Corsair 5300 vs Kingston HyperX 8500

[thescribbler]

First off, hi to everyone! I'm about to overclock a CPU for the first time (Q6600 @ 9x333 on a P5B Deluxe). I've currently got 2 x 1gb Corsair PC-5300 and want to upgrade to 4gb. I don't really wanna go past 3.0ghz on the overclock so buying another 2gb of what I've already got would seem logical as it would be a perfect 1:1 ratio. Asus recommends the Kingston RAM, but would I see enough of an increase in performance to justify the extra cost (£30 for 2 x 1gb Corsair as opposed to £100 for 2 x 2gb Kingston)? Obviously the Kingston is better, more powerful RAM, but is it surplus to my needs? Cheers for any replies...

 

[DSF]

If you're sure that you're never going past 3 GHz, then the extra speed technically isn't going to do much for you. Certainly not 70 pounds worth of improvement. However, it can be easier to get a stable overclock with only two memory slots populated as opposed to all four. If you want to get 2x2GB it's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't go for PC2-8500. PC2-6400 would be just fine, and should be less expensive.

 

[thescribbler]

Cheers for the reply DSF. Sounds like good advice; I can get 2x2gb Corsair 6400 for around £50 so not much more really, plus it gives me more headroom and 2 free slots for more RAM if needed in the future. Just hope my foray into the world of overclocking doesn't end in tears!

 

[DSF]

There's a good guide to overclocking Core2 chips written by graysky that's been stickied in the CPU forum. If you haven't read it already, I strongly suggest you do so before you begin.