3700EB Plat vs. PC3500 BH-5

[Mariachi]

I think i'll try the Ballistix only after i'll read some reviews.

[LilGator]

Originally posted by texuspete2k2
pfft... only thing EB really has on BH5 is the less volts. As old and played out as it is... it still owns. DOnt get me wrong, I recommend EB and was going to try some down the road.... still want to though you guys are saying I might not have the oppurtunity. My only point is I don't get you guys sometimes. We're talking about the two best rams as far as I'm concerned. But 3700EB costs close to $400 bucks as opposed to the legend sitting right in his hands. (edit: sorry, thinking of 1GB). That to me is enough to sway the choice on an otherwise tough decision.

Want to try something new then say so. I can relate with that. But all the well BH5 isn't available arguments fly out the window in this case and it does seem like the BH5 has to have it's bags packed for departure in order for the EB come in. Not advisable... grass is always greener on the other side scenario to me.

edit: Holy crap and I didnt notice we are talking of a P4 setup. You have no real volt concerns post mods and EB got it's rep from A64 rigs. Stop the insanity man! Keep the BH5. These folks will have you buying new gear monthly!

Originally posted by Frost_Bite
Alright, I've started recieving parts for my S939 FX-53 build

Personally I'd stick with BH-5 if you're voltmodding There's a reason the top 5 or more on the ORB are still using BH-5/CH-5

[Zeus]

No one here with a socket 754 NF3 and this OCZ 3700EB to show me a bandwidthscreenie at 10x200??

I'd really like to see what's better, BH-5 or EB.

[Kalway]

KT880 w/BH5 at 200x10...

[Lithan]

As I understand it...
EB clocks a little better at 5-2-2-3/2.5 at low volts and a good bit better at 5-3-2-2.5.
Bh5 performs a little better than the previous and a good bit better than the latter, though doesn't clock as high at low voltages with 5-2-2-2.

EB's use seems pretty cut and dry for me. When you won't or can't put 3.1+v through the ram, will be running 240+ FSB and want to run 1:1 or 5:4 with decent timings. EB will perform better at 1:1 than BH5 would at 5:4.

If you can give the ram 3.1v+ then there is no question. Go with Bh5. EB from what I hear doesn't like voltage over ~2.9v, and Bh5 loves it. At this point it's choice between EB 1:1 and BH5 1:1 and BH5 will win every time.

If EB3700 was still available and was REASONABLY priced (100-140$ a stick of 512) I'd recommend it. But I've seen the stuff going for around $400 a gig, which is gouging plain and simple. There is absolutely no reason to pay $400 for a gig of EB when you can get BH5 for under $300 usually. You're crazy if you spend $400 for EB when you HAVE Bh5.

[Geforce4ti4200]

not everyone wants to mod, I dont. Well theres always corsair XL or a lucky stick of corsair value for high fsb like mine did

[Drisler]

Originally posted by Geforce4ti4200
not everyone wants to mod, I dont. Well theres always corsair XL or a lucky stick of corsair value for high fsb like mine did

Still waitin on those screens

[Lithan]

Originally posted by Geforce4ti4200
not everyone wants to mod, I dont. Well theres always corsair XL or a lucky stick of corsair value for high fsb like mine did

For the cost of the EB over BH5, you could buy another board, ship it to Hellfire for modding, swap it for your board with 10 minutes of downtime and have a backup board on hand for Instant RMA (If voiding your warranty was your concern).

[sierra248]

Well u guys sure are changing my mind. I have been waiting for eb3700 to get below 330 again at newegg. But with all this talk from you guys, it may be better for me to go with BH-5 if I plan to use the OCZ booster as I had planned.

According to Anandtech, at DDR500 the ocz pc3700EB is the fastest memory they have ever tested, even compared to BH-5.

These charts show the EB to be the fastest:
http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2057&p=9


And it also says the EB works well at higher voltages also

"Conclusion
OCZ is breaking new ground with their latest Enhanced Bandwidth series, and 3700EB extends the EB performance envelope. While rated at DDR466, we were able to reach a stable DDR524 on our Intel test bed and an even more remarkable DDR550 on our AMD nForce3-250 test platform. We purposely did not push 3700EB beyond the voltage limits of the test motherboards, which were 2.85V to 2.9V because this is what you can buy in the marketplace. But, we did some experimentation with 3700EB and found that it responds very well to even higher voltage. With motherboards that have been modified to supply 3.0V to 3.2V, DDR500 timings of 2.5-2-2 are very possible. If you decide to try this, please watch out for overheating. 3700EB can handle higher voltages but it gets very hot with increased voltage and you need to supply additional cooling for the memory.

Performance curves for 3700EB on the Intel testbed were similar to those we saw with 3500EB, it is just that 3700EB reaches a higher speed at the top. It is worth noting that 3700EB performed very well at stock voltage all the way to DDR466, which is an improvement compared to 3500EB. As we found with 3500EB, the memory is not as fast as some current CAS 2 memory at DDR400, but its performance is very close to the best, even though EB is rated at CAS 2.5. However, in the DDR433 to DDR466 range, 3700EB performed neck-and-neck with the best memory that we have tested, even though the CAS latency was slower. By DDR500, OCZ 3700EB reached the highest bandwidth that we have yet seen at DDR500, the same as 3500EB, even though it ran at CAS 3 and the other fast memories were at CAS 2.5. At the highest Intel speed of DDR524, EB is performing about the same as memory tested at DDR560. This is a solid confirmation of the Enhanced Bandwidth that OCZ claims to deliver with EB. It certainly looks like the more you overclock EB, the greater the impact of the EB optimizations.

