I'm in the process of planning a new rig, primarily to run VMware images and rip/burn DVD?s, and secondarily for Office, email, and web browsing. Although not much of a gamer, I also want the option to ?experiment? with Quake 4 and Battlefield 2, at fairly high resolutions and frame rates. I?ve read through the "Overclocking X2 3800 vs Opteron 165" debates online, and have concluded the best choice is the Opteron 165 (if you have an extremely authoritative argument for the X2 3800, I'm open to hearing it, as I haven't purchased the CPU yet).
Based on the above criteria, I've selected the following:
CASE - Antec P180 (shooting for cool and quiet)
MOBO - ABIT KN8-SLI (never going to use SLI, just a GREAT DEAL on the mobo)
CPU - Opteron 165
GPU - eVGA 6800GS 256-P2-N391-AX
HD - Seagate 7200.0 160GB x 2 RAID 1 (want redundancy, 5 year wtty)
DVD-RW - BenQ 1655
PSU - Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w
OS - Windows XP Pro SP2
That leaves the RAM. I?ve tried reading as much as I can online on the subject of what RAM to go with, but I don?t know enough about the subject and there are so many different opinions, ranging from ?get value RAM and run it on a divider because there?s virtually no performance lost and it?s not worth the extra cost to go with high performance RAM? to ?if you?re going to overclock, get some good RAM with heatspreaders and very low timings?. Then there?s the debate of whether it?s good enough to use PC3200 with a divider or if it?s more ideal and therefore better to use faster RAM (i.e. PC4000 at 1:1 at 250Mhz) and increasing CAS. As such, it?s unclear which approach will result in the best possible outcome.
Not possessing the knowledge or experience to make this decision on my own with great confidence, I?m seeking advice from someone with substantial system building experience on what RAM to purchase, and rationale for your recommendation, taking into consideration the initial plan is to run everything at default speeds (to make sure the system is stable) for a few weeks, then overclock the Opteron 165 to 2.5GHz+ (preferably using the stock HSF, unless CPU temps dictate something better).
I?m thinking 4GB DDR (4 x 1GB), but apparently populating all 4 DIMM sockets results in the memory running slower. Is there a way around this? If not, how noticeable would the difference in speed be? If it?s significant, should I consider just being content with using 2GB DDR (2 x 1GB)?
Whether value or ?high performance? RAM, with no allegiance to a particular brand, I?m just looking for the best possible advice, and a better understanding of what I need to know to make the most informed decision. Thank you in advance.
Based on the above criteria, I've selected the following:
CASE - Antec P180 (shooting for cool and quiet)
MOBO - ABIT KN8-SLI (never going to use SLI, just a GREAT DEAL on the mobo)
CPU - Opteron 165
GPU - eVGA 6800GS 256-P2-N391-AX
HD - Seagate 7200.0 160GB x 2 RAID 1 (want redundancy, 5 year wtty)
DVD-RW - BenQ 1655
PSU - Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w
OS - Windows XP Pro SP2
That leaves the RAM. I?ve tried reading as much as I can online on the subject of what RAM to go with, but I don?t know enough about the subject and there are so many different opinions, ranging from ?get value RAM and run it on a divider because there?s virtually no performance lost and it?s not worth the extra cost to go with high performance RAM? to ?if you?re going to overclock, get some good RAM with heatspreaders and very low timings?. Then there?s the debate of whether it?s good enough to use PC3200 with a divider or if it?s more ideal and therefore better to use faster RAM (i.e. PC4000 at 1:1 at 250Mhz) and increasing CAS. As such, it?s unclear which approach will result in the best possible outcome.
Not possessing the knowledge or experience to make this decision on my own with great confidence, I?m seeking advice from someone with substantial system building experience on what RAM to purchase, and rationale for your recommendation, taking into consideration the initial plan is to run everything at default speeds (to make sure the system is stable) for a few weeks, then overclock the Opteron 165 to 2.5GHz+ (preferably using the stock HSF, unless CPU temps dictate something better).
I?m thinking 4GB DDR (4 x 1GB), but apparently populating all 4 DIMM sockets results in the memory running slower. Is there a way around this? If not, how noticeable would the difference in speed be? If it?s significant, should I consider just being content with using 2GB DDR (2 x 1GB)?
Whether value or ?high performance? RAM, with no allegiance to a particular brand, I?m just looking for the best possible advice, and a better understanding of what I need to know to make the most informed decision. Thank you in advance.