Newbie here, please excuse!
So I managed to get a mostly bare SFF Dimension 5100C with a 3Ghz P4 for $250 after tax at Dell. Of course the 256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz that I got it with is not enough for the video encoding work that I need to do. I just need an inconspicuous box chugging away the numbers (as fast as possible) while I can continue work on my regular desktop.
Its an Intel P4 Processor 531 w/ HT. From what I've read, the max bandwidth this processor can handle is 6.4Gb/s. Yet the Crucial Technology memory selector recommends the 512MBx2 dual channel kit (Model CT463437: DDR2 PC2-4200 ? CL=4 ? UNBUFFERED ? NON-ECC ? DDR2-533 ? 1.8V ? 64Meg x 64). This can push 8.4Gb/s if I'm not mistaken. Isn't this RAM going to be overkill for my system? That is, my processor won't be able to process data fast enough to keep the RAM busy all the time. DDR2 PC2-3200 on the other hand would do 6.4Gb/s and be a better match for my processor, no?
Please correct me if I'm wrong. I just want the optimal RAM to handle heavy video processing work. The graphics card is the Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 950 and Dell says some of my system memory may be shared to support graphics. I don't need graphics on this box at all, but if its going to steal some of my available RAM, do I need to worry about it?
Dell just shipped it yesterday so I don't have it in hand yet (in case you need me to open it up to tell you any mobo specs). My budget: $100. Can go up to $150-$175 if there will be a significant performance difference. Doesn't just have to be a RAM upgrade, but I'm pretty sure that's the single strongest upgrade I can make.
Open to simple OCing suggestions, if any. Nothing fancy though, I've never OC'd before.
TIA
So I managed to get a mostly bare SFF Dimension 5100C with a 3Ghz P4 for $250 after tax at Dell. Of course the 256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz that I got it with is not enough for the video encoding work that I need to do. I just need an inconspicuous box chugging away the numbers (as fast as possible) while I can continue work on my regular desktop.
Its an Intel P4 Processor 531 w/ HT. From what I've read, the max bandwidth this processor can handle is 6.4Gb/s. Yet the Crucial Technology memory selector recommends the 512MBx2 dual channel kit (Model CT463437: DDR2 PC2-4200 ? CL=4 ? UNBUFFERED ? NON-ECC ? DDR2-533 ? 1.8V ? 64Meg x 64). This can push 8.4Gb/s if I'm not mistaken. Isn't this RAM going to be overkill for my system? That is, my processor won't be able to process data fast enough to keep the RAM busy all the time. DDR2 PC2-3200 on the other hand would do 6.4Gb/s and be a better match for my processor, no?
Please correct me if I'm wrong. I just want the optimal RAM to handle heavy video processing work. The graphics card is the Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelator 950 and Dell says some of my system memory may be shared to support graphics. I don't need graphics on this box at all, but if its going to steal some of my available RAM, do I need to worry about it?
Dell just shipped it yesterday so I don't have it in hand yet (in case you need me to open it up to tell you any mobo specs). My budget: $100. Can go up to $150-$175 if there will be a significant performance difference. Doesn't just have to be a RAM upgrade, but I'm pretty sure that's the single strongest upgrade I can make.
Open to simple OCing suggestions, if any. Nothing fancy though, I've never OC'd before.
TIA
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