Best memory to OC a 2.6C chip with

[Jobu]

I've been looking at putting a new system together lately and have decided that I want to go the P4 2.6C route and OC it as high as it'll let me. The item I've had the biggest problem deciding on is the memory - both brand and speed. After several days of reading up on memory speeds, timings, benchmarks, etc., I've narrowed my choices down to the following 3 dual channel kits:

OCZ Premier PC 3700 Dual Channel Kit (512x2)
Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, Dual Pack (512x2) DDR PC-3700
Kingston HyperX PC 3700 Dual Kit (512x2)

All three of these advertise the same timings, with the exception of the OCZ which has slightly better ones. My goal is to squeeze as much juice as I can out of the 2.6C. I'd be pleased if I could get it up to around 3.2/3.3 without messing with the VCore at all. So, my question is, does anyone have any advice on which of these three memory kits to go with? Anyone have any experience (success stories or horror stories) using them in the situation I've outlined here? Or does it not really matter much at all? At the moment I'm leaning toward the OCZ memory, as they seem to have a pretty solid reputation, but it's 40 dollars more than the Kingston, and I dunno that there would be much difference.

Also, I'm not entirely sure if my choice of RAM speed is correct here. I remember reading somewhere that having the RAM run synchronously with the FSB is optimal, but I don't think that'll be possible to do in my situation (as much as I want to OC the FSB) without dropping a ton of money on RAM. I've no problem running it at a 5:4 divisor, but will this PC-3700 RAM benefit me much more than say, PC-3500 or PC-3200? The primary reason that I chose the PC-3700 is because I read the X-bit review on P4 overclocking and they seemed to get good results with this speed.

Also, for reference, I was planning on getting an Asus P4P800 Deluxe to dump all of this into. Any suggestions/critiques regarding either my choice of memory or mobo would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ferrarifreak93]

I've heard good things about OCZ/Geil w/ P4 systems. Is it worth the extra money? Only if you want to squeeze as much as you can out of your 2.6c.

 

[zShowtimez]

With the canterwoods, 5:4 is as fast as 1:1. (This is dependent on the timings you can attain at 5:4.) So for 1:1 Id suggest some OCZ PC4000/4200, and for 5:4 Mushkin PC3500 black lvl2.

 

[SuctionCat]

PC3700 will allow you to run at a higher bandwidth than, say PC3200. If you ran them both at 200MHz (the default for 3200), the only difference should be in the latencies. Take a look at this article. The benefits of high-bandwidth/bad latencies/1:1 are compared with low-bandwidth/good latencies/5:4.

Essentially, in games, 5:4 with tight timings can be as good as 1:1 with loose timings. And it's a lot cheaper.

 

[Jobu]

Thanks for the info everyone. I've got a better idea of what I want to do now. I'll probably tone down the DDR speed since I plan on going with the 5:4 ratio, and will end up picking up a pair of 3500 chips with better timings than the 3700 chips. Back to price-checking again...

One other thing, is there any significant difference between the i865 and i875 chipsets? As I mentioned in my previous post, I was planning on going with the the Asus board with the Springdale chipset, but I see a lot of other people on these forums and elsewhere have opted for the Canterwood chipsets on the Abit boards for their P4 overclocking needs. Any particular reason why? I thought I read somewhere that the difference between the two chipsets was minimal. Thanks again.

 

[zShowtimez]

It is minimal. Aside from 875 offering PAT, there isnt really a difference.

 

[Big Lar]

I'd go with the 865, the 875 seem to be a bit more buggy with all the onboard stuff. 4/5= approx. 400 less in bandwidth than 1/1.

 

[zShowtimez]

400 less what? Judged by what?