Any HELP would be Great!!

[BrianBaker24]

I just need a few ideas on Gaming memory for my PC.Its my 1st built PC,and i did a pretty good job.Im not to Bright when it comes to memory though,i currently have 2x512MB Super Tallent running at 202.8Mhz(single channel)3-4-4-8......I'm wanting to know whats best for gaming,my mobo does support dual channel.If i can have stable overclocking and great gaming speeds id be happy,id also like to get my CPU up to 3.6ghz if possible..Heres my current setup,ANY INPUT ON MAKING IT A BETTER PC WOULD BE APPRECIATED..
MSI 865PE Neo-2 Platinum
P4 3.06 800FSB 1024L2 Cache HT
2x512 Super Talent DDR3200(200Mhz) single channel 3-4-4-8
MSI 6600GT CLOCKED@ 555Mhz(core) 1.07Ghz(memory)
2x80GB 7200RMP WD Hard drives(sata)
Windows XP SP2

Everything seems pretty good already and is very stable,Never had any crashes..I just think i can squeeze more speed with better memory,thats where u come in...Thanks

[cirthix]

i know i'm gonna get flamed for this... but the p4s suck compared to the competition. Go with either an athlon64/opteron or a dothan machine.

If you want the most cost effective upgrade to the box you have now... i'd say get a better vid card. a 6800nu>6800gt will do the job nicely.

[Lithan]

Move memory so it's dual channel. Download memtest86, burn it to a cd or a floppy. Download clockgen for your chipset. Download prime95 and install it in two seperate locations. Go into bios, ensure that pci is set to lock @ 33. Load windows, Open clockgen and both prime installs. Start both primes on stress test -large ffts. Surf the net or do whatever while they run and every couple minutes use clockgen to raise your fsb speed a couple mhz. As soon as Prime errors, back down five mhz and start them up again. If it errors again, back down 1mhz and repeat. Let it run for a couple hours. Reboot and remember where your FSB was set when you passed a few hours of prime without errors.

Go into bios and set ram to run at 166 (5:6 or 6:5 I forget which way they write it). Go back into windows and do the same thing with prime and clockgen, but you can rush up to where you were when you finished last time in 3mhz steps. Again, work up slowly until you get errors then back off 5mhz and prime for awhile. Again, recall where your FSB was set. If you got substantially higher than you did before, then stay with your memory @ 166. if you didn't gain much, go back to mem @ 200.



Go into bios, set your fsb to where it was when you passed prime for a few hours without errors. Save and reboot. Go into bios again and set ram to 3-3-3. Boot from memtest86 disk. hit c, then select test, pick a test, test 5, exit. Let it run a few loops, then try 2.5-3-3, memtest again, then try 2.5-3-2 (ras cas delay is 3). Memtest again. Set yourself to the lowest settings you could get while still being stable. Then run test 5 for 8 hrs then switch to test 8 and run it for 10 hrs. If you couldn't pass memtest even at 3-3-3, then change ras to cas to 4 and try again, still can't pass, then go back to 3-4-4.

Now boot into windows again and run prime Large ffts, Blend or Custom for 24 hrs. I prefer large FFT + go play a 3d shooter for a couple hours and then go to bed and leave prime running. That's the best stability test I've found. If you crash or if prime errors, back off 1mhz on FSB and try again.

This is my recommendation for the best and safest way to get a little more performance without spending a lot of money on upgrades or worrying about voltage. (but if you like feel free to try upping vdimm a couple tenths of a volt and see if it helps you pass memtest with lower memory timings.)

[cirthix]

lithan has a good procedure. however i would use the lowest divider and do the upping the fsb and prime thing. Then i'd increase the divider and run memtest. if the ram can memtest for an hour, use a higher divider or lower latencies. don't be afraid to give things a little extra voltage. 2.9v is considered safe, 1.5v (if its a prescott) is pretty safe too. be sure to keep things cool, after a certain point, more voltage will lower your overclock becasue things will get too hot.

when you're all done, run prime overnight, if it runs great, oc a little more or just leave it. if it fails, lower the fsb and loosen the timings a little bit, then start again.

[Nasgul]

A---I just need a few ideas on Gaming memory for my PC.......I'm wanting to know whats best for gaming.

B---If i can have stable overclocking and great gaming speeds id be happy,id also like to get my CPU up to 3.6ghz if possible.

Heres my current setup,ANY INPUT ON MAKING IT A BETTER PC WOULD BE APPRECIATED..

MSI 865PE Neo-2 Platinum
P4 3.06 800FSB 1024L2 Cache HT
2x512 Super Talent DDR3200(200Mhz) single channel 3-4-4-8
MSI 6600GT CLOCKED@ 555Mhz(core) 1.07Ghz(memory)
2x80GB 7200RMP WD Hard drives(sata)
Windows XP SP2

Everything seems pretty good already and is very stable,Never had any crashes..I just think i can squeeze more speed with better memory,thats where u come in...Thanks
Best memory would be memory with 2-2-2-5 timings.

This list of 2-2-2-5 Memory (http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2145&p=1) should give you an idea of which DDR you could get and going by the chart you can set the timings for the best overclocking speed you could achive.

For example, I have the OCZ EL Plat Rev.2 and a 3.2ghz..........based on page 12 (http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2145&p=12), I set my timings to 2.5-3-3-5 (from the 2-2-2-5) and 2.8v for DDR533 and I did OC my CPU upto 250fsb (250x16=4.0ghz), I couldn't go any higher due to my PSU being a bit week. So nonw you have an idea of which modules to get, set timings in the BIOS and overclock as high as you could go.

[cirthix]

2-2-2-5 ram isnt worth it, it costs way more than cheaper, 2.5-3-3-8 ram. obviously the guy's on a budget, he only has a 6600gt. the lower timings on ram help what, a maximum of 5% in thoretical tests? his money would be better spent on a video card, better yet tossing the whole system on ebay and getting a dothan or a64.

[turok_t]

First of all, if gaming is your priority, i would get a better video card.. Probably a 6800ultra or an x850xt pe...My x800xt PE is able to be Oc from 520/560-->608/615..I got a P4 3.0 Prescott and i clocked it to 3.6 using a Thermalright XP-90C.... Im also using 865pe chipset and the NB gets pretty damn hot, so make sure u cool it.... AMD64+ are the best for gaming, hands down.. P4 dont have a chance..

If you want the max performance of your system, u probably need good ram. Follow what the guys at the top said, and if your overclock is limited by your ram, get some nice OCZ or mushkin ram. I THINK (dont kill me for this) that P4 prefer high bandwidth memory while AMD64 prefer low timing memory.. So keep that in mind. Gradually increase your FSB step by step and raise voltaeg when needed, but be aware of your temps, and voltage, since they can burn your chip. Make sure u test for stability for each increment in FSB using prime 95 or OCCT...... Find the max of your CPU, then find the max of your ram, and then compromise. Hope it helps dude