Whats the Best DD2 memory available right now?

[piotrgurin]

I'm building a new system with abit pro and intel e8400

I want to oc, and i want to go w/ 4 gigs. Should i go with 1x4 or 2x2?

Prices are cheap so the once unattainable 1066 is now attainable!

What would you guys recommend?

 

[n7]

This thread is basically the exact same question
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2150691&enterthread=y

Toward the bottom, there's a list by CursetheSky which is excellent; all good 2x2 GB choices, & pretty much in the order i'd buy them too.

 

[piotrgurin]

so is the general agreement that 2x2 is better than 1x4?

I'm leaning towards the g.skill over the muskin b/c i've had trouble with muskin in the past. Also the Muskin heat spreaders are taller which can cause problems w/ some heat sinks.

 

[n7]

Yes. 4x1 GB isn't ideal unless you're going for absolute maximum speeds, & like benchmarking a ton (higher scores).

The best heatsinks these days are all tower style, which means no issues with any RAM aside from possibly the kits with retardly tall heatpipes, etc.

My favorite brand is Mushkin easily; i will admit that i'm sold on them for a number of reasons.

But that G.Skill DDR2-1000 kit is very good & well recommended; i bought their DDR2-800 PQ kit (same kit basically, just binned lower).

I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the DDR2-1000 kits; they all use the Powerchips that will clock anywhere from that default speed of 500 MHz to 550 MHz if you get lucky.

 

[piotrgurin]

Cool thanks alot. I think i'll go with the gskill b/c the muskin heatsink freaks me out. ;p hehehe

Thanks!

 

[n7]

I think both look really nice actually (not that it matters ):

http://picsorban.com/upload/g.skill%20unboxed.jpg
http://picsorban.com/upload/mushkin%20chillin.jpg

 

[piotrgurin]

Mushkin has lower latencies but i don't believe thats true because both companies use the same chip

 

[sgrinavi]

The G.Skill gives good $/buck

I just picked these up for my e8400 rig. So far so good

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: sgrinavi
The G.Skill gives good $/buck

I just picked these up for my e8400 rig. So far so good

o m f g

i got it on monday for $114 now it is $109 fdsjfkldsjfkdlsjfkldsjfkdlsfjkldsjfkldsfsd

 

[NinjaJedi]

It looks like the Mushkin heat sinks use a clip to secure them. I am not certain but they are probably stuck onto the chips using some thermal tape. It might just be a thermal pad. I am sure that if one was careful they could remove the heat sinks and clean the tape off of the chips and then attach an after market sink. Probably a waste of time and money though. Compared to the G.Skill sink they look to be about only a few cm taller probably wont interfere too much. At least compared to say the patriot viper or corsair dominator sinks. One thing I do not understand is listed on the Mushkin site they have 8500 5-4-4-12 but it says it is not for sale. Newegg has the 8500 that is 5-5-4-12. I believe they do make the fastest 2x2GB kits or at least they did or they are not out yet.

 

[n7]

Mushkin was totally dominating the 2x2 GB RAM scene early on with kits using Micron D9GSV. (Like the one you found.)
When i say dominating, i mean it.

No other company had anything even remotely close, since no other ICs at the time could clock anywhere nearly as well.

But then Micron quit making D9GSV, & Powerchips was discovered to clock well & was far cheaper.

So while all those older kits are still listed on their site, they don't make them anymore.
They also happen to use far more expensive chips, so usually you're lucky to find any of the older kits for close to $300+

All the newer Mushkin kits use Powerchips, like everyone else, which clocks to around DDR2-1100 speeds, maybe a bit more if you get lucky.

Those older Mushkin D9GSV would easily blow that away, but it took a lot more voltage, & once again, they're not really available anymore.