Which DDR2 1066 for Asus P5K-VM?

[Fun Guy]

The only DDR2 1066 that ASUS lists in its Qualified Vendor List for the P5K-VM that New Egg carries is the Kingston KHX8500D2K2/2G (5th one down the list) or the OCZ OCZ2FX11502GK (2nd to last on the list).

The Kingston is $59.99 for 2GB (2x1GB) while the OCZ is $105.99 for 2GB (2x1GB). I will be getting two kits for a total of 4GB of RAM and running at 1066 from within Asus's BIOS. I have a couple of questions...

(1) Is the OCZ worth the extra money? It is almost twice the Kingston's price.

(2) Could I try something that's not on the list?

(3) Will I run into problems with 4x1GB DIMMS? Should I try 2x2GB instead?

Any other suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[undeclared]

1) Probably not, assuming both have a heatspreader and are the same timings/voltage -- checked it out, the OCZ is 1150mhz.. but this only makes any real difference if you do overclock.
2) IT would work most likely, but its not guaranteed to work, and you may have problems down the line
3) 2x2gb is a much better solution literally almost no matter what

 

[DSF]

I would strongly consider DDR2-1000, which offers essentially the same performance for significantly less money.

 

[Fun Guy]

Anyone else?

 

[n7]

Generally the QVL lists aren't much help considering they usually are testing RAM no one wants to buy, etc.

It's relatively rare to see issues with compatibility unless you're buying extremely high end stuff, particularly for OCing etc, as then there are a number of factors that come into play.

Max vdimm is 2.1v on that mobo i believe, something to keep in mind. (Please check this out yourself.)

If that's the case, you're not going to be breaking any overclocking records for RAM on there, so i don't suggest 4x1 GB.

Get 2x2 GB; it'll be easier to work with that 4x1 GB.

It'd also be really nice to know what specs are in this system so we can recommend accordingly.

And if you are OCing (i surely hope so considering you wanted DDR2-1066).

And what price you want to spend.

Keep in mind some manual tweaking (ratio/voltage/timings) will usually be involved the higher you go with RAM speeds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146731

^ My picks.

 

[Fun Guy]

Here are the specs:

Asus P5K-VM MB
Intel E8400 3.0Ghz Wolfdale
WD 150GB Raptor
2 x Samsung 20X DVD+/-RW
8600-derived video card
- Fanless
- No gaming, just 2560x1600 res
Dell 3007 30" monitor
Antec NSK3480 uATX case

The motherboard calls for DDR2 1066 RAM and I plan to run it at that speed, so that's why I was sticking to the QVL.

About the RAM, why would 2x2GB be more stable than 4x1GB?

Regarding overclocking, maybe I will, maybe I won't, but at minimum, I want a rock-solid, stable machine.

 

[n7]

Motherboard supports DDR2-1066, amongst other speeds, such as: Dual-channel DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz (from their site).

Since you mentioned overclocking is a maybe, & your main concern is a rock solid stable machine, DDR2-1066 isn't the direction you need to be going at all.

Get some solid basic DDR2-800 like i link to above. Or if you do get something faster, just be aware you need to get into the bios & get dirty a bit more.

The Mushkin, for example, runs with JEDEC default 1.8v, which = much easier compatibility, as you won't have to worry about voltages.
DDR2-1066 would mean 3:5 ratio, & generally much more tweaking for stability, especially NB voltage if you were running 4x1 GB.

No real need to bring that on unless that's the desired plan, & i'm not gathering that it is.

It's been asked countless times already in this forum, but 2x2 GB is much easier to work with.

I've been messing with 4 dimms vs. 2 dimms for the last couple years...believe me, 4x1 GB @ DDR2-1066 isn't what you want for easy, solid, & stable.
While you can certainly get lucky & have four dimms work perfectly w/o touching any settings, that'd be extremely rare.
Usually it's the opposite.

Not only is 2x2 GB easier to set up, you generally need less voltage (especially to NB), & you also have an upgrade to 8 GB down the road.

 

[Fun Guy]

I'm a little confused...if I can get better performing DDR2 1066 RAM for the same price as DDR 800 RAM, why would I not want to do this?

What would be wrong with running the CPU at 3.0Ghz and the RAM at 1066? Wouldn't this be better than CPU 3.0Ghz and RAM at 800?

Sorry about all the questions, just trying to understand.

 

[Fun Guy]

Anyone else care to weigh in?

 

[semisonic9]

It confuses me, too. For some reason, DDR 800 has a better rep than DDR 1066.

I can understand people not being overwhelmed by DDR3, but when comparing DDR2 to DDR2, I just don't get what the problem is.

~S

 

[DSF]

Generally memory bandwidth isn't a limiting factor in Intel systems. Faster RAM does three fifths of jack diddly in terms of improving real-world performance. Fast RAM has its uses, but that's mostly a matter of providing sufficient overclocking headroom for running a high FSB.

Although DDR2-1066 is supported by your motherboard, the chances are good that it will automatically run at DDR2-800 anyway unless you get down and dirty in the BIOS as n7 put it. For anyone who isn't overclocking there just isn't much point to anything above DDR2-800 (and honestly, even DDR2-667.)

I also agree with everything that's been said about running 2x2GB instead of 4x1GB.

 

[Fun Guy]

Anyone?

Originally posted by: Fun Guy
I'm a little confused...if I can get better performing DDR2 1066 RAM for the same price as DDR 800 RAM, why would I not want to do this?

What would be wrong with running the CPU at 3.0Ghz and the RAM at 1066? Wouldn't this be better than CPU 3.0Ghz and RAM at 800?

Sorry about all the questions, just trying to understand.

 

[Fun Guy]

Originally posted by: DSFAlthough DDR2-1066 is supported by your motherboard, the chances are good that it will automatically run at DDR2-800 anyway unless you get down and dirty in the BIOS as n7 put it. For anyone who isn't overclocking there just isn't much point to anything above DDR2-800 (and honestly, even DDR2-667.)

But if all I have to do is go into the BIOS and make those few changes so the RAM can run at 1066, will the computer run more quickly?