Ordering 4800+ soon...need quick memory advice...

[Dragon41673]

Ok...I think I've finally decided in whole...but now here's a question...

I know Zebo recomended 2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 2-2-2-7 1T, what else do people recomend? I've had awesome experiences with Corsair memory. I know I read something about memory being pretty much equal as long as the latency is low and it doesn't matter too much about it being some high performance memory. I'm also thinking about overclocking the CPU a little with some water cooling...so let me know what you think about memory for this setup...looking for what would work best and be able to OC a little somewhere between 1Gb or 2Gb total memory...

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
1 (possibly 2) BFG Geforce 6800GT OC
1 Western Digital 250Gb SATA II HD w/16mb Cache
Thermaltake Big Water System with extra Radiator to cool CPU and VGA Card(s)

Also what do you think would be a safe spot to OC the 4800+?

 

[fatty4ksu]

You will regret spending 1100 on a 4800+

 

[Dragon41673]

Why would I regret that? I would think it would have slightly more longevity then the 4400+ and the ability to OC slightly higher then the 4400+ as well

 

[imported_Starman]

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
You will regret spending 1100 on a 4800+

More like you will regret not owning one...don't be a playa hata :disgust:

 

[imported_Starman]

Originally posted by: Dragon41673
Why would I regret that? I would think it would have slightly more longevity then the 4400+ and the ability to OC slightly higher then the 4400+ as well

Absolutely. I just took the plunge on a 4800+ myself. It will outperform the 4400+ at stock speeds and overclock more easily thanks to the higher multiplier.

As far as memory, I recommend getting OCZ's latest 2GB twin pack. It's 2GB in two sticks of 1024MB each and they're rated 2-3-2-5 (but everyone I know who has this RAM runs them just fine at 2-2-2-5 @1T)

 

[Dragon41673]

K that helps a little...anyone else? Kinda hopeing that Zebo chimes in...I know I'm new here but he seems to be one of the Knows All Be All people around here (no offense intended)

 

[imported_Starman]

Ah, I just re-read your starter post. The one objection I have to you buying that RAM is that ultimately you'll be limited to 2GBs total installed RAM. Since you're buying an X2 4800+ (which will last you for years) you're going to want to invest in the memory longevity as well (and that means buying two 1GB sticks to begin). Somewhere in years 1-3 you'll want 4GBs of RAM. The X2 4800+ will still pack a punch at that time...will your RAM amount? That's my only objection, otherwise Ballistix is great stuff (but then again, so is the OCZ I'm referring to).

 

[Dragon41673]

Yeah that's what I was thinking too...which was why I am asking people about what they think as well. I've had a P4 1.7 with 512mb RDRAM (yeah that crap) and it's served me well over the last 5 years...but...I love to double what I previously had when I buy new...but this time I'm thinking about going 2gb of ram instead of 1gb

 

[imported_Starman]

Well, the nice thing about going with two 1GB sticks now is that it's also easier to O/C with two DIMMs versus a full four (which places additional stress on the memory subsystem). If you're a gamer you'll want 2GBs of RAM. If you do more than that you'll want 2GBs of RAM. Just imagine years 1-3 and beyond...that X2 4800+ will still be kicking (especially as multi-threaded games and apps appear with increased frequency)...do you really want to have invested in a memory strategy that doesn't match the longevity of your processor strategy? I think not.

 

[jpeyton]

I'm not going to hate on you guys with 4800+, because if you got the money, go for it. But I will chime in about the comments that it will overclock better...that is a YMMV.

The difference in max overclocks might be on the order of 50-100MHz. From the reports online (from AMDZone, and from a user on HardOCP), 2750MHz-2800MHz still looks like the max for a 4800+ on air, which is not too far ahead of what 4400+ users have been reporting.

A higher multiplier doesn't really matter because if you need to keep your memory clock low, you can use the memory dividers.

Still, I'm very interested to see how your 4800+ will perform. Make sure you give us details if you overclock.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Actually, if you need 2gb, you'll be able to oc ram higher and w/ tighter timings w/ 4x512mb than 2x1gb sticks. 1gb sticks of ram just aren't able to oc as high as 512mb sticks and the same with timings. But you will be able to use memory dividers to adjust for it. However, by filling four dimms, you will be forced to go w/ 2T but the penalty will be offset by the higher oc you'll get. 4x512mb like Starman says, does limit you to only 2gb.

 

[imported_Starman]

JP: what I meant (and said) was that it would be easier to overclock the 4800+ to max speeds because of the higher multiplier. I don't doubt that the 4400+ can reach damn near similar speeds...it'll just take a bit more thinking through.

 

[fatty4ksu]

OCZ has a nice 2X1gb PC 3500 set @ the egg for 360 bucks.

 

[Dragon41673]

Well...if I am planning on OC'ing my 4800+ slightly...like a step or 2 up...what speed DDR should I be getting rather then the DDR400?

 

[imported_wyrmrider]

read the two threads at the top of the forum all the way through
wyrmrider

 

[Dragon41673]

I did read a majority of both threads but I'm about as new to OC'ing as anyone can get so some of it is greek to me because I've never overclocked anything I've had. That's why I put what I was going to use and what I wanted to do in this thread to hopefully get some clarification from some of the higher up experienced members.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Dragon, if you plan on going with water-cooling, based on the money you're spending on everything else, I would go with something better than the TT Big Water. The Big Water is very entry level and will perform no better than going with a high-end hsf combo for less $$$. I'd recommend a Swift-tech kit. A $200 Swift-tech kit will perform a lot better than a $150 TT Big Water. Check out sidewindercomputers.com or frozencpu.com for the different models/accessories.

 

[Dragon41673]

hahahah I love the name Capt Caveman...you just made me smile cuz I can totally see him in my head from the cartoons.

I wasn't expecting that post about the water cooling issue. Thank you very much. I'm going to go look at that right now.

 

[Markfw]

Danger den water cooling. If you are going to get a 4800+, why skimp, they are the best.

 

[Farmer]

I guess some less aggressively timed RAM would suit you fine, but since you are getting the best of the best, I guess you should get some premier RAM with it as well. Like Mark said, go all out if money is of no concern.

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Water cooling? You want the best, than it is phase change with danger den water cooling. Lightspeed for the cpu and danger den for the gpus (SLI or crossfire of course), chipset, and hard drives.

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
You will regret spending 1100 on a 4800+

Why?

 

[imported_Starman]

Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
You will regret spending 1100 on a 4800+

Why?

He's simply trying to induce guilt into those of us who don't have it :roll:

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
You will regret spending 1100 on a 4800+

Why?

I would think b/c you can get pretty much the same performance w/ a 4400+ at almost half the cost. Extra $$$ that could be used to upgrade other areas. JMHO

 

[Dragon41673]

What do you guys think of the following memory with the AMD 4800+

I want to go 2gb so this was one of the best I could find

TWINX2048-3200C2PT XMS3200 2048MB 2.5-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM Platinum Spreaders (2-3-3-6 on Intel)