Need some suggestions for my new PC

[xkm1948]

I'm gonna build myself a new PC in two weeks. I choose Q6600 and ASUS Maxmium Formula. But I don't know which sort of memory sticks are good for overclocking a Q6600 system.

I need 4GB of memory, probably 2GB*2. Also I wish to overclock my Q6600 to 3.6GHz+.

So what will be your suggestions, guys? By the way, my budget for MEM is only 150 bucks.

Thanks!



Currently I am reviewing this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

Any budget limit?

 

[hughyhunter]

Since you are on a budget get some good patriot extreme performance DDR2 800.

However if you arent on a budget than you can get some DDR2 1066 speed from GIEL. That would allow you to get optimal performance from your mobo/cpu. However I think that the DDR2 800 would be great for overclocking to as long as it's for enthusiasts not budget like value ram.

 

[chookman]

Gee that G.Skill seems cheap...

OCZ 2x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227248

Patriot 2x2 with better timmings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220269

Geil 2x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144064

Personally id go for the Patriot or OCZ

 

[hughyhunter]

Yes... DDR2 800 is very cheap right now. I'd almost just go with that instead of spending the extra money on DDR2 1066.

 

[chookman]

Yes... DDR2 800 is very cheap right now. I'd almost just go with that instead of spending the extra money on DDR2 1066.

Did you notice the G.skill is rated at 1000? 139.95 is cheap for close to 1066 RAM

 

[xkm1948]

Do you guys agree that the $139 GSkill DDR21000 is a bargain?

 

[hughyhunter]

Yes I believe that that is very cheap for that fast of memory. I hate to bring this up in a RAM forum post but have you ever looked at the Foxconn X38A mobo? It allows you to use DDR2 ram now and upgrade to DDR3 ram later with two slot designated DDR3. I would recommend that if you are going to stick with ASUS get a mobo that is DDR3 compatible that way you are that much more future proof.

 

[xkm1948]

I don't know much about mo-bo. All of my friends recommand ASUS.

 

[hughyhunter]

Than get an asus that is compatible with DDR3 so that you can run DDR3 ram.

 

[chookman]

Than get an asus that is compatible with DDR3 so that you can run DDR3 ram.

DDR3 is a bad idea... current prices aside (DDR3 is REAL expensive compared to DDR2). The is little performance improvement from DDR3 speed to DDR2 speed, yeh sure memory benchmarks increase but real world there is little to brag about. Buy the time you want to upgrade a new motherboard will more than likely be the option to go anyways in which case you can get a DDR3 compatible mobo then. Most combo boards from what ive seen generally dont OC as well and can be less stable than straight one of the other. The other complaint is you are limited to 2 slots whether it me DDR2 or 3 which means if you want more of either at any stage youll have to chuck out what you have a buy higher density modules which are more expensive. The Maximus Formula is a great board stick with it if you have the dough, if you dont you can drop to P5E vanilla which has full DDR2 4 slot compatiblity

 

[hughyhunter]

DDR3 1333 is just as expensive as DDR2 1200. Why would you get a P5E or Maximus Formula and get slower ram like DDR2 800? DDR3 is way faster than DDR2 is some real world applications. The whole point with going for DDR3 on an X38 chipset is because it will be future proof when new software and games come out that will utilize DDR3 much better than would DDR2. Why not upgrade to new technology when it's out if you have the chance? G.skill has 2x1 set right now for 240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231150 Get it when while you have the chance and if you are going to stick with asus get this board instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131235

 

[chookman]

DDR3 1333 is just as expensive as DDR2 1200. Why would you get a P5E or Maximus Formula and get slower ram like DDR2 800? DDR3 is way faster than DDR2 is some real world applications. The whole point with going for DDR3 on an X38 chipset is because it will be future proof when new software and games come out that will utilize DDR3 much better than would DDR2. Why not upgrade to new technology when it's out if you have the chance? G.skill has 2x1 set right now for 240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231150 Get it when while you have the chance and if you are going to stick with asus get this board instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131235

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/memory/display/ddr3-1800.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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 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.

 

[djlazlow]

I believe your gonna need water cooling to go along with that 3.6 Ghz Q6600....mate.

 

[xkm1948]

water cooler.

Last time somebody told me to get a phase-change cooler......

 

[hughyhunter]

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding memory/cpu speeds then. Why would a mobo manufacturer like ASUS allow memory compatibility to be DDR2 1200? If what you say is that you could go so much cheaper and slower with no performance loss.

The P5E says to use DDR2 1200. Why wouldnt you get the 1200 and why would you get 800 instead? Is that what you are saying?

 

[chookman]

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding memory/cpu speeds then. Why would a mobo manufacturer like ASUS allow memory compatibility to be DDR2 1200? If what you say is that you could go so much cheaper and slower with no performance loss.

The P5E says to use DDR2 1200. Why wouldnt you get the 1200 and why would you get 800 instead? Is that what you are saying?

I still believe this is all about marketing... and it filters down to end users/buyers thinking that higher numbers mean better when its not necessarily the case. I dont see anyone using a P4 3.6ghz over a e6600 at 2.40ghz do we? But the average users thinks wow 3.6ghz that higher than 2.4ghz so the P4 must be faster. Although recently this seems to have died off others have taken its place.

To my knowledge a C2D chip will not run lower than 1:1 FSB: DRAM however, testing done at increasing this ratio in favour of DRAM doesnt seem to improve numbers in real world apps a great deal(4:5, 2:3 and 1:2 are most popular). Hence why when overclocking generally people will keep this 1:1 ratio as not to have to OC the ram at all. As i said before 800 or 6400 DDR2 will quite happily get a Q6600 to 3.6ghz (400x9) without needing to OC the RAM, and to get a Q6600 to that speed your gunna need some serious cooling.

If you note on ASUS product page those boards that you suggest support DDR2 1200 actually have an * next to them, denoting that the chipset doesnt actually support this speed but they can get this by overclocking. So if we go out and buy some DDR2 1200 RAM and run it at STOCK the chipset on the motherboard is actually OCed to get the RAM to Stock this will increase power usage and therefore heat disipation.

Soon Intel will release there 1600FSB CPU's now this is getting closer to where we need some faster RAM at stock they will need 800mhz DDR2 to run... An overlcock on the CPU youd be happier with some 1066 or even 1200 RAM this is getting close to needing DDR3 then IMO as the DDR2 specification craps out at about 800/1066 according to WIKI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2. When Intel release there new Nehalem parts we will see intergrated memory controller and the need for faster DDR3 by this stage it will be cheaper and lower latency (we hope). However, when intel do release this it means a chipset/socket change and your pretty little x38 board that supports DDR3 will be worthless.

 

[hughyhunter]

I see... It all makes much better sense to me now. Can I overclock a q6600 without touching the RAM. 1:1 obviously means the FSB for both the CPU and RAM are the same right?
I'll have to really get to know my bios and the numbers before I really understand what I'm doing when I overclock.
Question regarding overclocking q6600:
When you start to overclock do you just slowly increase FSB of CPU? What do you set multiplier to? could you try to give me step by step instructions on how to overclock one.
Currently I'm running (buddies comp actually but I'm spending the day over there to overclock his new rig... he knows very little but is learning fast as I am too) Q6600, Foxconn X38A mobo, 2x1 Gig corsair dominator DDR2 1066, and a water cooled cpu (havent tested it's efficiency yet but we'll see)
What are some pointers if you dont mind helping out.

 

[chookman]

Check the stickies here
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-29.html

 

[hughyhunter]

cool... learned alot thanks