Core 2 Duo (Conroe) Ram Guide

[Silver Bullet]

Hey all,

I've seen like 5 threads on the same thing so I thought I’d just try to point all the questions and advice to one thread.

Recommend Brands:
Corsair
G.Skill
OCZ
Patriot

Capacity:
Getting anything more or less than 2GB right now is a waste. 2GB is pretty much standard for mid-highrange system, and when vista ships early next year, 4GB could be on the way also. For now 2GB is the best price to performance ratio.

Timings vs. Speed
Simple answer, getting ram with faster timings isn't going to get you any tangible speed increases.


Source:T-Break Mem Timings Test

What to buy:

No OCing - PC6400, pick a brand from above
Mid OCing - PC8000, pick a brand from above
Max Ocing - PC8500 if you can swing it, but PC8000 be ok also.

I hope this clears up things just a little, I purposely didn't list any specific kits because I don't have the results with me, but I’m sure people can post the results they have been getting and you can decided for yourself which ones fits your budget and hopes best

If you have any comments or additions please post so I can add them.

[Vric]

I'm not so sure about your recommendation of speed vs overclocking. As long as you run 1:1, the conroe should be happy.

So if you get PC6400, it will be happy up to 400 fsb (which is great overclock) Also, most of the real good PC6400 can go "near" the PC8000 speed. (my OCZ Platinum 6400 can run at 940Mhz)

We also have to see if extra memory bandwidth over the 667Mhz really offer anything. Just like Timing, it's good for benchmark, but for real world, I don't think DDR1000 will be that much faster than DDR667 (considering the price is double)

[Silver Bullet]

True, running 1:1 is a option, but i figure if you're going to OC the CPU the ram should be oc'd too... otherwise you're kinda holding yourself back. I agree also waiting for realworld benchmarks as thats when we will really know.

[BlackX]

True, running 1:1 is a option, but i figure if you're going to OC the CPU the ram should be oc'd too... otherwise you're kinda holding yourself back. I agree also waiting for realworld benchmarks as thats when we will really know.

Depends on CPU.

Home use = PC6400
Benching = PC8000

ex: going 1:1 with E6700 (10x266) + PC6400 (DDR800), 10x400MHz=4GHz
and with X6800 dont even need 400MHz cause it has unlocked multi.

Dont you think that E6700 @4GHz on air or water is more than enough?
You dont need PC8000 (DDR1000) for E6600 or E6700 because you wont use LN2 cooling everyday.

[taemun]

True, running 1:1 is a option, but i figure if you're going to OC the CPU the ram should be oc'd too... otherwise you're kinda holding yourself back. I agree also waiting for realworld benchmarks as thats when we will really know.

Unless you have a x6800 CPU (unlocked multi), when you overclock the CPU (FSB increments) then the ram is going to be overclocked at the same rate. Unless you meant running the ram in a 4:5 divider or something.

[Brahmzy]

Did I just buy crap RAM then????

I just got 2x1GB of OCZ XTC EL Platinum DDR2-800 PC6400 4-5-4-12.

All I want to do is try n get my E6600 to 9x400FSB. Will I not be able to do this with this RAM? I have an Ultra-120 and will get an ASUS P5B Deluxe or similar.

Help! I thought this RAM would get me there!

[Silver Bullet]

If you can yourself to 400FSB. You should be fine.

1:1 @ 400 FSB = 1/400 = 400*1 = 400*2 = Dram frequency of 800
Source: here

[Brahmzy]

Will an ASUS P5B(965) do 1:1 with DDR2-800?

[Steensen]

The 4 sticks of XMS2 PC2-8500 I have in my signature, I have had up and running 1140 (5-5-5-15 timings) and/or 1032 (4-4-4-11 timings) at 2.3V dimm, with Four sticks mounted.