BUFFALO PC3700 RAM

[SuPrEIVIE]

ok i am about to purchase this BUffalo 3700 ram memory but i want to know if this memory will allow me to overclock my P4 2.4c to 3.0 at 5:4 with tight timings like 2-2-2-6? if not i guess i have no choice but to get the too high, priced mushikin PC3500 Lvl2 ram...

 

[Lyfer]

My two sticks of Crucial PC3200 512MB with micron chips ("mt" chipmarkings) does 5:4 fine with my Abit IS7 and 2.6C with a SLK800 (3.25GHZ, 2.5-3-3-7 timings). Worth checking out.


BTW timings of 2-2-2-6 are pretty darn hard to get with ANY ram out there with a P4 setup. You'll prolly top out with 2-2-3-6 timings at best at DDR400 (and this is with OCZ gold). The PC3700 buffalo are CH-5 chips which don't like to run aggressive timings at all but do achieve pretty high overclock speeds (216-233 ball park).

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
My two sticks of Crucial PC3200 512MB with micron chips ("mt" chipmarkings) does 5:4 fine with my Abit IS7 and 2.6C with a SLK800 (3.25GHZ, 2.5-3-3-7 timings). Worth checking out.


BTW timings of 2-2-2-6 are pretty darn hard to get with ANY ram out there with a P4 setup. You'll prolly top out with 2-2-3-6 timings at best at DDR400 (and this is with OCZ gold). The PC3700 buffalo are CH-5 chips which don't like to run aggressive timings at all but do achieve pretty high overclock speeds (216-233 ball park).

CH-5 why everyone say they r BH-5????

EDIT: i think i saw it say "B" on the Buffalo site for this ram

 

[Lyfer]

All the new chips are CH-5's, you'll be lucky to get any BH-5 stuff.


Just a tid bid, anand did a revew of mushkin PC3500 Level 2 ram and according to them it uses Winbond BH-5 chips which mushkin has acquired a stock pile just for the PC3500 Level 2 label. Get some PC3500 Lev2 mushkin if you want Bh-5.

edit:

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1853&p=6

Mushkin uses Winbond BH5 chips in PC3500 Level II. BH5 is an almost legendary memory chip that has recently been discontinued, but Mushkin assures us they have sufficient stock to continue manufacture of Level II modules for many months. It was the chip used in many of the very best low-latency modules in recent months, and replacement chips have not been able to achieve the same aggressive timings at DDR400 we have seen in the past.

And more on the 2-2-3 timings..

Second, we found the 2-2-2 rating at DDR433 a bit optimistic on the Intel 875 test platform. Mushkin explained that 2-2-2 at 433 was based on a single module in the nForce2 platforms, and we can confirm that 2-2-2 is a valid rating on the nForce 2 platform at DDR433. In fact, 2-2-2 is a fair rating in Dual-Channel mode on the nForce2 Ultra 400. In Dual-Channel mode on 875/865 motherboards, we find that 2-2-3 is the true speed rating. Mushkin has indicated they will be making changes to their web descriptions to describe better the performance of the PC3500 Level II.

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
All the new chips are CH-5's, you'll be lucky to get any BH-5 stuff.


Just a tid bid, anand did a revew of mushkin PC3500 Level 2 ram and according to them it uses Winbond BH-5 chips which mushkin has acquired a stock pile just for the PC3500 Level 2 label. Get some PC3500 Lev2 mushkin if you want Bh-5.

edit:

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1853&p=6

Mushkin uses Winbond BH5 chips in PC3500 Level II. BH5 is an almost legendary memory chip that has recently been discontinued, but Mushkin assures us they have sufficient stock to continue manufacture of Level II modules for many months. It was the chip used in many of the very best low-latency modules in recent months, and replacement chips have not been able to achieve the same aggressive timings at DDR400 we have seen in the past.

And more on the 2-2-3 timings..

Second, we found the 2-2-2 rating at DDR433 a bit optimistic on the Intel 875 test platform. Mushkin explained that 2-2-2 at 433 was based on a single module in the nForce2 platforms, and we can confirm that 2-2-2 is a valid rating on the nForce 2 platform at DDR433. In fact, 2-2-2 is a fair rating in Dual-Channel mode on the nForce2 Ultra 400. In Dual-Channel mode on 875/865 motherboards, we find that 2-2-3 is the true speed rating. Mushkin has indicated they will be making changes to their web descriptions to describe better the performance of the PC3500 Level II.

thanks you for ur info! Hmm Mushkin has enough BH-5 for many months i hope it includes this month and next as well...but 315$?GEEZ i am trying to see if there are other good alternatives but if there is none i will get it...Lyfer you mentioned Crucial...I think u were TOO LUCKY with that mem i think Crucial is a bigger risk than Buffalo tho for good OC memory

 

[Lyfer]

Any budget non-overclocking ram like Cruicial/buffalo/kingston value ram are all luck of the draw, some will run 5:4, alot will not. As they say, YMMV.


btw I would highly recommend in getting some OCZ GOLD, that stuff is like gold from all the reviews I've been reading.

