Which memory for Opteron?

[clive r]

I decided it was about time I did an upgrade (end of the tax year) so I bit the bullet and got myself an Opteron 146 today.

I'll run it at stock speed for work, but I also have a games partition and plan a moderate overclock for this.

I've got an Abit AN Ultra board on order, which looks like the business.

So what sort of memory do I want? I'm plannning on 2 x 512mb to start with.

I was looking at the Crucial Ballistix, mainly because they'll guarantee compatability when I decide to put some more in.

Is there any advantage in the 4000 over the 3200? Or should I look elsewhere? No big budget stuff please.

 

[Hyper]

Well i may have just been lucky but if you can get your hands on some Corsair Value Select with UCCC memory modules, you should see results like these:

Take a look...

Or you could just go for some Mushkins or Ballistix that you know will run at pc4000.

Your choice...

Sam

 

[FarFarAway]

Crucial have discontinued Ballistix PC4000

Try some GSkill HZ 2 x 1gb PC4000, or some Mushkin Extreme Performance PC4000 or SCAN have a great deal on some Corsair PC4000 2 x 1gb modules

 

[WC Annihilus]

Uh Kemp, he said he's starting out with 2x512MB first, so he can get Ballistix for that. Another solid choice would be OCZ's Platinum Rev. 2 sticks, or OCZ's Gold VX which can reach 250mhz (DDR500) at tight timings of 2-2-2-5. Or G.Skill's PC4800 kit, which XMS has and he loves. PC4000 sticks tend to use different chips than PC3200 sticks and also they guarantee 250mhz (DDR500) and usually can be OCed further but run at worse timings. With PC3200, you get some nice tight timings, but definately aren't guaranteed to run much higher, though you can get lucky and get a nice OCing pair. If you decide to go with 2x1GB value, Crucial or Corsair are definate favorites in that bracket. Corsair's value RAM use all different types of chips, but as hyper said, you can get lucky and get yourself a pair with UCCC chips and get a fairly solid OC. The Crucial value RAM uses lower binned Micron chips and get you a moderate OC, around 230-250 mhz (DDR460-500). If you decide to go for performance 2GB kits, the G.Skill and Mushkins that Kemp mentioned are definate favorites, netting you a consistent 270mhz (DDR540), frequently 280 mhz (DDR560), and sometimes 290mhz (DDR580). OCZ's Gold series PC4000 is close behind. What results I have seen for the Corsair modules have been quite good, with reviewers getting around 280-300 mhz (DDR560-600). However, those were most likely hand-picked and there were the occasional weak ones with only 255-265 mhz (DDR510-530). Unfortunately, Corsair has been notorious in the past for putting out horrible clockers (besides value with UCCC) that few people have taken the plunge for these kits. The few true user retail kits results I have seen, though, have been 280mhz, 286mhz, and 299 mhz (DDR560, 572, and 598) at 3-4-4-8 and one result with 296mhz (DDR592) at 3-4-3-8 timings. Very solid. As usual, though, all of this is just luck of the draw.

 

[FarFarAway]

I don't really see the point of 2 x 512mb sticks nowadays with 2gbs soooo cheap

 

[clive r]

Phew, thanks.

As I said I'm not into big budget stuff, and I'm not aiming for the ultimate overclock (heat and noise).

So would I be better off with PC4000 value RAM or some performance 3200?

 

[WC Annihilus]

Umm, as far I know, there isn't any budget PC4000, only performance stuff. What we're saying is that, if you get lucky, some value PC3200 stuff can hit PC4000 speeds. For the most part, you're better off with a performance PC4000 and OC as far as it goes.

 

[clive r]

Umm, as far I know, there isn't any budget PC4000, only performance stuff.

Ah yes I see that. Complicated stuff this Ram isn't it?

I also see that the PC4000 RAM generally has slower timings than the 3200. Does this mean it will achieve faster timings at the 3200 speed, or would the PC3200 with the faster timings be better when I'm not overclocking it (prob = 90% of the time)?

Still getting my head round this!

 

[FarFarAway]

Generally the PC4000 can do lower timings at PC3200 speed

 

[WC Annihilus]

Unless of course you get sticks that have Samsung UCCC chips (as most PC4000 kits have nowadays) which can only really manage 3-3-3-8 or, rarely, 2.5-3-3-8. Still, I'm pretty sure that as long as you have PC4000 at 3-3-3-8 or higher at 3-4-4-8, it should still beat PC3200 at 2-3-2-8. Not too sure though, someone of more experience should be able to tell you.

 

[FarFarAway]

Depends on which test you use. A 3dMark benchie or a Sisoft Sandra benchie will certainly benefit from the extra bandwidth of the 250 HTT