Memory for Conroe...price vs. performance?

[theoryzero]

Ok, bear with me, I'm a noob when it comes to memory...the last system I built used RIMMs. I'm planning to upgrade to Conroe in the near future and while I have a chip picked out I'm still waiting for a comprehensive motherboard review.

In the meantime, I've been trying to figure out which memory to go for. I know I want 2GB, but I'm not too keen on dropping $450-$500 on DDR2-1000 stuff. Based on my limited knowledge it seems that the goal would be to find a sweetspot between timings and high frequencies. I've also read articles here at AT which hint that Conroe and the memory you choose will make more of a difference than it did on previous chips that used DDR2 memory.

Anyhow, based on my limited, and likely insufficient, knowledge on the subject, it seems that Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 would be a good choice for me. Not outrageously expensive, but should overclock decently well. Jumping to the C3 version really increases the cost (almost double) and I doubt it will make much of a difference to me. Opinions?

Thanks,
TZ

PS- AT, we NEED articles discussing the various mobos and which memory modules to choose for Conroe. True, the chips aren't out yet, but memory and mobos are!

 

[CyborgNinja117]

C3 shows nearly no performance gain on intel cpus... a C4 ddr2 800mhz ram is the sweet spot for most users, u can get 2 X1GB kit from G.skill for 200-250 bucks

 

[theteamaqua]

i dont think memory timing is a big issue with intel, it is with AMD

i have corsair 8000UL 5-4-4-9 and i really dont notice any performance gain in gaming(if there is not a lot)

also for games i think !GB is more than enough thats why i bought 2 x 512MB Corsair 8000UL for 229.99 in frys hehe

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: theteamaqua
i dont think memory timing is a big issue with intel, it is with AMD

i have corsair 8000UL 5-4-4-9 and i really dont notice any performance gain in gaming(if there is not a lot)

also for games i think !GB is more than enough thats why i bought 2 x 512MB Corsair 8000UL for 229.99 in frys hehe

When Vista comes up, 2GB will be the sweet spot.

When did you buy that kit? You can get 2GB for that price nowadays...

 

[theoryzero]

If it matters, I should clarify that I don't use my rig for gaming that much. I play maybe one or two games a year. It is mostly used for running audio apps.

So far it shoulds like the choice with the Corsair RAM is a good one.

 

[TankGuys]

Text

This is the memory I'd recommend.

I think if you look at the price/performance, you'll understand why I recommend it

 

[acegazda]

there is corsiar 800mhz 2x1gb RAM for $158 AR @newegg. Sweet deal. Value RAM might even be good for your purposes, but it'll be the same price as the one I'm mentioned just w/o a rebate. Welcome to the Forums!

 

[Unkno]

FTW

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: TankGuys
Text

This is the memory I'd recommend.

I think if you look at the price/performance, you'll understand why I recommend it

Go with this one!!!


I just ordered some myself, was about to post here, getting a Conroe E6600 as well.


People are even hitting DDR1000+ at Cas 4 with these babies!

 

[hans007]

well... conroe is using 1066 bus..


with dual channel it really is saturated at ddr2-533 unless you have integrated video.


just go for some cheap ddr2-667 cl5 . get 2 gigs for $100 on a deal. and buy other stuff.

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: hans007
well... conroe is using 1066 bus..


with dual channel it really is saturated at ddr2-533 unless you have integrated video.


just go for some cheap ddr2-667 cl5 . get 2 gigs for $100 on a deal. and buy other stuff.

So ddr2-533 would be the default/recommended memory for C2D if I don't plan on overclocking?

 

[harpoon84]

If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: harpoon84
If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

Sorry if i sound dumb but I don't seem to grasp an understanding of ddr2 and it's speed. So if i was to buy DDR2-667, i can still run the FSB of the motherboard at 267? So this would mean no overclocking? I thought running the fsb and memory speed asynchronously was bad or was that just for AMD cpus?

 

[Howard]

Take, for example, the Core 2 Duo E6600. FSB is "1066MHz".

1066/2 = DDR2 "rating" (DDR2-533 suffices)
1066/4 = "FSB" (it's 266MHz quad-pumped)

You can also say that the DDR2 rating is twice that of the FSB.

 

[fern420]

newegg has a $75 rebate on the

mushkin REDLINE 2GB DDR2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146114

might end up being a better compromise with the rebates, i bought some, i just had to many bad experiences when i compromised price over performance in the past for ram.

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84
If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

Sorry if i sound dumb but I don't seem to grasp an understanding of ddr2 and it's speed. So if i was to buy DDR2-667, i can still run the FSB of the motherboard at 267? So this would mean no overclocking? I thought running the fsb and memory speed asynchronously was bad or was that just for AMD cpus?

Yes, you can run the memory async to the FSB.

