I just got 2.6c and a is7 motherboard- NEED RAM

[lxie123]

Anyone know what ram i should buy?

I'm looking TO get 512 megs and to spend under 180$


I want memory that will run 250 fsb at decent timings
or 200 fsb WITH a 5/4 divider and tight timings.

I've heard many people have trouble running ch-5 chips at 5/4 divider, so that if they go 250+bus/200+ ram, it won't even post.
the same memory ran up to 240 1:1 for them, yet won't even do 210 with a 5/4 divider.


Not expecting to run 200+ too much with a 5/4 divider, but don't want to rule out the possibility.
:beer:

 

[Shimmishim]

hehehe... why not just go for the highest 1:1 that you can

pc4000EL or pc4200EL from ocz

but if you're set on 200 mhz... hmm...

i have no idea to be honest lol.. !!!

 

[WarpSpeed]

I've got a 2.6C on IS-7 running at 266-275 FSB using Corsair PC3500, 256x2, 5:4, 2-6-2-2. You probably can, too.

 

[oldfart]

Here is what you want

Mushkin Level 2 DDR 256MB PC3500 Model 991095 - OEM
Specifications:
Type: 184-pin non-ECC, non- buffered DDR
Speed: PC3500
Capacity: 256MB
32x8 Drams
8 chips
Timings: CAS 2-2-2 -OEM (limit 10 per customer)


Item: N82E16820146295 Model#: 991095
Price: $87.00 Shipping: Special Free FedEx Saver

 

[joe2004]

Buffalo PC 3700 costs less than Mushkin, it is likely to perform as well, I'd say it would outperform Mushkin, and works in dual channel no matter whether it is "matched" or not.
Kingston HyperX PC 3000 costs a bit more but it is almost surely as good or better than Mushkin.

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: joe2004
Buffalo PC 3700 costs less than Mushkin, it is likely to perform as well, I'd say it would outperform Mushkin, and works in dual channel no matter whether it is "matched" or not.
Kingston HyperX PC 3000 costs a bit more but it is almost surely as good or better than Mushkin.

I would disagree with that. Buffalo is a good value (the 3700 BH5 stuff), bit it is not equal to Mushkin high performance ram. I recently bought 2 sticks of the Buffalo 3200 and was thoroughly unimpressed. It was for a budget system and worked out OK, but would not buy it again. People seem to have better luck with Buffalo in AMD rigs than Intel for some reason. The Mushkin 3500 L2 is one of the few that can run a good DDR speed with tight timings in a DC Intel rig. The KHX 3000 is also good from what I have seen.

 

[Overkast]

Originally posted by: oldfart
Here is what you want

Mushkin Level 2 DDR 256MB PC3500 Model 991095 - OEM
Specifications:
Type: 184-pin non-ECC, non- buffered DDR
Speed: PC3500
Capacity: 256MB
32x8 Drams
8 chips
Timings: CAS 2-2-2 -OEM (limit 10 per customer)


Item: N82E16820146295 Model#: 991095
Price: $87.00 Shipping: Special Free FedEx Saver

I concur with oldfart. I have 1GB of this Mushkin 3500 level 2, and it is absolutely top notch RAM.

You'll find some useful information regarding this RAM and your mobo here: http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushk...2273fc0a801050626/Product/View/990879#abitis7

**EDIT**

By the way.... Mushkin 3500 L2's actual rated timings for 875 chipsets is 2-3-2-6... it is only known to achieve stable 2-2-2-6 timings on the AMD-driven nForce7 boards.

 

[BudAshes]

Id say look for a good deal on some kingston 4000, its quality ram and for some reason kingston seems to have some good sales at the retail stores occasionally.

 

[lxie123]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I'm leaning towards the mushkin stuff.
I have a few other questions.

Are these BH5 chips?
What's the fastest stable FSB you guys have used these in an IS7 ( I865) with 1:1? 5:4?
Is new egg the cheapest for this ram?

Also , would it be worth it to get 1gig of some generic memory that can do 200 fsb with the 5:4 divider?
What are the ups and downs of this? I know the timings will be bad, but i can get 1 gig vs 512.



Thanks again,

Lee

 

[Corporate Thug]

i have an IS7, my friends 24C did 260 Mhz fsb 1:1 with geil platinum pc4000 @ cas 2.5!!! not bad considering it is "only" $145 for 2*256

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: lxie123
Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I'm leaning towards the mushkin stuff.
I have a few other questions.

Are these BH5 chips?
What's the fastest stable FSB you guys have used these in an IS7 ( I865) with 1:1? 5:4?
Is new egg the cheapest for this ram?

Also , would it be worth it to get 1gig of some generic memory that can do 200 fsb with the 5:4 divider?
What are the ups and downs of this? I know the timings will be bad, but i can get 1 gig vs 512.



Thanks again,

Lee

Yes, BH5. Yeah, you could go the cheaper route. The performance diff is not that big really. In that case, I'd go for 2 of the 512 meg Buffalo PC3700 which are also BH5. Newegg also.

