does overclocking a CPU increase its potential FSB allowing faster RAM?

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kinetic

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Ok so I have an Intel Core2Duo E8500

It's FSB as advertised on NewEgg is 1333MHz

The motherboard I have supports DDR3 1600MHZ(OC), and DDR3 1333MHz standard.

My question is, once I strap a new cooler on the E8500 can I overclock it, and does overclocking it increase the FSB from 1333MHZ (stock) to Faster -- In other words, should I get DDR3 1600MHz or DDR3 1333MHZ dual channel 2x2gb memory?


Keep in mind im using the Asus p5p43td pro .. it says you can get DDR3 1600MHZ (OC) on newegg specs... It may not be the best motherboard for overclockign though, so I'm wondering whether to get 1333mhz or 1600mhz memory.
 
It's a Core2 chip, it's not going to see any real gains by going with DDR3 over DDR2, and its still going to be duel channel RAM. CPU FSB is quad pumped so 1333MHz = 333, 333 x 9.5 (multi) = 3160(MHz) clock speed of the chip. So if you had 1333MHz RAM that means it would be good for over 6GHz...Some how I doubt you are ever going to hit that. :p

Some good DDR2 1066 RAM should get you to whatever you are going for short of anything over 5GHz.
 
Yeah but i want a more modern motherboard, why not?

and DDR3 memory for future proofing my machine would be nice investment...

SO you are saying I can't overclock the E8500 to get it from 1333MHz -> 1600MHz thus taking advantage of DDR3 1600MHz's speeds and not being bottlenecked?

The best set of 4gb 1200MHZ DDR2 was atrociously expensive, like $159 + tax and ship
so i figured just upgrade my mobo to DDR3 support, and get 1333MHz which is FASTER

but then I noticed this motherboard supports up to DDR3 1600MHZ OC'd

so im wondering which memory to get - DDR3 1333MHZ or DDR3 1600MHZ
--------- MY CHOICES ---------
This:::
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146868
mushkin HP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996652 - Retail

Or This:::
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146777
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996601 - Retail


For This & This:::
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131395
ASUS P5P43TD Pro LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail



WHICH MEMORY DO I PICK(ABOVE)
 
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I don't know anything about that board but if its anything like the other DDR3 Core2 boards it might not be the best OCer, your better off with a good P45 chipset and good old DDR2, as DDR3 will not be future proofing, since the DDR3 you will be getting with be dual channel and not triple channel. What I am trying to tell you is that the CPU FSB is quad pumped wile RAM is dual pumped, so because the chip has a 1333MHz FSB you DO NOT need 1333MHz RAM, because 1333MHz is quad pumped meaning its real FSB is 1333 divided by 4 = 333Mhz FSB, RAM being dual pumped so 1333MHz divided by 2 = 666. Like with my Q9550 it's at 3.8GHz with a 1800MHz FSB with a 9.5 multi, yet I am using DDR2 800 RAM running at 901MHz, as 1800 divided by 4 = 450MHz and 450 x 2 = 900MHz, which is the speed of the RAM needed.
 
So basically, save a ton of money and just get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231271
G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) Desktop Memory Model F2-9600CL5D-4GBTD - Retail

For my current motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131335
ASUS P5Q SE/R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

And you are absolutely certain that I am not going to get more of a performance boost switching to a DDR3 motherboard?! You sure??? 1333MHZ vs 1200MHZ?
 
Memory has a clock multiplier, just like the CPU. You should be able to run it at 1600MHz even with your FSB at 1333MHz.

Also worth noting that memory frequencies can be a bit misleading, because as clocks go up, so does latency... DDR2 1200 at 5-5-5-15 might still outperform DDR3 1333 at 9-9-9-24.
 
kinetic said:
DDR2 1200 5-5-5-15 Better than DDR3 1600 at 7-7-6-18 ?
Click to expand...

Ok...It seems you are not understanding...You DO NOT need 1200MHz RAM, for your CPU FSB to match that RAM speed you would have to almost hit 6GHz, that's just not going to happen. What kind of OC speed are you looking to hit? 4GHz, 4.2GHz? You can hit that and more with 1066 RAM and save ALLOT of money.
 
so you are really insisting there wont be better performance with higher MHZ ram? with tighter timings ?
I have Kingston HyperX T1's that are 1066MHz at 5-5-5-15.

I was goin to sell them and get the 1200MHz .. I thought that would make my PC perform better
 
The impact of running the RAM asynchronous will not have the same kind of impact as higher CPU clocks, and for the most part will not be seen in day to day use unless whatever programs you are running are memory bandwidth limited. All in all, if you already have good RAM its a waste to go out and buy more.
 
