Dual Channel RAM

[NickCrocco]

I'm about to buy a new ASUS "P4P800 SE" i865PE Chipset Motherboard that supports Dual-Channel. Is it better to have 2 256mb sitcks of RAM for the dual channel or 1 stick of 512mb? Does it matter at all? Also, is it better to have 1 2.8ghz P4 with 1mb of cache and 512mb of pc-4400 RAM, a 3.0ghz P4 512kb of cache with 512mb of pc-3200 RAM, or a 3.2ghz P4 with 512kb cache and 1 gig of pc-2700 RAM? Thanks!

 

[MDE]

You'll want to use dual channel on an Intel platform. I'd stick to the Pentium 4 "C" processors (800 MHz FSB, 512kb cache), they run cooler and are actually faster at equal clock speeds. PC3200 memory is the minimum, but you can go higher if you'll be overclocking.

 

[NickCrocco]

So should I get 1 stick of 512mb RAM or 2 sticks of 256mb RAM?

 

[carni]

two sticks

 

[dennisjai215]

if u plan to upgrade soon get 1 stick of 512 and another one later

 

[NickCrocco]

Thanks for all the replies. I have some RAM-CPU combos picked out. Which one should I go with. I want to use the stock CPU fan, but I will use some Artic Silver 5 on the CPU, so overclocking won't be too out of the question.

Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache w/ 2 sticks of Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200

or

Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache w/ 2 sticks of OCZ Enhanced Latency Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3700

or

Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, w/ 2 sticks of Geil Ultra Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-4000

or

Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache w/ 1 stick of Geil Ultra Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-4400

Which one do you think will be better?

 

[Marsumane]

#2 if you have a decent fan, and then oc it