Mushkin PC3500 Level II V2 should be out soon, with 2-2-2 ! ) Their new Level II V2 is 2-2-2 and OC's well, from what I hear !
twajetmech
 
pc3200 or 3500 , aka ddr400/433. the 4000/500 isn't down to the lower latencies yet, and odds are your fsb won't get that high anyway.
 
thebliX said:
OCZ EB 3700
botom line best memory for a64.
Click to expand...


What about stability issues on nforce3 ultra mother boards? I've heard that the samsung chips don't work so well, especially in dual channel setup.
 
Take a look at the Crucial Ballistix, same Micron chips as the OCZ EB series. Read Anand's memory article. He recommended the Ballistix or EB.
 
EbolaZaire said:
What about stability issues on nforce3 ultra mother boards? I've heard that the samsung chips don't work so well, especially in dual channel setup.
Click to expand...
i didn't think there were any nforce 3 socket 939 boards.
 
Can someone tell me why I would want EB (Enhanced Bandwidth) over EL (Enhanced Latency) From what I gather, One is faster but pushes alittle less data, and one is slower but pushes alittle more data? Do they = out? Why EB over EL?

OCZ's 3700EL is 2.5-3-3 and the 3700EB is 3-2-2

I think I have heard the same thing about stability issues on NF3 as well. Is this the case with OCZ memory and that chipset?
 
SelRahc said:
Can someone tell me why I would want EB (Enhanced Bandwidth) over EL (Enhanced Latency) From what I gather, One is faster but pushes alittle less data, and one is slower but pushes alittle more data? Do they = out? Why EB over EL?

OCZ's 3700EL is 2.5-3-3 and the 3700EB is 3-2-2

I think I have heard the same thing about stability issues on NF3 as well. Is this the case with OCZ memory and that chipset?
Click to expand...

Anand's article comparing new modules: http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2145

Notice the Ballistix memory was the only one that could run the same on the P4 and A64 system. The Ballistix memory is, of course, using Micron chips.

Anand's article reviewing the EB series: http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2019

At low clock speeds the EB series was outperformed by faster timings but it really shined when you upped the FSB. According to Anand it performs very well with A64, while the others are hit and miss. In addition, Anand used cas 2.5 timings at DDR400 for the EB which is what they are rated at. I know the new Ballistix using the Micron chips can run 2-2-2-5 at DDR400.

Anands review of the 3700EB: http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2057&p=16

He gave glowing reviews to this memory for A64 setups. According to Anand the Micron based chips are the only ones to perform identically on both the A64 and P4 systems. The others had to use slower timings or greater voltage to reach the same speeds on the A64 system.

http://www.sysopt.com/reviews/Crucial_Ballistix/index2.html

Another glowing review of the Ballistix memory. The memory even reached DDR466 at 2.6V. That is incredible. It ran 2-2-2-5 at PC3500 speeds. This is better than the BH-5 sticks which it seems everyone here wants to make love to. If you want maximum compatability, maximum speed (especially if you overclock to DDR500), and the best customer support then you want the EB series from OCZ or the Crucial Ballistix.
 
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