New build, need some RAM advice/suggestions.

[oeuf]

So I'm in the process of building a new machine, with the intended purpose of using it for doing 3D work as well as After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and the like. I'm a bit out of the loop as far as the latest tech, but I have been browsing articles on the latest tech. My last build was an amd xp 2500 OC'd to xp 3200 speeds, so that'll give you an idea of how long its been.
Now i'm looking to build something around a Q6600 with the intent to OC it to 3.2ghz or higher, if I can. Here's what I've spec'd out so far.

■Core 2 Quad Q600 (hopefully a G0 step from Newegg)
■XIGMATEK HDT-S963 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler
■GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38
■MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB
■SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply
■Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB
■SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB



Now, i'm stuck on what RAM i should get. I've read that the fastest RAM I need is DDR 800 even with OC'ing in mind. Is that correct? I'd like to get a rock solid stable OC of the Q6600 to at least 3.2ghz (and of course higher if posible), but stability is key. Should I get faster RAM? Wouldn't faster RAM give me more overhead as to not be pushing the RAM to it's limit?
I'm also planning on filling the 4 mem slots with 2GB sticks, will that effect my OC'ing?

Any suggestions on my build? Thanks.

 

[eck]

DDR2 800 should be fine. To get a Q6600 to 3.2GHz, you'll have to set the FSB at 356 assuming you leave the multiplier at 9. So, to have your RAM run in synchronus mode (i.e. not faster than your FSB), you would need DDR2 712. Therefore DDR2 800 will give you enough overhead.

To answer your other question, from what I've read, overclocking is easier with fewer sticks of RAM. Using 4 slots will probably lead to a slightly lower maximum overclock while also having to raise the MCH voltage higher than what you would have to with only 2 sticks.

I personally don't use any of those programs, but is 8GB really necessary? If so, I hope you planned on using a 64-bit OS as I'm sure you know a 32-bit OS is limited to 4GB.

 

[oeuf]

Thanks for the info, I guess I could always start with 4gigs and go to 8 if needed, but with these apps, there can never be enough.
And yes, I will be using XP 64 pro.