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4200+ w/ 2gb Ballistix or 4400+ w/ 2gb OCZ Platinum?

L

Lockout

Member
I'm currently trying to figure out what hardware I'd like to buy for my new computer, but it seems I've run into a problem trying to decide which CPU and ram I would like to buy.

First, to give you an idea what I'm going for, here's the list of hardware I've either decided on or bought already:

Asus A8N-SLI Premium
BFG 7800GTX OC
Lian-Li PC-V1000B Plus
Seasonic S12-500
Samsung Spinpoint 120gb
NEC ND-3540A
Thermalright XP-90 w/ 92mm Panaflo fan

As you can see, I'm aiming for a computer that will last me quite a while, so I'm thinking an AMD dual core CPU and 2gb of ram will round out this setup quite nicely. I was originally planning on purchasing the 4400+ and the OCZ Platinum 2x1gb set, but at this moment the 4400+ is still very expensive, and now it seems (from what I've read recently) that the OCZ doesn't overclock very well.

The 4200+, on the other hand, is readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to it's 1mb cache brother. And with the money I'd save, I could afford to buy 2gb of Crucial's Ballistix DDR500 ram.

What I don't know, however, is which choice will give me the best overall performance when overclocked as high as stable on air cooling, which is why I'm posting here and hoping I can get some insight from any of you who are more knowledgable on how ram speeds and cache sizes affect performance.

As for how I'll be using this computer, it will mostly be a mix of gaming, surfing, and music listening, with occasional Photoshop use.

Ideally, I would buy the 4400+ and the Ballistix, but I really can't afford to spend that much on a processor and ram right now, so it's 1mb cache with slower (?) ram or 512kb cache with DDR500. Which would you suggest?
 
I'd go for the cache. Having your memory at DDR500 doesn't do much, even for dual cores as we saw with the AT review.

The cache ranges from not doing much, to doing a nice improvement, so it's a better choice.

You could also wait for a little to see if there's any improvement on the 4400+'s.
 
I see. So, say if I overclocked the 4400+ and for some reason the ram couldn't keep up, it really wouldn't hurt my performance at all to run a divider and set the ram at a lower speed?
 
Obviously you have put thought into this, but if I were you, I'd wait until there are some benchies for the R520.

Do you really need 2 gig or RAM though? unless your using a CAD program you wont need it. anyways if you go to: http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2469 you can see that DDR 500 is hardly 1-3% faster than DDR 400

I would take the 4400+ and 1 gig of Ballistix. But thats me
 
You actually planned a very similar rig as mine.

CPU: X2 4800+ @2.7GHz
RAM: 2X1G OCZ Titanium @ 2-3-2-5-1T
GPU: BFG 7800GTX @ 490Mhz/1400Mhz

I think I'm at my RAM's limit. The thing is, with 2G of memory, you can't expect the same kind of OC as with 1G. And like many have pointed out, CPU is THE KING. I get 8897 3DMark05 with this setup.

8897
 
4400+ & OCZ.
Dividers don't harm much at all.

Also, do get the 2 GB, not just 1 GB. Even older games like UT2k4 (which is pretty much all i play) will suck up over a GB on huge maps, nevermind Bf2, etc.
 
Originally posted by: Zebo
You don't want DDR500 not worth the money even with ballistix or OCZ.. I'd get this:
http://www.newegg.com/OldVersion/app/vi...-146-532&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

As many sticks as you need. Same as ballistix (Micron G) just not speed binned but every stick I've had runs 2-2-2 or 2.5-2-2 @ 200 which is very fast..faster than 3-3-3 @ 250 for sure.

Ideal OC with a 4200 would be 240x11 = 2650Mhz and memsetting@166 gives 200Mhz.
Click to expand...

A flashback to the old version...good times. 😛
 
Originally posted by: Zebo
Originally posted by: Soccerman06
1G Ballistix 2-2-2-8 @ 250
Click to expand...

I'd like to see a screen shot of that. What volts?
Click to expand...

With 2x 512 Ballistix DDR 500 I can do 2.5-2-2-8 @ 250 MHz, and 2.9v. However, this is not something that would be anywhere near stable for 24/7 loaded operation.

In general, Ballistix do not really like more then 2.7v (which is the voltage I use for 24/7 operation). Yes you can go with tighter timings, and faster speeds. But, you need about 3.0v or more, and good active cooling on the sticks, as they get extremely hot with high voltages.
 
