2 gigabyte decisions.

[AndrewK]

Hi guys,

I'm new here, found the link somewhere on overclockers australia. I'm just getting into some heavy overclocking with my new system that i'm buying.

Its primarily going to be a gaming box. It'll be a 7800 (eventually two) with probably a 3700+ either on an abit an8 or a DFI board. I want 2 gigs of ram because its pretty much going to be mandatory for future games.

At the moment i'm tossing up 4X512 sticks of OCZ VX value ram. I've seen people getting it upwards of 270 with 2-2-2-5, so I figure 250-260 at close to those timings would be possible at 2T under a 4 stick setup. Anyone had any experience there?

My other option is the BH5 gskill 3200 set, 4 sticks of that. Similar results to the OCZ mentioned above, but a little pricier.

There is also the OCZ gold VX 4000/3500 to consider, but that is pretty expensive and i'd only think about it if someone has shown some great results with it in 4X512.

Then of course there is the option for 2X1 gig sticks, but from all the threads i've read on here it seems like 4X512 would be a better option. People are averaging around 260-270 at 3-3-3-8 or higher timings with crucial 2 gig sets, which doesn't seem to clock in better than most 4X512 setups, and comes in at $200 australian more. The patriot 2 gig kit comes in a bit cheaper, but doesn't seem to get the same results.

So yea, in summary, anyone had experience with any of the 4X512 setups mentioned? I'll continue to read back through the mountains of threads here and try to hunt up an answer.

-Andrew

[calcal]

go with the abit an8, bios 17 seem to have fixed 1t problem for some people. once abit puts out a good bios this board will scream!

[AndrewK]

Yea that was what I was leaning towards anyway, more confused with regards to the ram =)

-Andrew

[Major]

Welcome to Xtreme Andrew !!!! :toast:

Without a question go with the DFI NF4 ! best OCing mb available.

You should really consider going with 2x1gig sticks, the Crucial Ballistix are the ones to get.

[HiJon89]

Basically what Major said, if you plan on overclocking DFI nF4 is the no-brainer choice. 2x1GB Ballistix is also the RAM you want for 2GB. If you can't get that then 2x1GB OCZ Plat. is also very good. After seeing some really bad results I can't really recommend the 2x1GB Mushkin kits at the moment. 4x512MB doesn't seem to be the best way to go about getting 2GB of RAM but if you can't get 2x1GB then 4x512MB is still good. The chances of getting 4x512MB Value VX to 260 is almost 0, I would be extremely surprised if you could get 4x512MB Value VX to 240Mhz.

[Sentential]

I gotta strongly discourage you from getting 4 X 512MB sticks. On an A64 platform that is just asking for problems. Half of all the complaints we get on A64s are from that very issue.

The A64 controller just isnt capable of doing that, much less overclocking under such conditions. AMD only rates the controller of withstanding a mere PC2700 with 4 dimms installed.

I personally would look more seriously at a 2 x 1GB solution. While the timings are not what you would hope for, in the long run it will spare you a major headache

[AndrewK]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

How do the patriot sticks do in 2X1gig setup? I see a few on the overclock list up top. Crucial is hard to get in Australia it seems, and reasonably expensive in comparison.

-Andrew

[Sentential]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

How do the patriot sticks do in 2X1gig setup? I see a few on the overclock list up top. Crucial is hard to get in Australia it seems, and reasonably expensive in comparison.

-Andrew
It would depend on the chips that patriot uses. I do not know what are using. It could either be a great buy or a total nightmare in the overclocking dept. No real way of knowing at this point.

[chew*]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

How do the patriot sticks do in 2X1gig setup? I see a few on the overclock list up top. Crucial is hard to get in Australia it seems, and reasonably expensive in comparison.

-Andrew

Yah if your looking to hit 260 with the ocz id suggest the dfi and i own 3 abit boards.......the newest bios with the most fixes on the abit lowered vddr to 3.4 and before with 3.55 i barely got 268mhz( abit nf4 world record which is sad) On another note the abit hates crucials pc 4000 so I would highly warn you away from it as its very picky with ram.....

[AndrewK]

Guess DFI it is. I’ve seen people hitting 250-260 on 4 sticks at 2-2-2-5 though, so why is that discouraged? Seems pretty reasonable to me, and you could pull 2 sticks and clock the other 2 like crazy for benching if you felt the need.

-Andrew

[HiJon89]

I've never seen Value VX get anywhere near 270Mhz, if you want 260 4x512MB you're gonna need some Redline or VX4000 which is about $180/GB

[josanai]

I was doing 4*512 Mushkin Blue fine, but @ 245, which I think is pretty decent and would expect you to get similar results. This was @ 2-2-2-8-2T and 3.4V of course. I am experimenting with 4*512 of TCCD now. I will be getting 2*1024 of the Buffalo from Newegg tomorrow that supposedly have TCCD, but I'll find out for sure if this is the case. Who knows, maybe Samsung has released some higher density TCCD modules, but probably not. It was worth a shot, and if it isn't, Newegg will pay for the shipping back and not charge a restocking. I will then prolly try the Ballistix, maybe even 4*1024. Kinda sillay since I already have like 10 gigs of BH-5,CH-5 UTT, and TCCD laying around for 2 gigs in all my machines. It might be time to eBay some of it.

[Major]

If your going to dump $300-$400 into getting 2gig of memory then why not get something that is going have some sorta of life to it. 1gig sticks are the future, 512mb will be the equivently of 256mb sticks in 6months. Plus Lower voltages, 1t, and High HTT and future expansion to 4gig if needed :D Not to mention the fact that getting 4x 512mb sticks to work at any kind of high clocks takes some real tweaking and effort vs plug and play with the 1gig sticks. But thats just my opionion and everyone has there own point of view about the subject.

[AndrewK]

Ok, you've sold me on 2X1gig.

Now, anyone got anything to say about the patriot ram?

this make in particular:

http://www.nintek.com.au/x/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2711

Crucial is hard to get here.

-Andrew

[AndrewK]

I'm going to try 4X512 ocz vx value, because its cheap and i've seen people get 240-250 at 2-2-2-5 on it, which would more than satisfy me for the cost. I'm also waiting on word as to what chips the patriot ram in australia will be using, because if its CE-6 i'll probably invest in that too and keep the set that performs better.

-Andrew

[Sentential]

Ok, you've sold me on 2X1gig.

Now, anyone got anything to say about the patriot ram?

this make in particular:

http://www.nintek.com.au/x/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2711

Crucial is hard to get here.

-Andrew
The pattys do *ok* but based off what I have seen our 2GB packs overclock the highest for the money.

Most people are getting in the 250 range with about 3v and 3-3-3. Some as high as 260 with 3-3-4