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memory sticks question

T

TitusTroy

Senior member
I'm planning on doing a complete system upgrade soon and am planning on going with Vista 64 bit as my OS....when using 4 GB of DDR2-800 is it best to use 4 x 1GB sticks or 2 x 2GB stcks for optimal performance?...I'm planning on using this rig for high end gaming (Crysis etc) with medium overclocking

I'm also planning on going with either the E8400 or Q6600 chip...here is the memory I am looking at getting

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...)-_-G.SKILL-_-20231148

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&Tpk=F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK
 
Cheapest 2x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820211188 Adata $73AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 G.Skill $90

Cheapest 4x1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820220267 Patriot $107

DDR2-800 is fine for the Q6600, but I'd go for the E8400, but then you'll also want DDR2-1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145 G.Skill $115
There is some OCZ for $115AR also.

Dont worry about timings. For 99% of the things you'll do it won't matter.
 
Generally speaking, 2x2GB puts less strain on the system when you're overclocking than having all the slots filled. That said, if you're not going for a crazy overclock you'll probably be fine either way.

I went 2x2GB just to leave slots open in case I need them in the future. I tend to keep my computers for a while, and while I don't expect to need 8GB even 3 or 4 years from now, it's nice to have the option open.
 
Originally posted by: TitusTroy
I'm planning on doing a complete system upgrade soon and am planning on going with Vista 64 bit as my OS....when using 4 GB of DDR2-800 is it best to use 4 x 1GB sticks or 2 x 2GB stcks for optimal performance?...I'm planning on using this rig for high end gaming (Crysis etc) with medium overclocking

I'm also planning on going with either the E8400 or Q6600 chip...here is the memory I am looking at getting

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...)-_-G.SKILL-_-20231148

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&Tpk=F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK
Click to expand...


A Two stick configuration is always better for a few reasons, but it mostly relates to The Memory controller, and how much stress four sticks will give over two.

It also depends upon the chipset, and how patient you are in getting the four sticks to play together.

Third, and most Important... having two slots open allows further upgrade.

You should have an Idea what your speed target will be, and factor that into your decision as far as speed, and configuration.
 
thanks for the info everyone!!...I'm gonna go with 2 x 2BG

follow up question: is there a memory brand that guarantees that it uses the good stuff (Mircon D9)??...or is there a way of finding out before purchasing memory?...sorta the same way a few retailers list the stepping of CPU's on their site

How can you tell if your chips are one or the other?

and does anyone know if the memory below uses the good Micron D9 chip?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...)-_-G.SKILL-_-20231148
 
There is no "good stuff Micron D9" in 2 GB dimms anymore.

Micron D9GMH is available in 1 GB dimms though.

Powerchips is what all the best clocking 2 GB dimms are; NOT Micron.

There are some Micron D9HNL 2 GB dimms, but they will not clock well at all.

That G.Skill kit you're looking at is a good kit, & if you loosen timing to 5-5-5 with a nice high TRFC, you'll reach decent speeds.
 
Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
Originally posted by: n7

Powerchips is what all the best clocking 2 GB dimms are; NOT Micron.
Click to expand...
Just curious, what speeds are you seeing from the Powerchips based 2gb modules?
Click to expand...

Heh, you would know better than i, wouldn't you? 😉


My particular kits?
Keep in mind this is on a poor mobo for clocking 2 GB dimms...

My G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ gets to just over DDR2-1000 5-5-5-18.
Mushkin XP2-6400 996580 can do DDR2-1100 5-5-5-18.

Every 2x2 GB kit i know of that is doing 500 MHz stably is Powerchips.
And as you'd also know, the key for higher speeds is loosening TRFC.
 
Originally posted by: n7
Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
Originally posted by: n7

Powerchips is what all the best clocking 2 GB dimms are; NOT Micron.
Click to expand...
Just curious, what speeds are you seeing from the Powerchips based 2gb modules?
Click to expand...

Heh, you would know better than i, wouldn't you? 😉


My particular kits?
Keep in mind this is on a poor mobo for clocking 2 GB dimms...

My G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ gets to just over DDR2-1000 5-5-5-18.
Mushkin XP2-6400 996580 can do DDR2-1100 5-5-5-18.

Every 2x2 GB kit i know of that is doing 500 MHz stably is Powerchips.
And as you'd also know, the key for higher speeds is loosening TRFC.
Click to expand...
I've seen similar speeds but I have not really played with tRFC yet. Seems like it is more important on P35 and X38 so far. It's just odd though, wondering how people are going to accept a non-Micron IC. The OCing world seems to hate anything that is not a 64mb D9. There are a lot of other good ICs out there that are stable, cool running, long lasting, etc.
 
Well, it took long enough for people to understand that Micron [select D9 ICs] was the best.

Now most everyone knows that, but they don't realize that Micron has pretty much completely abandoned high end DDR2 to focus on DDR3 (where they are awesome of course 🙂)

And yes, TRFC is ridiculously important for 2 GB dimms using Powerchips.
Tony [of OCZ] posted a bunch [in XS] about how far some of their kits were scaling purely by loosening TRFC...huge differences from tight to looser, & there's extremely minimal performance loss that's more than made up for with the extra speed.

On my mobo, i couldn't even run post past DDR2-850 with my G.Skill at my max TRFC i could set manually (42, damn you Asus).
I then set SPD, which applies a TRFC of 51, & suddenly i could boot well over DDR2-1000.
Same thing with my Mushkin...was stuck @ DDR2-975, & then i switched to SPD (TRFC of 51 vs. 42), & i was flying over DDR2-1101.

 
I can't remember the specific board but, I heard that there was a huge jump in moving tRFC from 48 to 50. And, it seems like it was an ASUS which would be similar to what you are seeing.

Funny thing about the ICs, people seem to interpret that since Micron was great, everything else was terrible. And, that's not the case at all as we are seeing now. But, there is no doubt who the king of the 64mb ICs was/is with reference to speed and scaling with voltage.
 
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