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Best DDR2 for stability AND speed?

S

SamusekTDS

Junior Member
Long time lurker, first time poster....

Ok - after weeks and WEEKS of freaking out about what to buy - I've settled on the first parts for my new system to replace my ancient Athlon XP2000/Radeon8500 system (got a lot of bang for those bucks, but its time to move on) I'm currently planning on :

- Intel Quad Q6600
- ASUS Maximus Extreme

Now since DDR2 is so cheap and I'm blowing so much on the MB/CPU (and likely the GPU as well but I haven't decided which yet) I think I can skimp on RAM for now (ie: no DDR3, getting 2 or 4GBs instead of 8...) and bump up later if need be.

Also, my last system suffered from instability from a sh***y mobo, but I had some really smooth Corsair CAS2 ram - this time I'm splurging for the motherboard - but since this will be mostly for Video Editing first and gaming second - I want STABILITY as well as speed....

So what's the best stability/speed combo (ie: something that I could un-aggressively overclock without giving up stability)

And hey, if as a sidenote you want to throw any other suggestions for my new system in there as well feel free, I'm just focused on RAM as my next thing to nail down, but I still don't have a clue about : extra cooling, GPU for editing, HDs for RAIDing... etc...

Thanks for any help!
---
Sam.
 
Welcome to anandtech, Sam. This is what I have in my Q6600 system. It's awesome RAM, at an awesome price, and I paid $20 more for mine. It's very stable, and overclocks very well, while not requiring much voltage.
 
i have 2 x 1gb Ballistix DDR2 800 in my system and have had to RMA 3 of 6 DIMM's that i've got.

i'm still awaiting 2 x 1gb of RMA's to come back. the 2 x 1gb that are stable at 400mhz are working fine.
 
Originally posted by: SamusekTDS
hmm... well, first off - am I better off with DDR2-800 or DDR2-1066?
Click to expand...

Witha Q6600, a realistic max OC will be 3.6Ghz, which means you will hit a 400FSB (440x9=3.6).

DDR2-800 -> 400MHz FSB (DDR2 is Double FSB speed)

So just get 4gig (2x2) of Geil, Gskill, OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin, Patriot DDR2-800 RAM. At least one vendor always has a sale or MIR, so you should be able to get it for ~$70-75 now.

DDR2-1066 will only help if you had a e8400, which can get up to 450+ FSB speeds.
 
I'm not sure a Maximus Extreme is really necessary for video editing on a single graphics card, but that's up to you.
 
Thanks for the explanation Garfield, I didn't realize that... ok so in that case who has the best low CAS ddr2-800 ram? corsair?


DSF: yeah i know that motherboard seems like SERIOUS overkill... and i could still change my mind - but since i only have part of the money now i wanted something with room to grow (ie eventually better quad 4, ddr3, sli/crossfire) i want the multiple raiding, and i want speed and stability. PLus I'll probably want multi video card multi monitor support eventually...

i know its OT but if you have a better board for my needs i'm all ears...
 
I think you're really thinking too far into this 🙂

Pretty much any DDR2-800 MHz RAM will be more than enough. As mentioned, this RAM won't hold back a Q6600 even if you do pretty heavy overclocking. I wouldn't worry about getting ultra low latency RAM - the massive price difference will yield you a very small if any speed increase.

I think you're also trying to do too much with a motherboard. That's a gaming / overclocking motherboard.

It's _not_ a workstation motherboard. You don't need all its features, and you're just paying for what you don't need.

Now, I know it seems appealing because of all the SATA ports, and multi GPU support, but consider this

1) Motherboard RAID is useless for any kind of serious work. Really. Don't even try it. Not even close to the stability / reliability / performance of a dedicated hardware RAID controller

2) You don't need true SLI / Crossfire support to just run two video cards! You can easily install two video cards in any board with 2 PCIe x16 slots, and run 4 monitors no problem. If you even plan on doing such a thing! Just get a good video card with 2x dual link DVI connectors, and you can run up to 2 30" LCDs. Is that enough for you? 🙂

3) Unless you do _insane_ overclocking, that board will not be any more stable than any other basic, well established P35 motherboard, like the popular Gigabyte DS3 / DS4 series, the Asus P5k series, or the Abit IP35 series. These are fantastic motherboards for the price.

Basically, don't get suckered into buying really expensive stuff that is scarcely better than a more basic product, with the assumption that all the "extra features" are a) needed and b) done well.

If you want to build a video editing workstation and just want stability, get an Intel Desktop Board, a good SATA RAID controller, and a ton of storage. Add a Q6600, a nice aftermarket cooler to keep it silent and chilly, and 4 GB of any DDR2 800 MHz RAM. Get a good sound card that has good ASIO drivers, and love life.

Don't buy gaming / overclocking components for a workstation.

Video card wise - editing apps are starting to use GPU capabilities more and more. A 9600gt or an 8800gts are certainly great options and will scream in games should you decide to do that as well.

