Questions about purchasing an Intel 920

[ForgetCassettes]

I am considering purchasing a 920 processor but I have some questions. Do I need to buy DDR2 800 memory or can I use DDR2 667 memory? I'm hoping to get one of these processors but I need to also buy memory and a motherboard all for less than $700. Can it be done? Suggestions?

 

[dexvx]

$700? Easily. You can use DDR2@667, it just is not gauranteed to run as fast as DDR2@800.

The undeniably best motherboard is the 975x based Asus P5DW2-E (which can be had for slightly over $200).

 

[ForgetCassettes]

I forgot to mention that I wanted 2GB of DDR2. Here is what I think I can afford...
Asus P5WD2 (non premium 955 chipset) $159.99
Intel 920 CPU $253.90
OCZ OCZ26672048ELDCGE-K 2GB Kit DDR2-667 PC2-5400 Gold Edition $227

Would that be a decent solution?

 

[ForgetCassettes]

I decided to get the better motherboard (P5DW2-E) and 1 stick of Patriot Extreme DDR2 800 1GB along with the 920. I figure I can always add a second stick of the same memory when I can afford it. Now, as for my power supply, I am using an OCZ Modstream 450 Watt PSU. Is that going to work okay or will I need to upgrade that as well?

 

[stevty2889]

You aren't going to get a good OC unless you use the P5WD2 premium, or P5WD2-E premium. DDR2-533, 667, or 800 are all fine. You want to have 2 sticks of ram though, not using dual channel with a netburst chip, is around a 20-25% performance loss. There is nothing wrong with using 4 sticks of ram with an Intel chip, so go for 2x512mb for now instead of 1x1gb, and then you can add 2 more 512mb sticks later for your 2gb of ram. Your power supply should be perfectly fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ForgetCassettes]

Thanks for the suggestion but I already placed my order for the single memory stick. I did get the P5WD2-E Premium motherboard and the 920 with it. I will be able to get the second stick of memory in a couple weeks so i will just have to suffer through the performance loss until then. I think I can deal 🙂