Few Questions about Ram

ant316

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2008
51
0
18,630
First time builder looking for some expert advice with memory.

I am trying to build a mid to upper level build, I have antec 900 case, q6600 processor, 680i lt Mobo and PC&P 750 Power Supply. I plan on adding 2 8800gt's this week.

I have never been one to Overclock, but am open to try it in the future. I was going to do XP as an OS, but I seen a few people on here using vista so they can use more memory. So I ask three questions.

Vista or XP? Only reason I would use vista is for the memory.
8 gigs or 4?
How important is it to have CAS latency 4 instead of 5.

Thanks!


Some Memory I am considering

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220269

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227284
 
I would go with XP 32-bit and 4 Gigs of memory.
8 Gigs is more for like a server.
You could go with Vista 64-bit and 8 Gigs.
CAS 4 is a little faster, but you can always overclock CAS 5 to 4 and run memtest86+ or Prime95 to check for errors. Most likely it will work. You may have to up the voltage to 2.0 or 2.1.
I can't see your links at the moement. I would go with DDR-2 800, which gives you plenty of room to overclock or put in a faster processor.
 
Myself, I go with the lower CL rate ram, unless it considerably more expensive, which it is not. Currently using 4 gigs corsair CL4 PC6400 with dual boot xp pro & vista 32 Bus.

I don't think you will see a big difference on gpu intensive games. More of an effect on CPU/memory intensive games and maybe a 15% inprovement in video encoding. Basicly CL4 only requires 4 clock pulses vs 5 for CL5, But Don't think you will get the full 20 % improvement because memory is only part of the equation.

CL4 generally easier to achieve overclock. I'm running with Bus at 400 MHz and a 1::1 ration (3.2 GHz on E6400)
 


Going from 5-5-5-15-2T to 3-3-3-7-1T (E6600 OC'd to 3.3GHz) at DDR2-733 speeds increased memory I/O about 7%. 3DMark 05 indicated no signicant change in graphics performance.

I know you only asked about memory, but since you also have a Q6600 ...

I have a G0 Q6600/Gigabyte EP35-DS3P with an Ultra 120 Ext. HSF breadboarded on my worktable (4th port of KVM switch is really handy for things like this) running at 3.3 GHz.

At 3.6 GHz, it will run Prime95 for 24 hours, but I have to overvolt high enough that motherboard temp alarm (set to 70 c.) occasionally beeps.

Vcore is overvolted from 1.2625 volts (stock) to 1.3125 volts. FSB voltage is overvolted 0.1 volts. Under heavy load, core temps are around 55 C.
 

ant316

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2008
51
0
18,630
As a follow up question, I am going to run XP for now, with the thought of upgrading to Vista later, should I still go with 2x2(4 Gig) or am I better off with getting 3 gigs?
 
As the difference in expense is minimal... because 2 DIMMS are easier for your mobo to drive... and because you'd still retain the option to double up later should you see the need... 2x2GB