Memory Help Needed

incompetence

Junior Member
Jul 25, 2007
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Hey I'm new here and I'm currently having some issues with choosing hardware for my first pc build. My first question is, what is the difference with this kind of memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231098

and this kind:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231065

If I was to choose either memory, I would go with the cheaper one, but do tell me the difference and which one is a better buy.

The other question is either memory a good buy, unless any of you people can direct me to some cheap quality memory that can go well with the Q6600(may overclock to 2.6 ghz or 2.8).

Help is greatly appreciated!!
 

Cutthroat

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2002
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The Red memory has timings of 5-5-5-15 and vDIMM 1.8v-2.0v, the Black memory has timings of 4-4-4-12 and vDIMM 2.0-2.1v.

Here`s what that means, the Black memory is faster than the Red because it has lower latency, however if that is really noticeable depends on the application you are using, and is debatable. The speed of the memory in MHZ is far more important than the latency, in that aspect they are equal.

The other big difference is the default voltage of the RAM, most motherboards automatically set the vDIMM at 1.8v which can create a problem when you use RAM that has a higher default voltage, sometimes the PC does not want to POST with it undervolted that much, the vDIMM must be manually set in the BIOS to the correct value, if you can get that far, sometimes you need to use cheap RAM to POST and get to the BIOS, then change the vDIMM and shut down, unplug, and replace the RAM with the good stuff and reboot.

You can use DDR2-800 (400x2) at 1:1 ratio with a FSB of 1600 (400x4), which means you can get your Q6600 to 3.6GHZ without even overclocking the RAM.

So with that said, I would go with the cheaper stuff unless you can find lower latency RAM at a better price.
 

incompetence

Junior Member
Jul 25, 2007
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Wow, thanks for your very informative post, taught me alooot.
I have two more questions though, would it be better to go with the Red memory if I would be doing only gaming, some video editing, and some things an average consumer would be doing? And how much more would the Black memory give in performance over the Red memory? Thanks in advance!
 

Cutthroat

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2002
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Honestly I doubt the difference between the RAM would be noticeable in every day use. You can check some benchmark results to see what apps will get a significant boost, but for 50% more cost, you definatly won't get 50% more performance. Stick with the cheaper stuff, it's good quality RAM and a hell of a deal.