 

[joe2004]

I would disagree with that. Buffalo is a good value (the 3700 BH5 stuff), bit it is not equal to Mushkin high performance ram. I recently bought 2 sticks of the Buffalo 3200 and was thoroughly unimpressed. It was for a budget system and worked out OK, but would not buy it again. People seem to have better luck with Buffalo in AMD rigs than Intel for some reason. The Mushkin 3500 L2 is one of the few that can run a good DDR speed with tight timings in a DC Intel rig. The KHX 3000 is also good from what I have seen.

I did not say anything about Buffalo PC 3200. I was talking about PC 3700, check my post.
I have two pairs (4x512) of Mushkin L2 PC 3500, two pairs of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 non-A (4x512), and a pair "unmatched" Buffalo+Kingston with BH-5 (512+512). These are all BH-5. I also have Corsair 512 PC 3200 XMS LL, also with BH-5.
I also have 2 pair of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 A01 non-A 256 sticks (4x256).

Out of these Mushkin is the worst, though it is a good memory. Kingston HyperX is the best, I got it tight over 220 FSB.
So my opinion is based on personal experience --- DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON MUSHKIN AND CORSAIR, their BH-5 are not one iota better than HyperX BH-5 or Buffalo BH-5.
I actually already RMA-ed one pair of Mushkin L2 PC 3500 with BH-5 because it could not go over 217 FSB on 2-3-2-6. I'd be a biggest idiot if I would pay again $300+ for a pair of BH-5. Whoever tells you that Mushkin makes some magic PCBs, I can tell you the opposite, from my experience.


And don't believe any web review about these. Mushkin, Corsair, and OCZ are hand picking their sticks that are sent to reviewers, Kingston does not. No wonder you have so many "excellent" Muskin, Corsair, and OCZ reviews.

If you don't believe what I am telling, go to overclockers.com and discuss this with people that know what is a good memory.

 

[joe2004]

You might ask why would Mushkin be the worst when they are all the same chips. I don't know why is that in my case but the differences are not really big, I am talking about 217, 219, 221 etc for the FSB.
I guess that Mushkin and Corsair people are squeezing whatever they can squeeze out, you need to know these are small businesses, very, very much smaller than Kingston.
They depend on reputation but they won't sell you a top quality stick for any less than a top price. Kingston is a kind of a Walmart or Staples if you like. You CAN get some incredibly fast memory for cheap, classified at a lower clock than it is capable of.
I'd buy Mushkin only if I am afraid I might need to return the stick, they are very good in customer service, though my experience with Kingston is not bad either. I would never buy Corsair because their customer service is not as good as Mushkin.

And one more thing, it is not known to me there would be a board incompatible with BH-5, I tried a variety of boards, AMD and Intel, and while some wouldn't boot using BH-5, after a little adjustment in Bios they were all running decent BH-5 sticks with a vengeance. CH-5 is a different story though.

 

[lxie123]

Is the geil platnum 3200 ram at newegg any good?, can get 2 sticks of that for only 170.


Lee

 

[joe2004]

Don't know. People complaining about some Geil to be of low quality, I have only 3500, 4000, and 4200/4300. All Ultra Platinum and all supreme overclockers but only on Intel. I tried 3500 and 4000 on NF2 motherboards and it was a disaster, far below the rated speed. For some reason they work well on Intel and rather poor on NF2 motherboards. I heard good things about Golden Dragon chips but I have none of these.
My 4000 does 520 MHz on IS7, and 4200/4300 does 542 MHz "Turbo" on P4P800. The last one puts up bandwidth better than any BH-5 chip that I have but it is very expensive as well. Magnificent memory to run 1:1. My friend got 4000 on P4C800 but only to about 475 MHz, so not everyone is the same.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: joe2004

I would disagree with that. Buffalo is a good value (the 3700 BH5 stuff), bit it is not equal to Mushkin high performance ram. I recently bought 2 sticks of the Buffalo 3200 and was thoroughly unimpressed. It was for a budget system and worked out OK, but would not buy it again. People seem to have better luck with Buffalo in AMD rigs than Intel for some reason. The Mushkin 3500 L2 is one of the few that can run a good DDR speed with tight timings in a DC Intel rig. The KHX 3000 is also good from what I have seen.

I did not say anything about Buffalo PC 3200. I was talking about PC 3700, check my post.
I have two pairs (4x512) of Mushkin L2 PC 3500, two pairs of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 non-A (4x512), and a pair "unmatched" Buffalo+Kingston with BH-5 (512+512). These are all BH-5. I also have Corsair 512 PC 3200 XMS LL, also with BH-5.
I also have 2 pair of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 A01 non-A 256 sticks (4x256).

