Long term RAM purchase

[Elcs]

My dad is using my old 512mb stick of PC2100 DDR and he wants to upgrade. My 1 Gb of PC3200 TwinMOS doesnt like going over 210 FSB and although Im happy with it, Im thinking of upgrading my RAM so that he can have some decent stuff.

The 1700+ TBred B can handle the 210 FSB because its my old chip and I know that. Im currently using a Mobile Barton 2500+ which is good for 2.3ghz. Unfortunately, due to University, Im rather poor and I doubt Ill be able to upgrade much if anything in the next 2 or so years.

Im wondering if I got 1 Gb of decent RAM now that I could reap the benefit of a higher FSB now and hopefully use it in around 2 years time for an A64 based system. I know this is seeming to be a bit of a longshot but what are the chances that my RAM will be useless or highly ineffective in a reasonable gaming machine in a 2 years?

Me and my dad both use NF7-S Rev 2.0's and Ive recently tried one of the modified BIOSes to try and whip anything else out of my RAM to no avail. I think Im using an old one and my dads is probably a new version if that is of any consequence to you.

In the UK, 1 Gb of PC3200 well-branded value ram (crucial, kingston etc.) is around £110-120. Corsair XMS Pro, 1 Gb of PC4000 3-4-4-8 is ~£190-200. Just adding this for some sort of comparative measure.

Any thoughts?

 

[imported_RobJ]

Two years is a long time. I would imagine that by then, a new motherboard will have DDR2 memory, or DDR1 memory with a much higher speed. Pretty much all that can be said is the higher quality ram you can afford now, the longer it will be competitive.

In general, right now is not the best time to be making long-term ram investments, because DDR ram has been around for a long time, and new technologies will be coming out in the months to come.

 

[skreet]

DDR2 is the new memory and you're gonna be stuck in the same hole we all were when DDR came out, stockpiling SDRAM and then having no use for it

 

[Algere]

That's what eBay's for

 

[Elcs]

So the general consensus here is.... stick with the stuff I have for as long as I can then upgrade probably to an A64 with DDR2 and possibly BTX in the ~2 years time?

Not what I like to hear as upgrading is fun but upgrading when the longevity and extra power the new component brings along isnt worth the money, then its not fun.

Think I'll sit on this for a few more replies.

 

[Concillian]

I expect DDR has at least another year or so in it on the A64 platform. I mean we haven't even heard rumors of DDR2 from AMD. Then I doubt the transition will be instant. Look at AMD a year ago, they were introducing the A64, but the AXP is still viable, not the fastest but viable. You run a t-bred 1700+, that was released in mid 2002, but it is still viable now.

I think in 2 years you won't be HURTING, but you will be on the lower end of what is available, similar to your 1700+. I know we can't tell the future, but I think if you were to end up with an A64 2800+ or 3000+ then OC it to ~2.4 GHz it should be near the same level relative to offerings available at that time as your 1700+ is now.

 

[Algere]

Have too heard about DDR2 on the A64 platform

Late 2005 FYI

 

[moonboy403]

get the geil pc3200 ultra x series
it's 2-2-2-5 at ddr400 and like 2.5-3-3-6 or 7 at ddr500
anandtech tested it and it topped out at 561!!!

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: Algere
Have too heard about DDR2 on the A64 platform

Late 2005 FYI

Damn, I must be a n00b. Linky?

 

[cirthix]

geil ddr4400, its great, high fsbs, scalable timings, great warranty, large voltage accepted, wiht low minimum, 150 for each 512 stick at newegg last i saw it.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: Concillian

Originally posted by: Algere
Have too heard about DDR2 on the A64 platform

Late 2005 FYI

Damn, I must be a n00b. Linky?

X-bit
"AMD has put the facts straight by saying that DDR2 would only make sense at 667MHz, a speed-bin that will be available is mass quantities only next year."

X-bit ...again
"In the second half of 2005 AMD is rumoured to replace its initial 90nm processor for high-end applications, such as Athlon 64 FX or Opteron, code-named San Diego with chip known under code-name Toledo. The latter may sport DDR2 as well as some other innovations, sources familiar with AMD?s plans said."