Now that high speed memory is no longer a waste on AMD Athlon 64 platforms, we were amazed at how well OCZ 3700EB performs on a Chaintech VNF-250 motherboard with the nVidia nForce3-250 chipset. 3700EB reached an even higher DDR550 on the Athlon 64, and delivered some of the best memory performance that we have ever seen in our gaming and calculation benchmarks. Future memory benchmarks will include both Athlon 64 and Intel motherboards, now that either platform can be used to test memory performance effectively. The AMD platform now offers some additional advantages with both AGP/PCI lock and adjustable ratios, and we are looking forward to seeing how other new DDR memory performs on the new AMD chipsets.

3700EB is an outstanding performer over a very wide range on both the Intel and AMD platforms. It certainly belongs on your short list if you are looking for Intel DDR memory. Frankly, for Athlon 64, we would be hard-pressed to choose any other memory over 3700EB or 3500EB for the nForce3-250/K8T800 PRO or other boards that support working PCI/AGP locks on Athlon 64. 3700EB is simply astounding on Athlon 64."
From Anandtech

[Lithan]

"These charts show the EB to be the fastest:
http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2057&p=9
"


I don't see any BH5 there. Just a bunch of loose timing crap compaired to the EB.

[Kalway]

Allegedly, NF2 does not like CAS3, so BH5 is best for NF2.

However, if you have BH5, and the voltage booster, why would you need EB?

If this voltage booster solves my BH5 problems, then I'm sticking with my BH5.

[sierra248]

well now what im wondering which would be faster on my p4c800-e with my P4 sl6z5 2.8C @3.5GHZ.

OCZ PC3700EB @ DDR500 with my boards highest voltage @ 1:1?

or

OCZ PC3700EB @ DDR500 with the OCZ booster at 3.1 or 3.2 voltage @ 1:1?

or

Some Bh-5 @ DDR500 with the OCZ booster at whatever voltage they would need, 3.4 3.5 or so @ 1:1?

For awhile I been planning the 3700EB with the OCZ booster, but if I will be much quicker with BH-5 @ DDR500 with the tighter timings of the BH-5, now I am not so sure, especially cause the PC3700EB is over 360.00 right now, was 330 last week.

Tom

[sierra248]

Obviosly the ocz booster would be faster with the stock volts and ocz RAM.

With the basically unlimited voltage you would get with the booster would I be able to run 270mhz @ 1:1 with good timings?

[texuspete00]

While anand is a great site, look at the results they got with Kingmax 500! Bunch of 2's and $h1t that no one else gets. Really, go look it up. The ram gods continually bless the site and I know they've reviewed so much ram thats the next BH5 its ridiculous.

Yes... i still gotta say again the biggest Pro is that he already has BH5. Ive seen others with EB pissed they cant do ras to cas of 2 at high fsb... buying it is still a gamble. No way no how is it as consistent. You lose that 2 and there is simply no hope it can hang. With BH5, you know you can run all 2's and as long as you keep applying voltage, 255+ is damn near guaranteed as well.. pretty much no question. Almost every BH5 problem is the board's capailities or they dont play well together... mine couldnt do 200fsb so I sold them... bang 250fsb on an intel setup.

[Geforce4ti4200]

I only hit 220fsb with my bh5 so its a gamble depending how good the ram is and also depending what mobo its on. Alot of people argue with me when I tell them ras-cas of 2 isnt guaranteed, not close. most of the 3700eb wont do "2" at over 230fsb. 250 with a "2" is considered quite lucky. Zakelwe got 233fsb at "2" or 250 at "3" but that still owned the previous ram he had anyway. Bh5 is good, but volts makes me and many others nervous, especially on an a64 platform. the eb can do well on low volts but dont expect bh5 timings nor fsb. Basically its something like 250fsb at "3" on 2.8v or 240 to 260fsb at 3.2 to 3.5+ volts with bh5 with "2" your call. If you dont wanna mod, take the eb, no questions about it. If you wanna mod, take bh5, no questions about that

[sierra248]

What do you think i should be able to reach for FSB with the pc3700EB at whatver the highest voltage is on my p4c800-e(2.85 I think)

What with the OCZ booster?

Thanks for the great discussions guys?

[Cow2kie]

well i cant show you my results with that socket platform. but heres a lil something for ya

[blinky]

Originally posted by Geforce4ti4200
not everyone wants to mod, I dont. Well theres always corsair XL or a lucky stick of corsair value for high fsb like mine did

wasnt it proved that you were only running ur ram at 220mhz

[Cow2kie]

Originally posted by blinky
wasnt it proved that you were only running ur ram at 220mhz

[sierra248]

Cow2kie, not to insult you but he seems toi get much better with this memory?


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...548#post500548

[Zeus]

Originally posted by sierra248
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...124#post502124

Cow2kie, not to insult you but he seems toi get much better with this memory?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...124#post502124

Must be the wrong link- twice?

[althes]

bh5 all the way

[sierra248]

I know this has been gone thru a milllion times but of the BH-5 u see for sale around, which do u think is best?

Also anywhere else other then ebay to find new bh-5?

[Cow2kie]

Originally posted by sierra248
Cow2kie, not to insult you but he seems toi get much better with this memory?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...124#post502124

huh?? I dont follow? You say he gets much better with the memory? Who is he? That link you posted was to my post.. with my sandra score?

[sierra248]

Sry i was reading something wrong