Which Kingston HyperX for P4P800 do I choose: KHX3200 or KHX3200A and do I need a kit?!

[Dance123]

Hi,

I am gonna buy an 800Mhz Pentium 4 with the Asus P4P800 (Springdale) mobo, and was wondering which of the following RAM by Kingston would be my best choice:

First of all, is HyperX there best RAM as they seem to have different types on there site.

And then, which one from this list (see: http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/default.asp)

- KHX3200/256
- KHX3200K2/512 (2 - 256MB)
- KHX3200A/256
- KHX3200AK2/512 (2 - 256MB)

First of all, what's the difference between the 3200 and 3200A types and for dual-DDR operation on the Asus P4P800, do you really need to get hold of the kits or should 2 sticks of KHX3200/256 also work fine (in other words, are only the modules in the kits completely the same or will this also be the case if you order 2 KHX3200/256 sticks)?!

PS: on that page of HyperX RAM they also mention: "Note 1: HyperX is high performance memory and may not be compatible with your computer. Please check your system specifications to ensure compatibility." Which system specs do I need to check as they don't mention it and when could there be compatibility problems?!

 

[stardust]

i know sum ppl think kits are useless but i still recommend it because it saves u the chance of getting bad memory even IF the theoretical error is <10%
the kits are also tweaked to support each other better by adjusting its timings and whatnot.

Get the AK version because according to newegg.com its the LOWER latency version of the hyperX CL2 meaning better performance.
one may be 2-3-3-7, the other is 2-3-2-6

 

[Vonkhan]

chek the memory guide on AT's main page

get pc3500 HyperX, future proof, faster if u're OCing

 

[Dance123]

Are you sure the AK version is faster as the Kingston site mentions following if you go to the above page and click the "buy now!" buttons for more info:

- KHX3200K2/512: 512MB Kit HyperX DDR 400MHz 2-2-2-6-1

- KHX3200AK2/512: 512MB Kit HyperX DDR 400MHz 2-3-2-6-1

Doesn't that mean the KHX3200K2 is the fastest and not the AK version. On the other hand the differences seem very small, so why do they have these 2 types if there is hardly any difference?!

NOTE: Are they both non-ECC, as I would use it with a Springdale mobo which doens't support ECC modules I believe?!

 

[Fallengod]

its the non-A that is fastest. KHZ3200 is fastest, 3200A is 1 timing higher. Not sure which is better to buy. It is a pretty small price difference. The 256mb and 512mb sticks are even the exact same price so.. Seeing as how most intel mobos dont like the low latency timings, might be better to get the slower ram? Ive actually been shopping around on pricewatch and other sites trying to figure out which ram to buy also for my upgrade. Here are my findings, might be helpful to someone.

================ Memory =========================

Corsair XMS

| Size | Model |Timings | Model # | Website(State)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-256mb 3200 2-3-2-6 === CMX256A-3200LL: $82 googlegear.com(CA)
-256mb 3200 2-3-3-6 === CMX256A-3200C2: $63 googlegear.com(CA), $64 ateck.com(NJ)
-512mb 3200 2-3-2-6 === CMX512-3200LL: $148 monarchcomputer.com(GA), $155 essencompu.com(NY),$150 googlegear.com(CA)
-512mb 3200/KIT 2-3-2-6 === TWINX512-3200LL: $158 googlegear.com(CA), monarchcomputer.com(GA)
-512mb 3200/KIT 2-3-3-6 === TWINX512-3200C2: $140 spartantech.com(CA)
-1GB 3200/KIT 2-3-3-6 === TWINX1024-3200C2: $229 monarchcomputer.com(GA), $245 spartantech.com
-1GB 3200/KIT 2-3-2-6 === TWINX1024-3200LL: $291 monarchcomputer.com(GA)
-256mb 3500 2-3-3-7 === CMX256A-3500C2: $81 accupc.com(CA), $84 monarchcomputer.com(GA)
-512mb 3500 2-3-3-7 === CMX512-3500C2: $151 googlegear.com(CA), $151 accupc.com(CA)

²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²

Kingston HyperX


| Size | Model| Timings | Model # | Website(State)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-256mb 3200 2-2-2-6 === KHX3200/256: $59 buyxtremegear.com(CA), $60 newegg.com(CA)
-256mb 3200 2-3-2-6 === KHX3200A/256: $60 newegg.com(CA)
-512mb 3200 2-2-2-6 === KHX3200/512: $109 buyxtremegear.com(CA), micropro.com(Ohio)
-512mb 3200/KIT 2-2-2-6 === KHX3200K2/512: $149 accupc.com(CA), $159 googlegear.com(CA), $169 essencompu.com(NY)
-512mb 3200/KIT 2-3-2-6 === KHX3200AK2/512: $114 googlegear.com(CA), $116 Newegg.com(CA)
-1GB 3200/KIT 2-2-2-6 === KHX3200K2/1G: $259 googlegear.com(CA), $259 accupc.com
-1GB 3200/KIT 2-3-2-6 === KHX3200AK2/1G: $207 googlegear.com(CA), $209 newegg.com(CA)
-512mb 3500 2-3-3-7 === KHX3500/512: $118(after rebate) Outpost.com(CA), 122 buyxtremegear.com(CA)
-512mb 3500/KIT 2-3-3-7 === KHX3500K2/512: $149 accupc.com(CA), $159 googlegear.com(CA), $169 essencompu.com



Note: Most prices are including shipping but not including tax.

 

[rhinohide]

My experience with HyperX has not been all that good. I purchased 2 sticks of KHX3200/512 (not K or A version) which have the fastest timings (2,2,2,6,1). I put them in a Gigabyte GA-8KNXP (875P) mobo. The mobo would not POST with the mem in DUAL channel mode. It would POST with one stick, or with both sticks in single-channel mode but not in Dual channel. When I called Kingston tech support they told me that they are "recommending" that people run this memory at 2.6 or 2.7 volts!
Well, in my (never too humble) opinion, that means they are selling a product that really does NOT meet the rated specification.
I was able to POST and boot up in dual-channel mode at 2.6V but experenced some instability so I upped it to 2.7V and it has been fine since. Memtest86, Prime95 and all that. This may seem like a "good" fix, but I am concerned that I wont be able to sell this ram when I go to upgrade because it wont run at default voltages and I will be forced to "eat it", or sell it much more cheeply than if Kingston had been honest about it, and set the timings lower in the SPD.
If I had it to do over, I would try the Corsair TwinX LL modules which are recommended by Evan Lieb on Anandtech but cost quite a bit more $$.

 

[Slammy1]

The lowest cas/ras I can get with my HX3500 is 3 (2-3-2-5, to be exact). Running at 2 would produce instabilities, assuming yours is the same as mine.