Ram for 1.6A and Asus P4B266-C

[WHSLacrossekid]

Just bought the 1.6A and P4B266-C combo. I ofcourse want to overclock, so what's the cheapest RAM to overclock this combo with? I'm looking for probably 512mb here. Any suggestions? This is my first system since PC133 so I'm not familair with DDR!

 

[Budman]

Samsung PC2700

 

[Adul]

samsung pc2700

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

suggestions on where to find it the cheapest?

 

[Challenger]

Originally posted by: WHSLacrossekid
suggestions on where to find it the cheapest?

From one of the best traders at Anandtech?

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

 

[TimeKeeper]

if PC2700 is too expensive, Crucial PC2100 will work just fine. (I know because I am using them to oc my 1.6a to 133FSB)

 

[zippy]

Yeah, I have some Crucial PC2100 CL2.5 DDR that is currently running my 1.4GHz Thunderbird Athlon, 10.5 x 133MHz, at 9.5 x 150MHz. The timings are pretty agressive too, 8 8 8 2 6 2 2; I think that's overall like CL2, right? I could go higher, and was higher (152), but then I tried 160MHz and it was too high and I had trouble on POST (not sure if it is because of my processor - 9.5 x 160 - my power supply or the RAM though) so I just dropped it to 150 again and it runs like a champ. And by champ I mean it runs SETI 24x7 without problems.

So yeah, I'm not quite sure what all of the hoopla over the samsung PC2700 is.

 

[panhead49]

the samsung WAS reviewed to be the best overclocker.......you need to get true samsung ram.......samsung chips on samsung pcb.........there are some cheap pieces out there with generic pcb boards with samsung chips and dont o/c well...........just my (and many other's) 2 cents.....

 

[zippy]

Originally posted by: panhead49
the samsung WAS reviewed to be the best overclocker.......you need to get true samsung ram.......samsung chips on samsung pcb.........there are some cheap pieces out there with generic pcb boards with samsung chips and dont o/c well...........just my (and many other's) 2 cents.....

Fair enough. However, a very high percentage of Crucial PC2100 chips can go to 150MHz and beyond, so why spend $20+ for the Samsung? I keep seeing all this talk about the Samsung when it's really not necessary. Am I missing something?

 

[John]

Fair enough. However, a very high percentage of Crucial PC2100 chips can go to 150MHz and beyond, so why spend $20+ for the Samsung? I keep seeing all this talk about the Samsung when it's really not necessary. Am I missing something?

Yes you are missing the bigger picture in regards to overclocking. Samsung original PC2700 will typically dance @ 200+MHz FSB. For all the new motherboards that support 166+ FSB, the Crucial PC2100 is not a viable solution for the slight price difference IMHO.

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

okay, so do any of you know where to pick a stick the cheapest??

 

[Mavrick007]

If you're only going to overclock the 1.6a to a fsb of 133, then you don't need anymore than PC2100 ram(because that's what PC2100 ram is, 133 x 2 = 266mhz), but if you plan on going higher then you might want to get higher clocked ram like PC2400/2700 or above.

When overclocking a cpu you want to keep the least amount of components in your system overclocked, so you would go with PC2400 for a fsb of 150 or PC2700 for 166, and so on. That way if you have a mobo that will overclock the fsb that far, the cpu and mobo will be the factors for stability whereas the ram will not have to be overclocked.

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

Well i'm hoping to get 2.4 out of it! So I'd need PC2400 then? Now if I run PC2700 at 150, would I be underclocking the ram?

I'm such a newbie at this stuff..

 

[John]

Originally posted by: WHSLacrossekid
Well i'm hoping to get 2.4 out of it! So I'd need PC2400 then? Now if I run PC2700 at 150, would I be underclocking the ram?

I'm such a newbie at this stuff..

1.6a @ 2.4 = 150MHz FSB so PC2700 = 166MHz FSB

PC2700 gives you more headroom!

 

[zippy]

Originally posted by: John

Fair enough. However, a very high percentage of Crucial PC2100 chips can go to 150MHz and beyond, so why spend $20+ for the Samsung? I keep seeing all this talk about the Samsung when it's really not necessary. Am I missing something?

Yes you are missing the bigger picture in regards to overclocking. Samsung original PC2700 will typically dance @ 200+MHz FSB. For all the new motherboards that support 166+ FSB, the Crucial PC2100 is not a viable solution for the slight price difference IMHO.

Is there are memory:FSB ratio or something? I'm just not sure why you would need such high FSB speeds. I mean, I can understand if you can get your P4 1.6A to 2.8GHz or something, but 150MHz FSB yields 2.4GHz, so isn't that about the upper limit for a good deal of them (of course, there are some that go higher). I'm just not wondering, sorry to be so contrary.

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

Alright. I'm going to get PC2700. Need to find a cheap price somewhere. Thansk for your help everyone

 

[abaez]

Do not get samsung pc2700 DTL chips they do not oc well. At least if you wanna be running at ddr400 (3:4).

I cannot get my samsung to run at ddr400 no matter what I do, I have DTL chips.

 

[zippy]

Originally posted by: abaez
Do not get samsung pc2700 DTL chips they do not oc well. At least if you wanna be running at ddr400 (3:4).

I cannot get my samsung to run at ddr400 no matter what I do, I have DTL chips.

Okay, I get it now...there is a fsb:mem ratio.