My Ballistix went bad. Please help me pick another stable kit.

[Sinnerx96]

Here is my system specs;

-Q6600 G0
-Abit IP35 Pro
-Tuniq Tower
-eVGA 8800GTS 320mb
-Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 1x2gb
-WD Caviar 80gb for OS & Programs
-Samsung SpinPoint 500gb Storage
-Pioneer DVR-212D
-Samsung 226BW S-Panel 22" LCD Monitor
-Corsair HX620w
-Cooler Master Stacker 832 w/ 7 120mm fans
-Windows XP Home 32 bit (I don't plan on going to Vista right away)

I have a 2x1gb kit of DDR2 800 Crucial Ballistix. For some time now, I've had some problems. I would get a sudden reboot on some occasions. And my system would give me a hard time booting back up after being shut down for a while. I'd have to keep hitting reset, or unplug cord and try again, clear cmos, etc. This led me to leave my system on for long periods.

Then, just the other day, my system would not turn back on no matter what I tried. C1 error. I bought a stick of DDR2 800 from Best Buy, and it works. So it was the ram all along.

I would like to buy good stable ram that can help moderately OC my system. I need your help with a few issues I'm having in my decision;

1.) Do I go for DDR2 800 rated at 1.8v? Like this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122

2.) Or would I benefit from DDR2 1066 ram that's rated for 2.0+? Like this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166

They are both cheap enough for price not to matter to me. I'm interested in performance & stability.

3.) Should I get 2x2gb's instead? It's cheap enough. Even though I'm only using a 32-Bit OS and can't take advantage of it all,...I guess it can't hurt. So, I guess I answered this one myself

Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks guys.

 

[Denithor]

No advantage to 1066 sticks even if you're overclocking. Your Q6600 runs stock 9x266 = 2.4GHz, it won't even max out DDR2-800 speeds (9x400 = 3.6GHz) unless you have really great cooling and some luck. So DDR2-1066 speed is laughable (9x533 = yeah right).

Just go for a 2x2GB DDR2-800 kit, both G.Skill & Mushkin have great ones on sale at newegg for around $50.

 

[Sinnerx96]

What if I dropped the multiplier, or change the divider to run the ram a little harder? Wouldn't I get more performance that way? Or is it negligible?

Thanks

 

[Sinnerx96]

I did some more research, and it seams like most people agree that there's not much if any benefit to what I eluded to in my last post. DDR2 800 should be fine. I guess I was also concerned with maybe needing the faster ram in the future if I upgrade the cpu. But by that time, I'll have to get a new mobo & DDR3 anyway. I think I'll go ahead and order the G.Skill PI Black DDR2 800 1.8v 4-4-4-12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231209

Thanks for the help

 

[MyLeftNut]

Do your ballistix work with higher voltages? Perhaps you can use your 3rd stick you picked up to boot up and set the voltage to something like 2.0v, power down/unplug, then pop in your ballistix.

 

[Sinnerx96]

From day one, the Ballistix would boot my system just fine with defaults loaded(before they crapped out). Then I would change the voltage to the rated 2.0v. The voltage made no difference with those problems I mentioned in my first post. It got progressively worse over time. I did try that anyway. Still gives me a C1 error. I even tried the Ballistix in other systems.

Even if I did miraculously get them to POST,..I do not want to deal with all the random problems they caused.

Thanks for replying, man. What is your guys opinion of the G.Skill PI Black, I linked to?

 

[nyker96]

I have tried: Crucial Ballistix/OCZ (various lines)/Corsair XMSs/Kingston/Supertalent, at the end I recommend OCZ. They are the most stable and less trouble. Second would be Corsair. then Kinston/Supertalent. Ballistx used to be top notch but I have personally did about 3 returns between 4 sets. that's too high defect rate for me.

I have also heard good things from people using muskin/Patriot/GSkill. I am looking to try them as well.

 

[brencat]

Originally posted by: Sinnerx96
Thanks for replying, man. What is your guys opinion of the G.Skill PI Black, I linked to?

That is a new kit but certainly looks interesting...2x2gb CAS4 @ 1.9v. But I'd pass given it's $70 versus other cheaper alternatives.

Also check out the 2x2gb mushkin sets (996587 and 996580) for $47 AR and $56 AR shipped at Newegg, respectively. Good prices, decent timings, and great company.

Finally, also look at the GSkill GBPQ 2x2gb 5-5-5-15 @ 1.8v, which I just put into a build for my brother. Was $55 shipped until ~ 11am today when the price suddenly reset to $115. Give it 24 hrs though and I'm sure another Newegg sale price will be in force.

Edit: As of 5pm, the GBPQs are now $50 shipped, no rebate!

Begging Nyker's pardon, I am not an OCZ fan. Not even a little. I think their products are generally inferior to the other brands being discussed in this thread, often require a lot more vDIMM than most chips, and are generally a lot of fanboy hype. But the customer service is top notch...

 

[Denithor]

I've had bad experiences with several varieties of "high performance" memory, starting with Kingston HyperX DDR and Corsair XMS DDR (neither were stable at rated speed/volts) and continuing with OCZ Gold DDR2 (that work fine in one ASRock motherboard but won't even boot in eight other motherboards I've checked).

I've had the best success with plain Crucial sticks and with Mushkin & G.Skill sticks. Patriot DDR I used in a S939 CAD machine once and it's still going strong in a C2D update (on an ASRock motherboard that supports DDR and C2D chips).

 

[Liet]

Wow, I had the same problem with my Ballistix 2.2v sticks. My motherboard automatically reset to 1.8v after a BIOS reset, and the Ballistix sticks refused to work at 1.8v... Weird...
I also asked for a recommendation here, and someone kindly suggested these Mushkin DDR2 800 5-4-4-12 sticks. So far, no problems running 5-4-4-12 @ 1.8v!

I'm leery of anything over 1.8v now.

$67, or $47 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146731

 

[18 Is Number 1]

These are a great value and will allow you to OC the RAM to 1100 or 800 at 4-4-4-12 1.8v
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146755