what kind of ram should get for intense gaming?

[faye]

Hi,
how many and which ram should i get to get the best performance out of a Pentium 3(700 to 800 may be, haven't decide yet)?

branded or generic ram? how big is the difference?
I see a pc133 cas2 128mb Cosair ram is doubling a 256mb generic ram? or am i outdated?

don't have that much of money spend on ram( videocard, cpu ...)
any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[HigherGround]

1. are you going to overclock the CPU?
(a) If not then , any PC133 will do (it will run CAS2 at 100Mhz front side bus (FSB), which what PIII 700 runs on). If you get a CPU that runs on 133Mhz the I would suggest getting a quality stick (Crucial 7ns, HPerf Mushkin, Infineon 7.5ns or anything else that will do CAS222 at 133Mhz FSB)
(b) If yes then most likely you will want to get the CB0 stepping of the 700Mhz variety. With little bit of luck (and some rocking heat sink) you will be able reach Mid-High 900 and if you are really lucky 1Ghz is not out of the question, in any case you will run FSB (and memory) at 140Mhz+, which means getting the best RAM you can buy. I would suggest Infineon, Mosel Vitalic or Micron 7ns sticks. All 3 should dance at the speed.

 

[Viper GTS]

Mosel Vitalic Revision 2 here, 100% stability at 143 MHz CAS2. Unfortunately at that point I'm CPU limited (P3 700e), not memory, so I can't test it further.

Definitely kick-ass RAM, as it should be at almost $200 a stick.

Viper GTS

 

[Stallion]

Mushkin PC133 CAS2 rev 1.5 with mosel chips. Only running at 133FSB, next step....140.

 

[Ausm]

I am running Mosel Vitalic Revision 2 here at 150 MHZ CAS2 with no problems at all

Ausm

 

[spidey07]

I have been extremely impressed with my Mushkin rev2 133cas2. I have done some serious stability testing with prime95, quake3, and 3dmark2000 overnight. My particular stick of 128 is rock solid at 153 mhz CAS2-2-2 with precache enabled.

And boy did those sandra mem scores rock!!!! I'm thinking about replacing my 700e with a spare 866 I have just because the FSB is so much higher (155 on the 866 compared to 143 on the 700 to hit 1000mhz.

cheers

go with mushkin or corsair if your overclocking otherwise you can go with something less expensive.

 

[faye]

what are the ways to check the speed of the ram without opening the case?

are there softwares that can do this?

For example, if the ram i have a PC100 8ns ram, and i buy a 7ns PC133, will they be compatible?

 

[Dark4ng3l]

NO software can read the marking on your ram chips

 

[faye]

what about compatibility?

 

[faye]

oh, i really need more suggestions,
please..

 

[Stallion]

I also had some Corsair PC100 before I got my Mushkin that ran at CAS2 all the way to 120FSB. It ran at 133FSB but I had to turn it down to CAS3.

So corsair is also some good stuff.

What do you mean compatability? Do you want to run two different kinds of RAM? Just get one 128mg stick of something good. What you want is something with good chips on the stick. Look for Mosel, Infineon, or Samsung chips.

Cricial, Mushkin, Corsair ,Memman all use good chips on their RAM, for the most part.

So when you go to buy the RAM ask who makes the chips on the RAM as that is what you are worried about.

 

[H4rm]

I have run my Mushkin ram (PC150 mhz) up to 156 mhz. I feel this tops the pack.
1ghz socket A t-bird
Mushkin PC150 HSDRAM 128mb
Alpha Pal6035 with 38 cfm fan.

 

[bonkers325]

people you dont have to buy muhskin to get quality and whatever

i am currently using infineon cas2 pc133 @140 with 2 sticks on 128mb
and micron pc133 cas2 @145bus

cheap and it rocks
mushkin is too expensive for that price i can buy 2 and half sticks of 128mb or better yet 320mb ram

 

[faye]

where can i look for more brands?
www.buycomp.com only has Kingston and Crucial(and not that cheap too!)

In Vancouver, 128MB PC133 7.5ns is only $170CDN

btw, how many ns is the Infineon and Mushkin u have?

 

[JWMiddleton]

I can't believe Viper GTS is complaining that his 700e will only get up to 143 MHz FSB. I am tickled pink that my 700e will run at 133 MHz FSB!!!

Some mobo's are very pickey on PC133 memory!! Stick with the best stuff available like Crucial and Infineon. The amout, or configuration, depends on the chipset. For example VIA 133a benefits from 4 banks by doing 4-way interleave. So, you need to match the memory to the board you are buying.

Good luck!