Need a stable E6600 board

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menorton

Member
Feb 10, 2004
137
2
81
Dearest AT,

I need a stable motherboard to run my E6600. It will be for my mom, so only email and web browsing will be done. As such, i do not care at all how well it overclocks or it being the bleeding edge, i just want it to be STABLE. I require that the board have the following:

1. IGP
2. Sata 3/gbs
3. Be cool with my DDR2-667 Kingston ram (most boards are)

I went through two RMAs of the GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3, and i will not go back to that board, ever again. First board, it would not acknowledge that i have plugged in my ethernet cable. Second board, same issue with the cable, and now the VGA port is bad bc my display (which works great on all other machines) went out.

I went to newegg, and via the power search, the following link are of the suitable motherboards. Which of these is the best? Motherboard list

I read on the AT guide that the MSI G965M-FI is a great board. I cant find it however, Was it a typo? Did the author mean the FIR?

Thanks AT!
 
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menorton

Member
Feb 10, 2004
137
2
81
great. now, Kingston says that that board can run just fine with its DDR2-667 ram. Will the E6600 be slowed down? I remember an AT admin saying that the RAM doesnt bottleneck the CPU, so there is no diff between 533,667,800 ram. This true?

Also, newegg specifically says: "Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets."

Is this true? Newegg says that only ddr-800 ram will work. Yet Kingston says that their 533 adn 667 ram will work. /me confused
 
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adnoto

Member
Mar 23, 2007
39
0
0
Originally posted by: menorton
great. now, Kingston says that that board can run just fine with its DDR2-667 ram. Will the E6600 be slowed down? I remember an AT admin saying that the RAM doesnt bottleneck the CPU, so there is no diff between 533,667,800 ram. This true?
Click to expand...

I am unsure about the answer to this question, but I think that, for all intents and purposes, there is no difference for what you are worried about. In other words there are significant differences in the RAM itself (otherwise it wouldn't be rated and named differently) but in terms of "bottlenecking the CPU" I don't think using 667 will have any effect.

Also, newegg specifically says: "Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets."

Is this true? Newegg says that only ddr-800 ram will work. Yet Kingston says that their 533 adn 667 ram will work. /me confused
Click to expand...

Yes, it is my understanding that the 667 will work as long as it will boot up. I know that sounds stupid but I am pretty sure that warning is there to tell you "hey, if you try to run Cas3 DDR2 1000 that takes 2.1 volts to boot you aren't going to POST." So, I don't know about the specific Kingston RAM you have but if the board can support DDR2 800 then it should be able support 667 also. The key is knowing if your RAM will boot at 1.8 or 1.9 volts. If it will then you should be fine, and if the RAM is ultimately rated to run at 4,4,4-12 or something then I am fairly sure you can change to those timings in the bios after you get it up and running. It is always worth checking out the mobo manufacturer's website as some of them have a list of specific RAM that is "guaranteed" to work with their mobos.

It also might help if you posted a link to the RAM you have so we know what we are dealing with specifically.

Hopefully someone will happen along and confirm what I have said.

.
 
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adnoto

Member
Mar 23, 2007
39
0
0
Originally posted by: menorton
The ram is Kingston Value! Ram. KVR667D2N5K2/2G

Link: http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configu...valueram.com&ktcpartno=KVR667D2N5K2/2G

The site has the intel board above as compataible. And the gigabyte board that i had booted up just fine with it. So i guess i should just ignore Newegg....
Click to expand...

Description: 2GB 667MHz DDR2 Non-ECC CL5 DIMM (Kit of 2)
Detailed Specifications: Standard 128M X 64 Non-ECC 667MHz 240-pin Unbuffered DIMM (SDRAM-DDR2, 1.8V, CL5)

Given that description of the RAM I would say you are ready to rock. Again I am fairly sure that that warning is simply a disclaimer so folks don't get RAM that requires higher voltage and then expect it to work fine and the computer to boot... cause it won't. The stuff you have says it is 1.8V from jump, and it has 5,5,5 timings so you should be fine regardless. In fact, IIRC, the newer boards actually compensate for more aggressive RAM by defaulting them to a lower setting with looser timings. You have to actually go into the BIOS to change the settings in order to get the most from your RAM. I doubt this will happen in your case but it will be worth checking out after you get your system up and running.

Edit to add: I read up on the "cpu bottlenecking" issue you were concerned about and suffice to say there is no issue. Actually your RAM will run at 533 speed in a 1:1 ratio with an E6600 running at stock speed. You may be able to change the timings to be a bit more aggressive with the RAM but 667 RAM is plenty with an E6600 at stock.
 
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