With DDR667 you can still overclock, just run the 1:1 ratio, anything up to 333MHz FSB will be 'in spec'.

For the default 266MHz (1066MHz quad pumped) FSB on Conroe all you need is DDR2 533, but if you are going to overclock obviously you will need faster RAM, unless you intend to run the RAM slower than the FSB (4:3 for example), but that would take away a lot of the performance benefit from overclocking.

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: harpoon84

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84
If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

Sorry if i sound dumb but I don't seem to grasp an understanding of ddr2 and it's speed. So if i was to buy DDR2-667, i can still run the FSB of the motherboard at 267? So this would mean no overclocking? I thought running the fsb and memory speed asynchronously was bad or was that just for AMD cpus?

Yes, you can run the memory async to the FSB.

With DDR667 you can still overclock, just run the 1:1 ratio, anything up to 333MHz FSB will be 'in spec'.

For the default 266MHz (1066MHz quad pumped) FSB on Conroe all you need is DDR2 533, but if you are going to overclock obviously you will need faster RAM, unless you intend to run the RAM slower than the FSB (4:3 for example), but that would take away a lot of the performance benefit from overclocking.

Would it make sense to run the memory faster than the fsb? So like if I were to buy DDR2-667 and run the memory speed at 333 and the fsb at 267?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84
If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

Sorry if i sound dumb but I don't seem to grasp an understanding of ddr2 and it's speed. So if i was to buy DDR2-667, i can still run the FSB of the motherboard at 267? So this would mean no overclocking? I thought running the fsb and memory speed asynchronously was bad or was that just for AMD cpus?

Yes, you can run the memory async to the FSB.

With DDR667 you can still overclock, just run the 1:1 ratio, anything up to 333MHz FSB will be 'in spec'.

For the default 266MHz (1066MHz quad pumped) FSB on Conroe all you need is DDR2 533, but if you are going to overclock obviously you will need faster RAM, unless you intend to run the RAM slower than the FSB (4:3 for example), but that would take away a lot of the performance benefit from overclocking.

Would it make sense to run the memory faster than the fsb? So like if I were to buy DDR2-667 and run the memory speed at 333 and the fsb at 267?

You could, but the performance increase is negligible.

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: harpoon84
If you are just after the best price/performance then basic DDR2-533 would suffice:
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/core_2_memory_tuning/

Faster or lower latency memory does = slightly higher performance but is also a lot more expensive.

Sorry if i sound dumb but I don't seem to grasp an understanding of ddr2 and it's speed. So if i was to buy DDR2-667, i can still run the FSB of the motherboard at 267? So this would mean no overclocking? I thought running the fsb and memory speed asynchronously was bad or was that just for AMD cpus?

Yes, you can run the memory async to the FSB.

With DDR667 you can still overclock, just run the 1:1 ratio, anything up to 333MHz FSB will be 'in spec'.

For the default 266MHz (1066MHz quad pumped) FSB on Conroe all you need is DDR2 533, but if you are going to overclock obviously you will need faster RAM, unless you intend to run the RAM slower than the FSB (4:3 for example), but that would take away a lot of the performance benefit from overclocking.

Would it make sense to run the memory faster than the fsb? So like if I were to buy DDR2-667 and run the memory speed at 333 and the fsb at 267?

You could, but the performance increase is negligible.

Yeah, as Howard said, you won't get any noticeable performance increases.

Just look at the link that I posted, what they are doing there is basically showing the results of running the RAM faster than the FSB, and also the impact of memory timings on performance.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Is there any significant performance penalty when running a divider on a Conroe system? I remember it was a concern for P4 and PD overclockers.

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Is there any significant performance penalty when running a divider on a Conroe system? I remember it was a concern for P4 and PD overclockers.

I think you will lose much of the benefit of a FSB increase.

For example, if you run the FSB @ 667 but the RAM @ 533, your RAM bandwith will be bottlenecking the FSB, negating the increase in bandwith the higher FSB provides.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Well yes, that goes without saying. But I was also under the impression that dividers came with a performance penalty even in the event that there was no shortage of available memory bandwidth.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: hans007
well... conroe is using 1066 bus..


with dual channel it really is saturated at ddr2-533 unless you have integrated video.


just go for some cheap ddr2-667 cl5 . get 2 gigs for $100 on a deal. and buy other stuff.

So ddr2-533 would be the default/recommended memory for C2D if I don't plan on overclocking?

well... the systems will support 667 or 800 memory. but 533 would be the maximum useable bandwidth... so yes 533 would be fine also.


the main difference would then be latency.

ddr2-533 cl4 , ddr2-667 cl5 and ddr2-800 cl6 would be equivalent. so if you say got ddr2-800 cl4 it would be a better latency .

but there is so much latency already with the northbridge and all thats its probably not worth the money. ddr2-800 cl4 is probably 3 times as expensive as ddr2-667 cl5 would be.