Which would you prefer?

[AmdEmAll]

I would get the 3000+ and 1gb. The 3000+ can easily overclock to 3400+.

 

[ts3433]

Originally posted by: winterlude
As far as the "Buy 512 later" goes, I was under the impression that RAM for dual 128 bit need to be sold together/certified etc. (not sure what it's called) otherwise there may be issues. Is it really that sensitive, or would I be able to buy a particular brand of RAM with certain specs now and then buy another stick with the same brand and specs in six months?

I think you're referring to dual channel, which is nonexistent on Socket 754. There won't be issues in dual channel on another platform (like Socket 939), though, as long as the two sticks are same vendor/speed/CL/etc. The dual channel packs just mean they were tested for that kind of operation, and is viewed mainly as a marketing gimmick.

 

[winterlude]

Originally posted by: ts3433

Originally posted by: winterlude
As far as the "Buy 512 later" goes, I was under the impression that RAM for dual 128 bit need to be sold together/certified etc. (not sure what it's called) otherwise there may be issues. Is it really that sensitive, or would I be able to buy a particular brand of RAM with certain specs now and then buy another stick with the same brand and specs in six months?

I think you're referring to dual channel, which is nonexistent on Socket 754. There won't be issues in dual channel on another platform (like Socket 939), though, as long as the two sticks are same vendor/speed/CL/etc. The dual channel packs just mean they were tested for that kind of operation, and is viewed mainly as a marketing gimmick.

Thanks TS, that's good to know. I'm planning to get a 939 board. How much of an impact then is the latency of the RAM? Oh... I suppose that's a question for another thread.

 

[ts3433]

Timings on the A64 mean jack diddly sh!t, for the most part. I'm too lazy to pull up the benchies at the moment, but difference in performance is usually within a margin of error at stock speeds. If you plan to overclock, though, consider some good CL2 PC3200 (like that made by Patriot/PDP; uses Samsung TCCD chips) or simply some higher-rated RAM (like G.skill PC4400; also uses the TCCD, and nick1985's has hit 295 FSB at 2.8V and CL2.5 with his Winchester A64 3000 and Epox NF3 board).