Conroe and Memory?

[Addikt]

I have read in a bunch of different spots that conroe chips and the boards that support them are speced to run at 1.8V, but in looking at several different sticks of DDR2 and the Anandtech buyer's guide, a lot of modules are rated a lot higher than the 1.8V spec.

Do I really have to adhere to this specification?

Also, does it really matter if I go with high cost RAM, or can I just use 2 sticks of corsair Value 1GB DDR2? Will I really see a performance difference?

Right now I'm just looking at value RAM or this Geil RAM. They are all rated at 667MHz, should I really spend the extra $100 for 800MHz? Am I going to notice the difference?

This Corsair doesn't seem to bad either.

 

[Rommel44]

Just go with value RAM - you wont notice difference.

 

[detective richard kimble]

i'c gladly sell you that same corsair i just bought from tigerdirect, unopened for the same price and i'll give you the invoice so you can send in the rebate yourself.

 

[Chaotic42]

If your board says 1.8V, use 1.8V. Be sure to check the manufacturer's page and not just the site that you're buying the memory from. I got burned by this myself. The reseller said it was 1.8V, it was really 1.9V. The system won't even POST with the 1.9V.

 

[Addikt]

Thanks for the responses guys, I did a little research. I tried to find the supported vendors list, but it's not online anymore. After browsing the Asus forums I found out that they have included a supported memory list in the P5WDH Deluxe manual. I downloaded it and I found that, the old OCZ 1024MB Enhanced Bandwidth Platinum DDR2 modules are supported, but there is no mention of the new ones. Also because Asus no longer includes an updated list of qualified vendors online I can't find out if the new ones are supported. I looked at the specs of the new RAM and the old RAM and they are pretty much identical with the same technology just a different package.

I was looking at buying OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400. I know that people are having problems with this memory, but what I don't know is if they are having problems with this particular board. Also, there is a section in the BIOS that allows up to 2.4V, these sticks are rated to run at 2.0V. Will it default to 2.0V, or do I have to manually set that in the BIOS? The problem is that I can find this memory for around $250 while everything else decent is in the $350 range (these are Canadian prices).

 

[cmdrdredd]

Alot of people, and I mean ALOT of people, have had problems with OCZ memory on the new motherboards. Most boards default to 1.8v and the OCZ can't startup with that voltage. I'd go with corsair to be safe.