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Help me choose my RAM

C

Cybordolphin

Platinum Member
I'm putting together a new system using the Asrock 939 w/ a 3800 X2.

What ram would you recommend using with this board? I will likely overclock the system.
 
Any advantage to going to DDR 500 +?....... say DDR 550 or even perhaps to a DDR 800 RAM? Or am I not able to go higher than DDR550 as all above are DDR2 modules (will not work with my motherboard)?
 
DDR2 won't work with your board.
Just pick up some Corsair Valueselect and use a divider. I'm not too sure about "KingMAX" and "ROSEWILL" RAM, but Corsair ValueSelect is tried and true in my book. Again, just use a divider when overclocking.
 


It's just like using tires rated to run up to 200MPH, on your Ford Escort...
They won't make the Escort run any faster! :laugh:

 
I already hate my Ford Escort.... 🙁

Now about this "divider"...

Splain plz......

I assume I make this adjustment in the cmos/bios/setup screen. Is there a performance hit for setting up with a divider? Is this THE very best way to run the RAM?

And should I use DDR 550 or just stay with DDR400 or DDR500? I understand that I can not go with DDR2. By the way.. is DDR2 reserved for the Intel flavor? Or is it just the particular AMD board I chose?
 
DDR2 = Intel. AMD chose not to go with it becuase currently, sure, they hit high speeds.... but that's all negated by the terrible latency.

Divider... simple explanation below:

In simple terms, when you overclock, your RAM and your CPU run at the same speed. The stock speed would be 200 mhz.
Assume you have a 3000+. This is 200 mhz * 9 multiplier = 1800mhz. Then when you your CPU speed by .... 50 mhz, then it would be 250mhz * 9 = 2250mhz. However, your RAM will also run at 250MHZ. Depending on your RAM, it may or may not be able to handle that speed.

Now comes the divider. It's basically the ratio between your RAM and your CPU speed. So the default divider is 1:1.
If you choose a 5:6 divider in the BIOS, and your CPU is running at 250*9, then your RAM will run at 250 * (5/6) = 208mhz.

You lose a bit of performance from this, beucase your RAM would be running at 250mhz, but now it runs at 208mhz. No big deal though, it won't make too much of a difference on Athlon64. On the bright side, that's better than the stock 200 mhz.

^-- dividers in a nutshell.

-The Pentium Guy
 
Asrock deserves no better than The Cheapest.
Click to expand...
Eh. Don't be mean 🙂. Full-speed AGP (8X) and PCIe on 1 board is pretty ingenius if you ask me, but that's thanks to ULI anyways.

I forgot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440
Tried and true memory. 701 reviews - it's definately popular.

$90? Surprising. It was about $70 a few months ago (hence the immense popularity) - try looking in ClubIT or ZipZoomFly.

-The Pentium Guy
 
Originally posted by: Cybordolphin
Also....

Will the DDR550 overlock better than DDR400?
Click to expand...
You need to slow down and do some reading about OCing. A better understanding of it will serve you well and keep you from wasting $$.

 
Blain...

Believe it or not.... I started overclocking when no one knew what it was yet. I have been bulding computers since 1984 for my own enjoyment. I have put together some pretty great stuff in the past. However, I have been out of the loop for a few years now.
I used to be into squeezing every possible mhz out of my systems.... but that wore off in time. Now I generally do a stable moderate overclock when I overclock.

I will do some research on the dual channel DDR solutions.... and appreciate your input.

As for wasting money. Hmmmmm...... I have never had that really happen (or refused to look at it that way). Although I have a dozen or so crates filled with old parts that I never got around to selling off. I never really considered it wasted money though, as I always put everyting to use for some time before retiring it.

Budget.....? lol. Well, I won't plunk down $500 on a video card. Nary a one.

No budget.

 
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