 

[oldfart]

AFAIK, Buffalo PC3200 = CH5, PC3700 = BH5. If you want good timings with a 5:4 ratio (you do) stay away from OCZ. It is not good for that at all.

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Any budget non-overclocking ram like Cruicial/buffalo/kingston value ram are all luck of the draw, some will run 5:4, alot will not. As they say, YMMV.


btw I would highly recommend in getting some OCZ GOLD, that stuff is like gold from all the reviews I've been reading.

and what a bout the mushkin(newegg dropped them to 299$ now) ? will it DEFINATELY work 5:4 giving me a good OC with tight timings? OCZ GOLD i was thinking of getting it...the PC3700 stuff is like 40-50$ more...woudln't it be the same as PC3500 LVL2 if i run 5:4?

 

[snowwie]

if you want good timings, or just for basic overclocking, mushkin lvl 2 is some of the best stuff you can get.

other than that, anything else BH-5 is good.
some people say buffalo 3700 is a crapshoot, but it is garunteed to be BH-5, and on the whole it is good ram for the money.
OCZ is alright I hear, so is geil. Both can pull some decent overclocks I hear, but sometimes they just can't bring down the timings.

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

ok so if BUFFALO PC3700 is BH-5...will I most certainly get a GOOD OC with 2.4c at 5:4 with tight timings w/this ram?

 

[oldfart]

OCZ is meant for 1:1 with high DDR speed and loose timings. It wont do 5:4 and tight timings. If you want the sure thing and will spend the $300, then the Mushkin L2 is it. If you want to gamble a bit, the Buffalo PC3700 will save you ~ $100.

 

[snowwie]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

what he said

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

Originally posted by: oldfart
OCZ is meant for 1:1 with high DDR speed and loose timings. It wont do 5:4 and tight timings. If you want the sure thing and will spend the $300, then the Mushkin L2 is it. If you want to gamble a bit, the Buffalo PC3700 will save you ~ $100.

so u r saying the buffalo can give me a good 5:4 OC with tight timings?if u were to pick what would u pick...i dun know what to get between the two

 

[oldfart]

I wish I could answer it for ya. I've never tried either of them. Yiour target of 2.4 @ 3.0 Ghz equates to DDR400 @ 5:4 ratio which is really not that high. In reality, $300 for a Gig of ram is a pretty good deal, especially for the high quality low latency stuff. $200 is a steal for the Buffalo if it is good. Its your choice.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: SuPrEIVIE
ok so if BUFFALO PC3700 is BH-5...will I most certainly get a GOOD OC with 2.4c at 5:4 with tight timings w/this ram?

Yes. BH-5 and CH-5 are both excellent overclockers.

 

[Lyfer]

Just stick with OCZ gold or Mushkin PC3200/3500 Level 2, you can't go wrong.

Check out anand's review of both them.

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Just stick with OCZ gold or Mushkin PC3200/3500 Level 2, you can't go wrong.

Check out anand's review of both them.

Yes, you can go very wrong. If you want ram that can run low latency timings while using a 5:4 ratio, and buy ram that is incapable of doing that, you went wrong.

 

[Slammy1]

Too many variables to predict. Northbridge plays a heavy role, and memory that will not o/c well on one board will o/c fine on another. the CH-5 chips are problematic wrt o/c, from what i"ve heard. I think Mushkin's overpriced and over rated, but that's just me. Ran into a couple of threads where people were bummed spending the money for the Mushkin but it underperformed. I like OCZ just because of the price and CS. The threads I've seen on it seem to indicate if it's not right, they'll make it right. I'd tend towards 3500 CL2, but as you can tell it's a bit of a craps shoot. My BH-5 Kingston HyperX PC3500 runs 2-3-2-6 at stock on a 5:4, but again the Northbridge might limit that. PC3700 is ot a bad idea, if you want some more o/c head room, but there you have the timing problems. I think, no matter what, the key is your CPU speed. It may not be worth while to run higher timings to gain a few MHz, but to gain a lot it's well worth the investment. Of course, as you've heard, running crap timings 1:1 is slower than the same speed lower timings on a 5:4. But your goal is how high you can bump the CPU. Focus first on that, and find the best performance within the window of that speed.

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: Slammy1
........But your goal is how high you can bump the CPU. Focus first on that, and find the best performance within the window of that speed.

This is correct. The CPU speed is BY FAR the more important thing to strive for. Memory helps some, but CPU speed is king.

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: oldfart

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Just stick with OCZ gold or Mushkin PC3200/3500 Level 2, you can't go wrong.

Check out anand's review of both them.

Yes, you can go very wrong. If you want ram that can run low latency timings while using a 5:4 ratio, and buy ram that is incapable of doing that, you went wrong.

Links?

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

Originally posted by: oldfart

Originally posted by: Slammy1
........But your goal is how high you can bump the CPU. Focus first on that, and find the best performance within the window of that speed.

This is correct. The CPU speed is BY FAR the more important thing to strive for. Memory helps some, but CPU speed is king.

I know CPU speed is more important but how can i know if i got no memory...and Slammy1 why do u feel Mushkin ram is overpriced & overrated?