Out of these Mushkin is the worst, though it is a good memory. Kingston HyperX is the best, I got it tight over 220 FSB.
So my opinion is based on personal experience --- DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON MUSHKIN AND CORSAIR, their BH-5 are not one iota better than HyperX BH-5 or Buffalo BH-5.
I actually already RMA-ed one pair of Mushkin L2 PC 3500 with BH-5 because it could not go over 217 FSB on 2-3-2-6. I'd be a biggest idiot if I would pay again $300+ for a pair of BH-5. Whoever tells you that Mushkin makes some magic PCBs, I can tell you the opposite, from my experience.


And don't believe any web review about these. Mushkin, Corsair, and OCZ are hand picking their sticks that are sent to reviewers, Kingston does not. No wonder you have so many "excellent" Muskin, Corsair, and OCZ reviews.

If you don't believe what I am telling, go to overclockers.com and discuss this with people that know what is a good memory.

^ Nice research.

The one thing is that you did not test Buffalo PC3700 BH-5, which I've heard performs essentially no better than the other BH-5's ... I read from numerous reviews that Buffalo PC3700 won't even do PC3700 speeds.

*However* I too would recommend Buffalo PC3700 on a 5:4 ratio. The price is excellent and consider it souped-up PC3200 RAM.

 

[Nebor]

I'm looking to get 1GB of PC3700 to replace my Corsair XMS 3500C2... I think I'm just gonna move up the ladder to the Corsair 3700. I've heard that people are able to get it to run at CL2 and CL2.5 even at 466mhz... And it's only $280. For reference, I paid like $360 for my memory when it was cutting edge stuff @ Fry's.

 

[Overkast]

Originally posted by: joe2004

I would disagree with that. Buffalo is a good value (the 3700 BH5 stuff), bit it is not equal to Mushkin high performance ram. I recently bought 2 sticks of the Buffalo 3200 and was thoroughly unimpressed. It was for a budget system and worked out OK, but would not buy it again. People seem to have better luck with Buffalo in AMD rigs than Intel for some reason. The Mushkin 3500 L2 is one of the few that can run a good DDR speed with tight timings in a DC Intel rig. The KHX 3000 is also good from what I have seen.

I did not say anything about Buffalo PC 3200. I was talking about PC 3700, check my post.
I have two pairs (4x512) of Mushkin L2 PC 3500, two pairs of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 non-A (4x512), and a pair "unmatched" Buffalo+Kingston with BH-5 (512+512). These are all BH-5. I also have Corsair 512 PC 3200 XMS LL, also with BH-5.
I also have 2 pair of Kingston HyperX PC 3200 A01 non-A 256 sticks (4x256).

Out of these Mushkin is the worst, though it is a good memory. Kingston HyperX is the best, I got it tight over 220 FSB.
So my opinion is based on personal experience --- DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON MUSHKIN AND CORSAIR, their BH-5 are not one iota better than HyperX BH-5 or Buffalo BH-5.
I actually already RMA-ed one pair of Mushkin L2 PC 3500 with BH-5 because it could not go over 217 FSB on 2-3-2-6. I'd be a biggest idiot if I would pay again $300+ for a pair of BH-5. Whoever tells you that Mushkin makes some magic PCBs, I can tell you the opposite, from my experience.


And don't believe any web review about these. Mushkin, Corsair, and OCZ are hand picking their sticks that are sent to reviewers, Kingston does not. No wonder you have so many "excellent" Muskin, Corsair, and OCZ reviews.

If you don't believe what I am telling, go to overclockers.com and discuss this with people that know what is a good memory.

Come to think of it, Joe is right about the Mushkin 3500 L2. Yes, it is bad on the OC side of things because it cannot achieve good FSB in that sense. However, it is not crappy RAM... it is actually some of the best RAM you can use if you are NOT going to OC.

So I take back my recommendation in the previous post.... since you're looking to OC your processor, Mushkin 3500 L2 is most likely NOT the RAM for you.

However, I am not an overclocker and this RAM has performed beautifully in my system.

Sorry about the mislead.

 

[lxie123]

My refurbished is7 from newegg came today and it worked like a champ. It came with the retail box and all the accesories contrary to what new egg said. I was pleasantly surprised.. I have it running prime 95 at 250 fsb so far, no issues at all.
This board was only 50$, I love newegg!
Still have to get new ram , right now i'm using my old 2700 ram at 3:2 and it sucks.

I highly recommend getting the refurbished version of this board and saving the extra cash for better ram.

 

[joe2004]

All I was saying is that all the memory with BH-5 is about equally good. Only the difference is that Corsair, Mushkin, and as of recently OCZ (they are also jumping on the BH-5 bandwaggon) are selling it for 20-30% more than Buffalo and Kingston. It is up to you to decide if you want to pay that. PCB plays almost no role despite whatever they are claiming.
As far as web reviews as concerned, I don't give a broken penny for that since the sticks that are reviewed are hand picked by the manufacturer, so there is no surprise why people that are buying retail always feel cheated because they can never reproduce magical frequencies from the reviews.

 

[althes]

get some crucial and just use the 3:2 or 5:4 ratio.