Inquirer
"Overall, DDR2 looks to be an expensive no win situation for both companies. AMD, by delaying almost a year, avoids the bulk of the nastiness."

Inquirer...
"He said AMD had a good idea of when that point might be, but would not confirm that could happen in 2005." (Neither confirmed or denied)

 

[ponyo]

I know you're in UK so prices are different but if you decide to upgrade, I would get the highest rated speed DDR you can. PC4000 and PC4200 are reasonably priced in the US as long as you avoid ripoff brands like Corsair, OCZ, and Muskin. 512mb of PC4000 like Kingmax and Adata can be had for little over $100 here in the States. With my Adata PC4000 and NF7-S with modded bios, and my Tbred 1800+, I can hit 250FSB at 3-4-4-11 at stock Vdimm voltage.

 

[Elcs]

Originally posted by: Naustica
I know you're in UK so prices are different but if you decide to upgrade, I would get the highest rated speed DDR you can. PC4000 and PC4200 are reasonably priced in the US as long as you avoid ripoff brands like Corsair, OCZ, and Muskin. 512mb of PC4000 like Kingmax and Adata can be had for little over $100 here in the States. With my Adata PC4000 and NF7-S with modded bios, and my Tbred 1800+, I can hit 250FSB at 3-4-4-11 at stock Vdimm voltage.

Sounds good.

2 x 512mb Corsair CMX PC4000 - £160
2 x 512mb Crucial Ballistix PC4000 - £190
OCZ prices are higher than £200 for 1 Gb
Kingston prices dont seem anywhere near reasonable either.

Source: Dealtime

The Corsair looks decent.

 

[Concillian]

For What it's worth, the recent Anandtech memory articles have been touting the Micron chips used in the Crucial Ballistix and the OCZ EB (crazy expensive) modules for the A64 platform. Basically other modules don't perform as well with the A64 as with the P4.

Here are some excerpts from the two most recent AT memory reviews:

In the more difficult area of memory for the Athlon 64, the Geil brings nothing new to the table. We found it behaved like Samsung memory tested in our roundup on the Athlon 64 platform, which means it tops out MUCH lower on the A64 than the Intel platform. Consider the A64 limit to be around DDR466 with this Geil Ultra X. That means for Athlon 64 systems, your best choices are still Crucial Ballistix or other Micron-based memory like OCZ 3500EB or 3700EB. The Micron-chip memory performs the same in our tests on either Intel or Athlon 64.

It was able to achieve 280 FSB in a P4, but they are putting the A64 limit at 233 or so. A significant difference.

Here's from the other article:

All of the memory performed the same at DDR400 and DDR433 on the K8N Neo2 as it did on the Intel platform, but then things began diverging. All of the memory could also do DDR466 on the Athlon 64 platform, but often required slightly slower timings or a bit more voltage. The only Samsung memory that achieved DDR500 on the MSI Athlon 64 was the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 - none of the other Samsung-base DIMMs could reach this milestone. In addition, the OCZ, which reached DDR557 on the Intel board, could not reach much higher than DDR500 before we got failed boots.

The only memory that duplicated the Intel results on Athlon 64 was the Crucial Ballistics PC3200, based on Micron chips. Across the entire range from DDR400 to DDR514, the Ballistix performed at the same voltages and timings that it displayed on the Intel test bed. This performance reminds us that Micron memory chips are also used in OCZ 3500EB and 3700EB, which also perform as well on Athlon 64 as they do on an Intel board.

 

[DoobieOnline]

Hey Elcs, I've tried three different types of 2x512MB (OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev2, Crucial Ballistix PC4000, and Geil Ultra PC4000) in a P4 and A64 rig using 2.8V (max on both boards). All three brands will do 250MHz 1T in the P4 rig, but only the OCZ will do 250MHz 1T in the A64 rig. The Crucial and Geil required 2T at 250MHz, which killed performance. Using one 512MB stick with the A64 isn't that big of a deal, but when you use 2 double-sided sticks it can really limit your OC. If you're going to stick with A64 for the next couple of years, then you should be safe with upgrading now. I highly recommend picking up a gig of OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev2.

doobie