BlueFireIce said:
The impact of running the RAM asynchronous will not have the same kind of impact as higher CPU clocks, and for the most part will not be seen in day to day use unless whatever programs you are running are memory bandwidth limited. All in all, if you already have good RAM its a waste to go out and buy more.
Click to expand...

QFT

Honestly, you will not notice that much of a real word performance difference between DDR2 800 RAM and DDR3 2000 RAM or 4-4-4-18 and 9-9-9-18. So yeah, just stick with your current RAM set. It's more than enough for a 3.6Ghz OC or higher.

What exactly do you want a performance increase in anyway? Gaming? Video editing? etc
 
iwhat i've got in my computer is called DDR2 1066MHZ PC2 8600 ram.. What I want to get is the G skill tridents, most powerful upgrade available, PC2 9600 low voltage 1200MHz ram, 4GB 5-5-5-15. yes i want the best in my PC cuz i cannot afford i5/i7 yet. i think i5 would require me to get a new PSU, i only have 500Watt right now


I thought that my ram is bottlenecking me, since my CPU is 1333mhz and my ram is so slow, only 1066mhz. So I wanted to see faster memory results.
My original idea was to switch to a DDR3 / 775 motherboard, such as the ASUS P5P43TD Pro or Rampage Extreme
Now I wanted to save money and just get the tridents:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231271

And sell my hyperx t1's for $80

You mean those things will not give me a performance increase? I mean they are $159+ tax, and low voltage.. Why would they be more expensive than the RAM I have now? That is obviously the best memory my platform can use. I thought more MHZ == faster?? you are saying the 1200MHZ speed of memory only matter if you are overclocking to 6ghz?? then why are these sticks costing $159 and why do they even sell if people don't put their processors on liquid nitrogen?
 
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kinetic said:
You mean those things will not give me a performance increase? I mean they are $159+ tax, and low voltage.. Why would they be more expensive than the RAM I have now? That is obviously the best memory my platform can use. I thought more MHZ == faster?? you are saying the 1200MHZ speed of memory only matter if you are overclocking to 6ghz?? then why are these sticks costing $159 and why do they even sell if people don't put their processors on liquid nitrogen?
Click to expand...

Yup the higher speed or lower latency RAM will not provide a performance increase. They're higher costs for three reasons: A) DDR2 RAM prices have gone up as demand have sored but supply is limited, B) not enough of a yield of the higher speed RAM to lower costs and C) Those sticks are aimed towards the hardcore of the hardcore computer hardware enthusiast. And no, more MHZ does not necessarily mean faster performance. Yes 1200mhz RAM would be worth it if you were overclocking very high.

Those higher speed RAM are being sold because there are many people, like you, who don't know that higher speed RAM offers no noticeable real world performance difference. Those high speed RAM are for benchmark enthusiasts who love to see their synthetic benchmark scores go up even though reality says otherwise.

So yeah, forget the high speed RAM. For that much money, you can get one of the new OCZ SSDs. Now that's an upgrade worth doing if you want a snappy system and quick load times.

Oh and which 500W PSU do you have? There are quality 500W PSUs out there that can handle a Core i5/i7 upgrade.
 
ocz modxstream pro 500w

heres my system:
intel e8500
xfx radeon hd 4850
4gb hyperx t1 ddr2 1066mhz
asus p5q se/r motherboard
boot: wd raptor 10,000 rpm 74gb sata
junk: wd caviar re 7200 250gb sata


ok so i think you're right. i can sell the raptor
for around 80 bucks, and spend that 159+tax+value of raptor on a sick ssd drive... what do you recommend for around 240 or less that is 74gb or more and really fast??
also i hope u guys can help me overclock this system when my freezer pro arrives..so far e8500 is faster than i7 right?? i mean u can spend $500 for an i7 that might be faster but e8500 is the best bang for $ at 189. also dont ssd's have limited writes? the technology isnt quite there yet i thought.. i dont want something that will be devalued real fast and not out live a hard disk
 
The length of time before a SSD writes itself to death is so huge with newer SSDs you'll not be using the computer long before the drive has any noticeable problems. The 3 you should look into, that I see on newegg.com right now, are the OCZ Vertex Turbo (64GB), Patriot Torqx (64GB) and the Intel X-25M (80GB but a little more than your budget)

I'm not quite sure what your asking with the "E8500 faster than i7" because all the i5's and i7's will OC as good as yours and are significantly faster clock for clock. But that doesn't mean that E6500 is slow and once you OC it a bit, it should serve you well :D
 
In addition to what Uberbob102000 said, the E8500 is not the best bang for the buck CPU. In fact for most new builds, the best bang for the buck CPUs tend to be Phenom II or Core i5 CPUs.

Also, most parts in a PC do depreciate pretty fast. Especially the video card.
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