MB additions i.e. RAM etc.?????

[FuzzNuttz]

Hey all - Have my MB selection narrowed down to two; Gigabyte 7VRXP and/or Epox 8K3A+. However, hasn't there been some chatter about Epox releasing an 8K5A2+ (Improved version on 8K3A+???) coming out end of June??? Anyway... Not real RAM savvy and
wanted to know what type of RAM I'm supposed to be using in either. I'll go with 256, but all the 2100, 2600, 2800 numbers confuse the hell out of me. Can someone enlighten me? Looking for reliable, affordable RAM.. will be used with AMD 1900+XP (that could change).
Once system is stable, I'd also like to toy with tweaking it a bit... slight OC'ing. Any guidance would be appreciated... Thanks.

 

[zxcv]

Both boards you have listed are based on the KT333 chipset which means they support PC-2700 RAM (as well as PC-2100 and I believe PC-1600 RAM). This is where the numbers come from:

PC-1600 100MHz * 8 bytes (64-bit) = 800MB/s = 1600MB/s DDR
PC-2100 133MHz * 8 bytes (64-bit) ~ 1050MB/s ~ 2100MB/s DDR
PC-2700 166MHz * 8 bytes (64-bit) ~ 1350MB/s ~ 2700MB/s DDR

So you can put whatever RAM you want but with the Athlon chip I recommend PC-2100 or PC-2700. The Athlons don't gain much from the PC-2700 RAM over the PC-2100 RAM (10% increase) so PC-2100 is more worth it. But if you wanna do lots of overclocking, its always best to get faster and higher quality RAM so maybe you'll want to invest in PC-2700.

 

[FuzzNuttz]

OK... I understand. Now I just need to pick good quality DDR stick(s) i.e. Samsung, Crucial, etc. and I'm all set.
I'll hit Pricewatch and take a look. Thanks.

 

[FuzzNuttz]

*Bump* Just curious, will Epox really be coming out with the 8K5A2+?? And if so, is it an improved version of the 8K3A+? Thanks.

 

[Buz2b]

I'll hit Pricewatch and take a look.

Just be careful of who you buy from. You will find it hard to beat Crucial for prices on their own RAM. Plus you get free shipping. Just a thought for you......................

 

[FuzzNuttz]

Thanks... I'll use Pricewatch as a base line for current prices. I'll probably buy from Newegg or other reputable company. May end up buying all (MB, CPU & Mem) from one source... Maybe I'll get a deal!?!?!?