Noob help with RAM...

[Vinny1783]

It's been a while since I build a computer. Anyways, i plan on using an intel Core 2 Duo 6400 Conroe, I've been looking through mobos trying to find a suitable one, one i was looking@ was an intel mobo, regardless, the specs for the mobos RAM said the RAM needed, for DDR2 800, needed to be 1.8V with a timing of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6. I've read a lot of people got Corsair RAM to work that had a voltage of 1.9, but I was really thinking of getting Crucial(BEST IMO), ballistix series, but it has a voltage rating of 2.2V with the timings 4-4-4-12, is there going to be a conflict with this, any input would be of great help, as I am completely lot on this, thanks in advance.

 

[Mondoman]

Perhaps this post will help you:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1249881#1249881

 

[Vinny1783]

Yea, i read that, and as informative as it was, it's still too technical for me, hence, why I put "noob" in my title...

 

[Vinny1783]

Believe it or not, but I actually read that as I wandered the forums using the search :lol:

 

[Vinny1783]

Bump

 

[Vinny1783]

Asking for help in forums, does not generate...help!

My question was answered, thanks to crucial, I was a fool to think anyone on these forums could answer a fairly simple question in a fairly simple way. Thanks for attempting to help me mondoman, I have read your posts and you know your stuff, however, it was still too technical.

 

[Mondoman]

Asking for help in forums, does not generate...help!

My question was answered, thanks to crucial, I was a fool to think anyone on these forums could answer a fairly simple question in a fairly simple way. ....

There's no need to be rude toward people who volunteer their time to help out. You just have to be patient. People don't hang out on the forums 24/7 to give you instant responses, they check in from time to time (often once a day). Unfortunately, most people asking questions don't bother to read the forum sticky or do searches, so people who don't mention searching often initially get directed to appropriate prior posts/websites.

In any case, the answer to your particular question (which is NOT simple) can really only be given by the motherboard manufacturer. ALL DDR2 MBs spec 1.8V RAM, but almost all also have provisions to modify that voltage. You need to find out what is the case with your specific MB. Since the DDR2 memory standard uses 1.8V, all DDR2 DIMMs you buy should "work" at that voltage. However, many manufacturers now market their RAM spec'd at faster speeds/timings that may require voltages above the standard 1.8V, so the module may not run at its advertised speed under 1.8V. Thus, you need to find out from your memory vendor what speed/timing is guaranteed at 1.8V, if your MB will not allow memory voltage to be changed. The 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 timings you refer to are "or better" numbers, so 4-4-4 or 3-3-3 would be fine, too.
More details are in the post link I mentioned; this forum's sticky has an excellent introductory tutorial video (from Corsair) on memory - the link is down at the end of the forum sticky.

 

[sailer]

Asking for help in forums, does not generate...help!

My question was answered, thanks to crucial, I was a fool to think anyone on these forums could answer a fairly simple question in a fairly simple way. Thanks for attempting to help me mondoman, I have read your posts and you know your stuff, however, it was still too technical.

Hey guy, I don't spend all day looking at the forums for questions to answer. One big thing is to look for ram with the lowest Cas timing you can afford so as to get better performance. In other words, Cas 3 is better than Cas 4, which is better than Cas 5. Would be great if a ram company would make some stuff with Cas 2, but that might be prohibitively expensive.

As far as the voltages are concerned, there have been a lot of troubles with the early motherboads and BIOS. Those are starting to be ironed out with updates for the early boards and inclusion with the new boards. Depending on the board company, there are different ways to fix this. Whatever the case, the new ram seems to be a bit power hungry, but like any performance increase, you have to feed properly it to make it work right.