Amaroque I have 4 sticks of Ballistix and every one needs Cas 2.5 above 220Mhz, that's why I thought that sig was odd. I run 245Mhz 2.5-2-2-8 1T perfectly stable with 2.9 Volts but as you say they get hot... need fans. But IME no way cas 2. Does'nt even POST at that higha bandwidth.
 
Hey Zebo, do you have any experience with the timings (real world) on the 1GB sticks? I was considering 2x 1GB of Ballistix 3200, but I do not want to run 2T under any circumstances, I'd rather run CAS 3.

2-2-2-8 @ 250 MHz? No way. I'd have to agree, about 220 MHz is the limit. I also wouldn't call 220 2-2-2-8 100% stable for DCing 24/7.
 
I like the setup except for the cpu fan, I would go with a 120mm fan like the zalman 7700cu. Quiet and efficient. As for the 4400, I would just grab a 3000+ right now and wait for the speeds to increase, the price to drop and programs to utilize dual core. As far as what your doing, a 3000+ at 2.6-2.7Ghz will most likely be faster than the 4400+ anyway when your not multitasking which sounds like you arn't.
 
Thanks for the help so far, guys. 🙂
Originally posted by: Soccerman06
Obviously you have put thought into this, but if I were you, I'd wait until there are some benchies for the R520.
Click to expand...
Too late for that, actually. I ordered the BFG 7800 GTX from Dell back when they had it for $491 plus tax. If the R520 had still been scheduled for launch at the end of July like it was originally, I probably would have waited, but I would like to have this computer built within the next 3 weeks or so.
Originally posted by: n7
Also, do get the 2 GB, not just 1 GB. Even older games like UT2k4 (which is pretty much all i play) will suck up over a GB on huge maps, nevermind Bf2, etc.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I would definitely like to get 2gb, for BF2 as well as future games.
Originally posted by: Zebo
You don't want DDR500 not worth the money even with ballistix or OCZ.. I'd get this:
http://www.newegg.com/OldVersion/app/vi...-146-532&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

As many sticks as you need. Same as ballistix (Micron G) just not speed binned but every stick I've had runs 2-2-2 or 2.5-2-2 @ 200 which is very fast..faster than 3-3-3 @ 250 for sure.

Ideal OC with a 4200 would be 240x11 = 2650Mhz and memsetting@166 gives 200Mhz.
Click to expand...
So, if I bought 4 of those and had to run them at 2T, would that counter the performance increase of the tighter timings and overclockability?

Honestly, I'm not so sure I like the idea of having 4 sticks of ram, especially if for some reason I decide not to overclock.
 
Originally posted by: Zebo
If you want 2G I linked later a good proven solution.

see the hardOCP link
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks. Would it be worth it to buy heat spreaders for those sticks, or not really?

Originally posted by: TheMerovingian
I like the setup except for the cpu fan, I would go with a 120mm fan like the zalman 7700cu. Quiet and efficient.
Click to expand...
Hmm... Do you know if anyone has done a cooling comparison between the XP-90 w/ Panaflo and the Zalman?
 
Lockout - be wary of the Asus A8N-SLI Premium and Lian-Li case combo. When mounts the motherboard in an inverted position(not sure if all Lian-Li require the motherboard to be inverted), the heatpipe is placed upside down and does a very poor job of cooling the nF4 chipset.

There are a few threads in the motherboard forum on the issue on AT but I know there is a large discussion on this in the Asus Forums.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Lockout - be wary of the Asus A8N-SLI Premium and Lian-Li case combo. When mounts the motherboard in an inverted position(not sure if all Lian-Li require the motherboard to be inverted), the heatpipe is placed upside down and does a very poor job of cooling the nF4 chipset.

There are a few threads in the motherboard forum on the issue on AT but I know there is a large discussion on this in the Asus Forums.
Click to expand...
Yep, I've been following those threads on the Asus support forums, but the impression I got from them is that it shouldn't really be an issue as long as there is air blowing over the chipset.

I e-mailed Monarch a while back and asked them if they knew of any problems with using the Premium in inverted cases like the Lian-Li, and they told me they had tested it in Lian-Li inverted cases and had no overheating issues.
 
Uhh, heat pipes don't quite work that way I don't think. Maybe they just don't need the heat pipes. Anyway do me a favor, call asus once you get the premium and tell them that your fan is cracked and to send you a nice new one. Then PM me so I can shut up my deluxe. =)
 
Originally posted by: n7
4400+ & OCZ.
Dividers don't harm much at all.

Also, do get the 2 GB, not just 1 GB. Even older games like UT2k4 (which is pretty much all i play) will suck up over a GB on huge maps, nevermind Bf2, etc.
Click to expand...

 
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