RAM selection help needed please

[Beowulf]

Any help appreciated as I do not understand RAM that well -- I know I need
DDR 400Mhz PC3200 RAM for a 64bit system I am building with this
motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630739&Tab=10&NoMapp=0
but there seem to be all sorts of DDR 400Mhz memory types -- Overclocking,
Dual Channel, etc. I want a minimum of 1GB, and the mother board has 3
slots for a total of 3GB max. I want fast memory as I am building this
systme for speed. My main purpose of a fast system with lots of fast RAM
is for image editing of large images. I want to be able to do digital
editing and layering of 16"x20" 300dpi images. So what type of DDR 400Mhz
RAM do I want, what brand, overclocking, low latency, dual channel? All a
bit confusing to me.

 

[Dave C.]

Any help appreciated as I do not understand RAM that well -- I know I need
DDR 400Mhz PC3200 RAM for a 64bit system I am building with this
motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630739&Tab=10&NoMapp=0
but there seem to be all sorts of DDR 400Mhz memory types -- Overclocking,
Dual Channel, etc. I want a minimum of 1GB, and the mother board has 3
slots for a total of 3GB max. I want fast memory as I am building this
systme for speed. My main purpose of a fast system with lots of fast RAM
is for image editing of large images. I want to be able to do digital
editing and layering of 16"x20" 300dpi images. So what type of DDR 400Mhz
RAM do I want, what brand, overclocking, low latency, dual channel? All a
bit confusing to me.

I'm offline, so I can't see what type of motherboard you are using. Keep it
simple. Go to www.crucial.com and select your motherboard from the list.
Done! -Dave

 

[Wes Newell]

Any help appreciated as I do not understand RAM that well -- I know I need
DDR 400Mhz PC3200 RAM for a 64bit system I am building with this
motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630739&Tab=10&NoMapp=0
but there seem to be all sorts of DDR 400Mhz memory types -- Overclocking,
Dual Channel, etc. I want a minimum of 1GB, and the mother board has 3
slots for a total of 3GB max. I want fast memory as I am building this
systme for speed. My main purpose of a fast system with lots of fast RAM
is for image editing of large images. I want to be able to do digital
editing and layering of 16"x20" 300dpi images. So what type of DDR 400Mhz
RAM do I want, what brand, overclocking, low latency, dual channel? All a
bit confusing to me.

Sounds like you might overclock it, then I'd suggest 512M stick(s) of
pc3700 or faster. That cpu doesn't do dual channel, so forget that.
Looking at ram prices at Tiger, I sure as hell wouldn't buy from them
either. This looks like a good buy. Check out the reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-211-123&depa=1

 

[Beowulf]

Sounds like you might overclock it, then I'd suggest 512M stick(s) of
pc3700 or faster. ...

So if a system says it uses PC3200 400Mhz DDR, is it ok to use something
like PC3500 or PC3700 that is 433Mhz DDR, because faster RAM can always be
used-- it adjusts down in speed or frequency as needed when in a
motherboard?

 

[Yassir Dotsmah Beh-Beh]

Any help appreciated as I do not understand RAM that well -- I know I need
DDR 400Mhz PC3200 RAM for a 64bit system I am building with this
motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630739&Tab=10&NoMapp=0
but there seem to be all sorts of DDR 400Mhz memory types -- Overclocking,
Dual Channel, etc. I want a minimum of 1GB, and the mother board has 3
slots for a total of 3GB max. I want fast memory as I am building this
systme for speed. My main purpose of a fast system with lots of fast RAM
is for image editing of large images. I want to be able to do digital
editing and layering of 16"x20" 300dpi images. So what type of DDR 400Mhz
RAM do I want, what brand, overclocking, low latency, dual channel? All a
bit confusing to me.

Hi Beo,

Just a couple thoughts:
1. Your Asus - K8V Deluxe motherboard uses a Socket 754 Athlon64
chip. Socket 754 uses single channel memory, and according to
Anandtech: "please keep in mind that Socket 754 is single-channel and
will still operate at top speed with just one DIMM." If you plan on
filling all 3 of your memory slots, you may have to slow your memory
timings to accomodate. You can read more about it in this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=2063
Any chance you can hold out for a Socket 939 Athlon64 board that will
accommodate dual channel memory?
2. The Asus - K8V Deluxe uses the Via K8T800 chipset with its
hypertransport speed limited to 800mhz(IIRC). If you get a K8T800 Pro
motherboard, hypertransport runs at the full 1000mhz. This may enable
you to get the most out of whatever memory you choose.

I offer these thoughts not as an expert, but as someone researching
components similar to yours. If I'm confused about this, I hope the
real experts out there will pipe in and set me straight.

Yassir

 

[Beowulf]

.

Just a couple thoughts:
1. Your Asus - K8V Deluxe motherboard uses a Socket 754 Athlon64
chip. Socket 754 uses single channel memory, and according to
Anandtech: "please keep in mind that Socket 754 is single-channel and
will still operate at top speed with just one DIMM." If you plan on
filling all 3 of your memory slots, you may have to slow your memory
timings to accomodate. You can read more about it in this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=2063
Any chance you can hold out for a Socket 939 Athlon64 board that will
accommodate dual channel memory?
2. The Asus - K8V Deluxe uses the Via K8T800 chipset with its
hypertransport speed limited to 800mhz(IIRC). If you get a K8T800 Pro
motherboard, hypertransport runs at the full 1000mhz. This may enable
you to get the most out of whatever memory you choose.

....

Very interesting, thank you! What you say makes sense, as I have been
learning about memory these past couple of days. I just learned today more
about dual channel memory, and I think it would be smart to go that
route-- I might just wait. Definately continue to learn more. Dual
channel would give me faster rendering of images I would think when doing
photoshop filters, etc.

 

[kony]

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:33:42 +0000, Wes Newell wrote:
..

So if a system says it uses PC3200 400Mhz DDR, is it ok to use something
like PC3500 or PC3700 that is 433Mhz DDR, because faster RAM can always be
used-- it adjusts down in speed or frequency as needed when in a
motherboard?

Faster memory can be used, BUT, often for the same price you can get lower
CAS rating in the speed you actually need.

On the other hand, this isn't really the path to take, rather it would be
prudent to visit Asus' website and see what they qualified for use with
the board, and visit a large motherboard forum like that at
http://forums.amdmb.com , Asus motherboard section, where you'll likely
find fellow users of that board, able to provide their experiences with
it.

Alternatively, http://www.crucial.com is a popular memory source and with
guaranteed compatbility you can't go wrong.