My RAM and Mobo

[Arlichte]

Hello agian guys.

I have been compy shopping, and I have seen a mixed reply from many people about my ram. I guess in a nutshell, here is what is my mobo and CPU:


http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813188013
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115017
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail

Now, some people have told me to avoid this RAM:
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069

and go with this:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

They say that there is no need for the 1066 RAM when the 800 is just as fast. But I heard that the 1066 is faster. Now I to really know this:

I do NOT plan on overclocking my RAM, period. SO what will be faster? The DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500), or the DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)?

Thanks agian everyone for your help.
-Andrew

 

[engiNURD]

I'll take another stab at this...

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail

They say that there is no need for the 1066 RAM when the 800 is just as fast. But I heard that the 1066 is faster. Now I to really know this:

I do NOT plan on overclocking my RAM, period. SO what will be faster? The DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500), or the DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)?

OK, if you're NOT overclocking anything, then at stock speeds, you'd be running at:

9 * 266 = 2.4Ghz, CPU Clock Speed
2 * 266 = DDR2-533, RAM speed
4 * 266 = 1066Mhz, Effective FSB Speed

You need to understand the math behind the Intel platform:
(CPU Multiplier) x [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed
4 x [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed

The default Base FSB for a 1066Mhz quad pumped FSB CPU is 266Mhz. The default max multiplier for the Q6600 is 9x. So, unless you want to run the CPU at 4.5Ghz on some phase change cooling, there really is no need for DDR2-1066 with a Q6600.

Q6600: 9 * 266 = 2.4Ghz, DDR2-533 << STOCK speeds
Q6600: 9 * 333 = 3.0Ghz, DDR2-667 << Nice OC
Q6600: 9 * 378 = 3.4Ghz, DDR2-756 << Good OC, near max for B3 stepping
Q6600: 9 * 400 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-800 << Great OC, near max for G0 stepping

If you want to run the CPU at 2.4Ghz, but the RAM at DDR2-1066, you won't notice any performance increase because the Intel platform just doesnt work well that way.

Question: why is this in the mobo subforum?

 

[markintosh13]

^

Werd.

My Kingston 667 Valueram, without heatsink bling, is doing 9x3778 = 3.4ghz with my e4400.

I have Crucial Ballistix PC3200 in my AMD box, but I'd have to say your ram choice is unnecessarily expensive.

 

[kirbyrj]

If you're not OCing your RAM, you should just get DDR2 800 memory. Most boards won't run 1066mhz on the memory without OCing the CPU.

 

[Ozoneman]

All you need is PC6400 ram. Get this stuff.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

It is great ram. With a 1066 cpu your memory will run at 533 if the divider is set at 1:1, but my mobo sets my divider so my PC6400 memory still runs at 800 even though it would run at 667 with my 1333 cpu.

Also, why are you going with a 680i board? Are you going to use SLI? If so and you aren't going to overclock, you may want to also look at the Gigabyte 680i board. If you aren't going to do SLI, you should be looking at a P35 board like the Gigabyte P35-DQ6 or the P35-DS3P.