Support for 1066 memory, for E4500 OC?

[eitanob]

I want to build a system not intended for games (initially), so I thought about the GigaByte GA-G33M-S2L or GA-G33M-DS2R.

The GA-G33M-DS2R has the support for 1066 memory, while the GA-G33M-S2L does not.
I want to OC the E4500, and I intend to use DDRII800 (do you see advantage in using 1066?).

The question is, do I need the GA-G33M-DS2R?

 

[DSF]

With the E4500's 11x multiplier, it's going to hit its limit long before you need DDR2-1066. DDR2-667 is probably enough to max out the chip, so DDR2-800 is plenty.

Edit: So, to answer your question more directly, you're fine with the DS2L.

 

[Denithor]

Welcome to the forums!

DSF hit it exactly right, there is no need for DDR2-1066 with an e4500 chip.

The stock speed is 11x200 = 2.2GHz. When you overclock the chip, your fsb will probably max around 300 or less (11x300 = 3.3GHz, 50% and a pretty high OC for the e4xxx series) meaning that you will only be running your memory at DDR2-600 speeds. Therefore DDR2-667 is plenty fast enough for this chip, however DDR2-800 is about the same cost so go for that instead.

Now if you plan in the future to upgrade to an e8400, for example, the DDR2-1066 would be worth considering. The e8400 has a stock speed of 9x333 = 3.0GHz so it uses DDR2-667 at stock speeds. To get to its max overclocking potential (on air) you need to push the fsb to around 450 or higher (meaning DDR2-900 or above) so the DDR2-1066 could be useful.