Nightmare picking ram for A64

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btf

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 11, 2004
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427
So I've been reading hundreds of posts and dozens of reviews about athlon 64 and ram and I can't decide on what ram to get.

Some reviews say ocz 4000el won't even go past 3200 speeds on athlon64...
I see people saying everywhere the memory timings advertised by manufactuers only apply to Intel platform...

I want to buy cl2 ram. 2-2-2-5/6 preferably that will run on an a64. I will probably be overclocking a bit too, but nothing insaine.

What RAM would you guys recommend?

Ballistix DDR400 CL2 PC3200
Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPRO
OCZ PC3200-EL

Motherboard will be MSI Neo Platnium
 
The Crucial Ballistix did well in tests over at anandtech on the A64 platform, so it looks like a very viable choice.

In terms of actual experience I've had pretty good luck with all three types of ram I have tried. I'll list some results below. I got similar results with both the Shuttle AN50R and Chaintech VNF3-250. All completed 5+ passes of memtest86 with no errors.

2x256MB of some older Geil Ultra Platinum PC3500: 242 with 2.5-3-2-10 timings @ 2.9v or 230 with 2-3-2-10 timings at 2.9v
1x512MB Mushkin level 1 PC3500: 227 with 2-3-3-10 timings at 2.9v. Cas 2.5 was not happy for some reason.
1x512 and 1x256 of OCZ PC3500 EB: 245 with 2.5-2-2-10 timings at 2.9v, 257 with 3-2-2-10 timings at 3.0v
 
Thx for the reply.

Would Ballistix CL 2.5 PC4000 be a better buy than 3200? Do you think this ram would clock to 2-2-2 at 3200 speeds?

Price difference is only $5/512MB stick.
 
So far, for a "value" ram, Kingmax PC3500 is rocking along in my system at stock timing specs. I am going to be playing with some timings tonight but so far it passes all tests with flying colors. At only about $80 for 512mb I am very pleased with it...
 
I have heard great things about OCZ's pc3700 EB specifically on A64 setups. Check their forums.
 
Here's what you need to know

Micron memory = good for a64
Samsung memory = the suck for a64

AnandTech has explored this fact a little bit in some of their memory reviews. Thus far, the OCZ 3500EB, OCZ 3700EB, and Crucial Ballistix have performed just as good on intel platforms as on amd platforms. Most memory modules right now (especially low latency modules) are based on samsung chips so just be sure the memory has micron chips. Crucial is Micron's retail outlet so all Crucial memory uses Micron chips, but Crucial only has a few memory modules for enthusiasts.
 
You guys know if this RAM is any good?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-450&depa=0&manufactory=BROWSE

No real need to spend all the extra money on 2-2-2-5 timings. 2 timings are of such a minimal difference when compared to 3s. Nothing anyone would ever be able to notice, only maybe a 0.01% increase you would see in tests. Not to mention, A64s dont require low latency ram, so the "cheaper" stuff works the best. 2 cas ram has caused some problems with a64s.
 
Svperstar said:
Forget about Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, blah blah.

Want fast AMD64 memory, all you need is this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-220-006&depa=1

1 GIG(2x512) 2-3-2-5-1T. Only $165. I have it in my current setup AMD64 2.2 @ 2.61 and it is rock solid @ 2.5 volts. Comparable memory from Corsair will run you $280
Click to expand...
i also have that ram, and have gotten my 3000+ @ 2.5ghz. Its good stuff, it uses the same memory chips that OCZ uses.
 
WILL THIS PDP SYSTEMS Memory RUN ON THE ASUS "K8V SE Deluxe" K8T800 Chipset THANKS
 
EB is the best choice. Ballistix cant really hold its timings at high fsb, they are cool because they can run really tight timings in the 220 area while still being able to hit possibly 250 with 3's, looser timings etc. Kind of like a jack of all trades, but so is EB. Thing is EB can often outperform Ballistix because often only the near useless CAS is run at 3, while timings like ras to cas (the superior god of memory timings) may maintain that 2. That one timing, can effect a bench as much as say 20fsb at same cpu clocks. 1T command rate is that desirable as well.
 
ignitionxvi said:
i also have that ram, and have gotten my 3000+ @ 2.5ghz. Its good stuff, it uses the same memory chips that OCZ uses.
Click to expand...

What is your memory running at 250mhz? or did you crank your HT clock multipier down?

I have a 3500+ on a 939 board, I want to figure out what to set my HT mulipler to and bus speed, to keep my ram at 200mhz, but the cpu at 2.5ghz.
 
deadsoulz said:
What is your memory running at 250mhz? or did you crank your HT clock multipier down?

I have a 3500+ on a 939 board, I want to figure out what to set my HT mulipler to and bus speed, to keep my ram at 200mhz, but the cpu at 2.5ghz.
Click to expand...
The memory is running at 208mhz. The HT clock multiplier is still at 4x. When i'm running stock speeds i can put hte HT clock multiplier up to 5x200 and it runs fine.
 
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