DDR2-1066 or 800?

[tjaisv]

Will be getting the new Asus P5E x38 motherboard and was wondering if i should just stick with getting 4GB of DDR2-800 or step up to 4GB of DDR2-1066. 1066 is the native memory speed of this board, right? How much of a performance advantage, if any, is there by doing this?

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: tjaisv
Will be getting the new Asus P5E x38 motherboard and was wondering if i should just stick with getting 4GB of DDR2-800 or step up to 4GB of DDR2-1066. 1066 is the native memory speed of this board, right? How much of a performance advantage, if any, is there by doing this?

No
Memory speed is all a factor of FSB. There is no "native" memory speed of MBs. There are only "supported" memory speeds.
DDR2-800 is rated faster than any CPU FSB out now.
Since DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) is faster than you need, DDR2-1066 (PC2-8500) is a ploy to separate you from your $$$.

 

[tjaisv]

I see. That would seem to explain then why most people who get this board (at least from the user reviews i've seen) are still pairing it with DDR2-800. Thanks

 

[Blain]

DDR2-800 is a good option to go with, even if your CPU FSB can't run as fast.
1. It gives you plenty of head-room.
2. It's dirt cheap right now.
3. I'd recommend buying DDR2-800 that's rated to run @ 1.8v
But that's just how I roll. I know others like memory that defaults at a higher voltage.

 

[Brutus04]

Good advice Blain...thanks! I was wondering the same.

 

[soccerballtux]

I don't believe this quite.

I'm planning upgrading.

DDR-2 800 is great NOW for overlocking

But if I wanted to upgrade to Penryn Quad or whatever the max that an Abit IP35-e or whatever that board is, can support (I think it's quad penryn) then wouldn't DDR-2 800 keep me from overclocking the Quad Penryn? Not to mention with quad, lots more bandwidth needed so the 800 would be pushing it anyways; hence not much room to overclock. (This is all theory). So I was thinking, if I can get 2x1GB of 1066 for $80, that's only 2x the price of DDR2-800 (which is dirt cheap anyhow) and I've got room in the future to overclock a Quad 45nm Penryn (which we will ALL be doing).

Reason being I started with 512MB DDR333 for my barton 2500+ b/c it only needed DDR333. Then when I felt like overclocking, I had to upgrade my Ram to go to DDR400. Don't want to make the same mistake.

 

[soccerballtux]

double reply for topic subscription

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
I don't believe this quite.

I'm planning upgrading.

DDR-2 800 is great NOW for overlocking

But if I wanted to upgrade to Penryn Quad or whatever the max that an Abit IP35-e or whatever that board is, can support (I think it's quad penryn) then wouldn't DDR-2 800 keep me from overclocking the Quad Penryn? Not to mention with quad, lots more bandwidth needed so the 800 would be pushing it anyways; hence not much room to overclock. (This is all theory). So I was thinking, if I can get 2x1GB of 1066 for $80, that's only 2x the price of DDR2-800 (which is dirt cheap anyhow) and I've got room in the future to overclock a Quad 45nm Penryn (which we will ALL be doing).

Reason being I started with 512MB DDR333 for my barton 2500+ b/c it only needed DDR333. Then when I felt like overclocking, I had to upgrade my Ram to go to DDR400. Don't want to make the same mistake.

Then by your own reasoning, the OP shouldn't even be thinking about DDR2.
He should be shopping for fast DDR3 and MB. :laugh:
That way he'll stay ahead of the curve.
Even Intel's 3GHz. QX9650 MasterBlaster ($1,150), can be OC'd up to 3.6GHz with PC2-6400 running 1:1.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Quality JEDEC 1.8V DDR2 800 RAMs should be able to hit 533MHz with 2.1Vdimm @ 5-5-5-15-2T, or 450MHz @ 4-4-4-12-2T. Often, the higher speed is largely offset by the slower timing.