Hard drives, the Samsung F1 is a fantastic drive, as is the equivalent from Seagate. The new 320gb platter drives are real monsters. Also, the new VelociRaptor from Western Digital looks promising as a boot drive. Very good review of it over at The Tech Report.

How you configure a RAID depends on what you're editing. What type of content, and how many simultaneous tracks do you typically edit?

Keep in mind that if you can spend the money, and feel you would benefit from 8 cores, it's pretty much impossible to beat the deal Apple gives you on the MacPro. It's a rock solid stable workstation with up to 32GB of FB-DIMMs, more PCIe slots than you can shake a stick at, a monster power supply etc etc etc. Run Vista x64 on that and love life even more! Also, buy the system at base configuration, and add RAM and hard drives (eSATA) separately. Apple gouges for upgrades.

More info, let's talk 🙂

~MiSfit
 
Originally posted by: SamusekTDS
DSF: yeah i know that motherboard seems like SERIOUS overkill... and i could still change my mind - but since i only have part of the money now i wanted something with room to grow (ie eventually better quad 4, ddr3, sli/crossfire) i want the multiple raiding, and i want speed and stability. PLus I'll probably want multi video card multi monitor support eventually...
Click to expand...

An X38 board like the Maximus Extreme will support Crossfire, but not SLI. SLI currently requires an Nvidia chipset. (Except for Skulltrail, but that doesn't really count.)

As far as DDR3, you're not going to get any real benefit out of it using a Q6600. Add to this the fact that DDR3 is extremely expensive right now compared to DDR2, and my advice would be to forget about DDR3 altogether.
 
well - I was planning to get a better q4 eventually at the same time as I would upgrade to 8gb of ddr3 ram... but themisfit raises some very good points... I'll have to do some more thinking... I guess maybe I'll save on the motherboard and have more money for gpu/storage....

yeah i guess I was just going in for the hype, and a couple very positive reviews... also i've never owned a "zrazy" gaming board - so i was just curious about how it would feel to own one... like buying a convertible, impractical but cool...
 
Pretty much any DDR2-800 MHz RAM will be more than enough. As mentioned, this RAM won't hold back a Q6600 even if you do pretty heavy overclocking. I wouldn't worry about getting ultra low latency RAM - the massive price difference will yield you a very small if any speed increase.
Click to expand...

QFT......stick to 5-5-5 1.8V DDR2-800, it costs $70-80. Faster RAM won't help in real world apps. More RAM > faster RAM

As to the mobo, go with a P35 board. Like themisfit610 said, you can run two VC's on a P35 board, using separate monitors. P35's are very solid, stable boards, and can OC very well as well.

Good SATA drives are Samsung F1 1Tb (and their 640Gig if it ever comes out) and WD 640Gig. Both have the newest/ highest density platters, so they use less power and put out less heat then other drives.
 
Ding 🙂

One last comment. Workstation class stability and overclocking typically don't mix. You can get away with some (safely run a Q6600 at 3 GHz I'd say) - but I wouldn't push it. What's more important - having that extra 10-20% speed when you're really pushing the computer (rendering), or NOT losing the data you spent all day working on when your machine crashes?

Pretty simple 😀

But yeah, ask away!

And seriously. DDR3 won't be "necessary" or even offer any benefit for a really long time. Hell, DDR2 isn't even "necessary". It's just what's available these days. Let the mad overclockers pay the obscene prices.

Do consider the MacPro!

~MiSfit
 
My 2 preferred memory brands for stability when considering cost are Kingston and Crucial. The HyperX and Ballistix, while labeled performance/overclocking memory, are often more stable than cheaper memory and won't cost you what Corsair will.

I second the Maximus Extreme being COMPLETE overkill for your system. I understand you were burned by an unstable and cheap motherboard, but there's no reason to overcompensate that much. I'd go for the P53-E instead. Its a very new Asus ddr2 board, and I bet you'll be pleased with how stable they all are.

Workstation class stability and overclocking typically don't mix.
Click to expand...

I'd have to disagree with this on a theoretical basis. For memory to be considered stable overclocking memory, it will have to be VERY stable when not doing so. Buying nice memory with heat spreaders will give you that stability you are looking for, and still provide headroom if you choose to OC later.
 
For all real world apps, any 5-5-5 DDR2-800 will perform exactly the same. Only a few companies actually make the actual memory chips, so chances are good that the major companies, like Geil, GSkill, Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin have the same chips in their memory kits. (Crucial, owned by Micron, uses micron chips, so I guess they are the exception)

As long as it meets the 5-5-5 spec at 1.8V and DDR2-800, you are good. Pick whichever company has the bset sale when you buy.
 
Pick whichever company has the best sale when you buy.
Click to expand...

I agree. Anyone can have good or bad luck with different brands, but they all buy from the same chips manufacturers. The way the stick manufacturers decide which chips to use(called speed grade and binning, i think) differs, but there's no way to tell which company has the best. Buy some performance memory with heat spreaders, and you should be good.
 
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