Memory recommendation for 3.2ghz Northwood...

[MagicPerson]

Hi...I posted this on another website, I hope no one minds me reposting it here....

The system I am building has
-- an Asus P4S800D-E Deluxe
-- 3.2 ghz Northwood Pentium IV

I'd like to be able to do some reasonable overclocking of the system so I make sure I get great performance.

I'll be primarily running Linux.

It will be a general purpose desktop. I'll use it for everything, but if I had to choose one thing that I'll do the most (besides web browsing), it is mp3 encoding use lame, and dvd encoding with the xvid codec.

I figure I need a gigabyte of Ram now, and I would like to add a second gigabyte a year from now (for a total of 2 gigs). I'll wait a year for prices to go down, and memory requirements of my applications to go up (as new versions become more bloated).

Therefore I figure I want two 512mb pieces now, and then two more 512 mb pieces a year from now.

So I need some memory recommendations....

Through my web browsing this looks good.
...1GB PC3200 Level One Dual Pack (2x512MB) - $ 221.00 (232 timings)
http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushk...uct/View/991089

And then this isn't much more...
...1GB PC3500 Level One Dual Pack (2x512MB) - $ 251.00 (233 timings)
http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushk...uct/View/991091

Any thoughts which one would be better? Or would you recommend something else completely? (If you could include a url with any recommendation, that would be great!)

By the way, I also like at least the price of this...
....512 mb Crucial (DDR PC3200 ? CL=3 ? Unbuffered ? Non-parity ? 5ns ? 2.6V ? 64Meg x 64) at $91.99 each.
http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSp...40B&cat=RAM

Thanks!

 

[apoppin]

As I understand it, you need a minimum of PC3200 to run your 200FSB (at 1:1).

I have the Mushkin PC3500 (2x256 in Dual Channel - Abit IC7g) which works fine for my P4-2.80c at stock speeds and beyond its rating. I just got my new rig last week and am experimenting with O/C'ing now. Munchkin PC3500 works as advertised - 2:3:3:7 at 1:1 ratio up to and including 221FSB - 3.06Ghz (442Mhz or a little over its PC3500's 433Mhz rating).

Around 223FSB (3.12Ghz), I have to lower the RAM timings or the CPU ratio to 5:4 to keep everything stable (I am still experimenting and haven't gone much higher yet).

it isn't likely your 3.2Ghz Northwood will O/C that much (3.5 or 3.6 would be nice); however, get the best RAM you can afford for future upgrades. 😉