No no no no no no. Listen closely... PC3200 IS ACTUALLY SLOWER THAN PC2700 IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES. If you have a budget, then you're not going to get PC3200 CL2 sticks, you'll get CL2.5 or CL3 PC3200 and you won't get the performance of PC2700 CL2. Until Athlons run at a FSB of 400MHz, the extra bandwidth won't get you anywhere. There is no reason why anyone on a budget would get PC3200 DDR RAM in the first place. No offense, but don't look at the top of the line products if you have a budget; that's not what top of the line is for. If you decide to go without a budget, then get either Geil or Corsair PC3200 RAM that's rated for CL2 operation. Otherwise, do what smart people that want real performance (not just bragging rights) and get PC2700 RAM (from either of the aforementioned vendors) that is rated at the most aggressive timings. Googlegear.com apparently has Geil 512MB PC2700 Ultra (rated at 2-2-2-5-1) selling for $169.50, however, I can't post a link because the site's down right now. Just go to
Googlegear's main site and find it from there. Remember, get the Ultra, which is rated at 2-2-2-5-1. That will get you a lot more than PC3200 at 2-3-3-6-1. I've not only heard good things about Geil, but I have personally installed Geil on the last two systems I built for friends (I only use Corsair, but they have a budget) and it ran at 333MHz with the most aggressive timings with no hiccups whatsoever. Both computers are stable as a rock (
Thanks Win2k!!). I know that it's not $144, but it's worth the price. It comes in a nice, thick, hard plastic container, with a fancy copper heatsink surrounding it. It's really a nice-looking stick of RAM if you've got a window, and even if you don't.
PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE!!! IF YOU HAVE A BUDGET, GO WITH PC2700!!!
I should also mention that companies like Crucial and Samsung also make good sticks of RAM, they're just not at the top of my list. Kingston is towards the top as well. Just avoid anything from OCZ like the plague along with any Samsung stick that you aren't 100% sure contain not only
actual Samsung chips on an actual Samsung PCB. Many people sell Samsung chips on non-Samsung PCBs, and let me tell you, they're bloody shite in my book.
If you would like, I'd be happy to explain why PC2700 CL2 is better than PC3200 CL2.5 or CL3 in more depth. Just ask.