GA-X38-DQ6 - Where to find 2GB memory moduls

[fishquail]

I cannot find anyone on the internet selling the memory i need for Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 motherobard.
According to the gigabyte website, the memory they recomened for this motherboard is:

2GB GEIL
Model #: GB28GB6400C5QC
Item #: N82E16820144074

But The one link i found for this said "discontinued" :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144074

I want to have 8GB total which means ill need 2GB sticks of DDR2 at 800mhz. I can enter those specs DDR2 800 8GB in Newegg and find bellow, but I want to make sure everything is 100% compatable b/f i buy. What should i do? Will just any memory that meets the specs work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147+50001687+1052416064+1052329188&name=8GB(4+x+2GB)

 

[hughyhunter]

The only place that I found that ram is overseas. I dont know if it's been discontinued or not but anyhow i think that the estoria from geil is newer anyway.

Assuming that the motherboard you are getting or already have supports DDR2 1066 I would get this ram personnally http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147+1052329188+1052420643&Configurator=&Subcategory=147&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

It's more expensive than DDR2 800 but much faster and compatible with your mobo without overclocking it to get to that speed.

 

[fishquail]

So your saying just any 2GB DDR2 Ram module that fits the specs of 1066 mhz will run on this board fine?

 

[hughyhunter]

Absolutely... You dont even have to get 1066... you could get lower latency 800. Although I would get the 1066 anyway. Just make sure you get RAM in pairs. Either 2 or 4 modules and that it's DDR2. That's all you need to worry about.

 

[fishquail]

How much better is DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) compared against the slower DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ? Is there THAT MUCH of a NOTICEABLE performance difference? There is obviously a price difference. I am building a system off the GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 motherboard. Here is what Gigabyte says:

1. 4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 8 GB of system memory
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for DDR2 1200/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules


DDR3 1200 and above is too expensive. I am going for 8GB total using 2GB sticks. I would buy the DDR2 1066 but it seems everyone on the internet is out of 2GB modules in that speed. There seem to only be at this time, DDR2 800 sticks in 2GBs, which are widely available. So what should i do. I need to get this project done -cant wait a few weeks for them to come in - So I ask if the difference is really worth it?

Also, I am no RAM expert, but if I do go with DDR2 800 then which modules should i choose? When I go to Crucial website, they recommend even slower memory for the GA-X38-DQ6. They are recommending only DDR2 667 (PC2-5300) or DDR2 800 (PC2 6400). They have no mention of DDR2 1066. According to this CRUCIAL website.

As far as Latency, is that mean look for 4s instad of 5? Wish i knew more about ram.

 

[hughyhunter]

I'm right there with you... I wish I new more about memory too. I was just reading a post on another forum topic and someone seems to think that the faster RAM really doesnt make that much of a performance difference.

Here is what he said:

Why would i want to get DDR2 1200? if we are getting a Q6600 that runs at 1066FSB we only need 533mhz RAM to keep up a 1:1 ratio utising any higher ratio ie 4:5 or even 1:2 doesnt seem to improve performance much. Even if we OCed the Q6600 to 3ghz (333x9) we still only need 667 to keep a 1:1 even at a 1:2 ratio (that doesnt usually yeild a massive performance increase) we need 1066mhz which still doesnt touch your touted 1200DDR2 let alone the insane 1333DDR3

Xbit have a good round up here http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/m [...] -1800.html Which compare DDR3 1333 and 1800 vs DDR2 1100 and 900. Which shows that in real world games, divx encoding and other apps that there is stuff all difference.

There isnt such a thing as future proof in the IT industry anymore it moves to quickly. By the time DDR3 will make a difference the CPU's will have increased beyond that of which the x38 chipset can handle.

Right now i can get 8gb of G.Skill DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231122 for the same price as your quoted 2gb of DDR3 at 1333. Now you tell me which would have the better performance increase and less likely wanting more RAM. 8Gb of low latency or 2gb of high latency? i know which one i want.


Anyhow... I think that what he says about getting the DDR2 800 G.Skill is the best bet. You'll probably spend less than 200 bucks for 8 gigs which is a great deal. Make sure you run 64 bit os though as you probably already know that.

 

[fishquail]

These two im looking at:

Brand G.SKILL
Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK
Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Tech Spec
Capacity 4GB(2 x 2GB)
Speed DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Cas Latency 4
Timing 4-4-4-12
Voltage 2.0V - 2.1V

or this:

Brand G.SKILL
Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Tech Spec
Capacity 4GB(2 x 2GB)
Speed DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Cas Latency 5
Timing 5-5-5-15
Voltage 1.8V - 1.9V
Heat Spreader Yes

 

[hughyhunter]

I would by these: Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK

Lower latency