RAM for my AMD 4400 system

Soldato
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Hi guys! I was hoping you could help.

I've got an AMD64 4400 system with 1gb RAM that was supplied with my PC.

I wanted to upgrade to 2GB of Low Latancy RAM. I was looking at:

Mushkin 2GB DDR HP3200 High Performance @ £140.94
G.Skill 2GB DDR ZX PC3200 @ £152.69
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series @ £164.44


I'm not going to overclock because my PC is under warranty, and I don't want to brech it...

I have a couple of questions though...

1) If I get 2x 1gb of RAM, the best latancy timings (that I saw on OcUK memory section) will be 2-3-2-5... if I get 4x 512Mb that are specced to 2-2-2-5, will I have to run my RAM at 2-3-2-5 still, or can I run it at 2-2-2-5?

2) Which way would be better, and why?

3) The "T" setting on my memory it set to 2T, if I get the LL RAM will this change to "1T", or are A64's always gonna have to run at "2T"?<-- I hope this makes sense

4) Which RAM would you choose and why? I'm not really too bothered about price, but I obviously want the best for my money....

5) Would some higher DDR rated RAM run at 3200 speeds at 2-3-2-5, so I could run them at that speed now, then when the warranty is up, overclock without having to get new RAM?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!!! :)
 
Soldato
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4x512MB (= 2GB) is not recommend on A64 system because it affects perfomance, by how much I don't know.

Most people will recommend the G.Skill. But the timings you might have to set them yourself, if not done/detected automatically by your motherboard.

The first thing i'd quickly change (even with your current RAM) is 2T to 1T. On my motherboard (A8V Deluxe), its an Enable/Disable option, with Disable = 1T. That said i'm running my OcUK Value 1GB kit (2x512MB) @ 2.5-3-3-8 1T. Made a 500MB/s plus difference from stock in memory benchmarks :D

Recommend going through this, thoroughly/again :)

EDIT: And also go through this too.
 
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Associate
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mushkin is ace ram, found a few really great reviews of the mushkin hp3200 2gb.

i'll post and let you know what they are like when mine arrive tomorrow. :D
 
Associate
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the gskill is very decent for the cash. 2-3-2-5 at stock which is nice and tight. remember to clear the cmos before you put in the new ram incase it tries to read old latencies from your current ram which may cause the pc not to boot.
 
Man of Honour
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OCZ, Corsair and Muskin are all very good RAM you just need to go for the Low Latancy stuff.

You say that you are not going to overclock because you don't want to breach the warrantee of your PC, but opening the case, changing the RAM and BIOS setiings will do this anyway? :confused:

Personally, i've just recently bought 2048Mb of OCZ PC4000 Dual Channel Platinum Series. It's the EB stuff and has slightly better timings. Means i can increase the extrnal clock speed and the RAM can run at 500MHZ in sync.
 
Soldato
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Admiral Huddy said:
You say that you are not going to overclock because you don't want to breach the warrantee of your PC, but opening the case, changing the RAM and BIOS setiings will do this anyway? :confused:

I spoke to them on the phone before I wrote the thread and asked about that... they said it'd be OK to put my own RAM in, as I'm "fairly technicaly competant." However the RAM wouldn't be covered by their warranty...

That's fine I guess because if my RAM does die, I'll have the 1gig to put in while I send it away to get repaired in warranty.

:)

I picked up some Mushkin 2GB DDR HP3200 High Performance Dual Channel Kit for now... The timings seemed the same as the OCZ, and they're blue... I'll definatly see a difference in loading times in BF2, so I'm happy.

Still wondering if you can run any 2gb PC4000 ram kits at 2-3-2-5 @ 200mhz though?
 
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Soldato
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Scoobie Dave said:
G Skill ZX ram is very good. Cant say I have had any problems with it, plus it overclocks good. Highly recommeded! ;)

same here - great stuff - rock solid and runs very tight timings straight off the bat!!
 
Associate
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received my mushkin hp3200 2gb kit a couple of days ago.........awsome kit!!

mobo in my shuttle recognised the timings immeadiatly
and set the spd 2-3-2-5 @1t.

£140 too! bargain.

these timings are good up to 210mhz on these kits(for me anyways)

oh and awsome looking too, the pioctures dont do them justice..dark metallic blue covers that just ooze class!
 
Soldato
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noxidjkram@hotm said:
Another vote for G.Skill ZX.

Solid in my system @ stock timings.

M

Well, I played BF2 last night, and noticed a massive big increase in loading speed with the 2gb Mushkin kit. I am now running at 2-3-2-6 1T ! :) I've got my 2nd XFX 7900GT on order now also... this should be with me before the end of the week (hopefully!)
 
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jpmonkey69 said:
Well, I played BF2 last night, and noticed a massive big increase in loading speed with the 2gb Mushkin kit. I am now running at 2-3-2-6 1T ! :) I've got my 2nd XFX 7900GT on order now also... this should be with me before the end of the week (hopefully!)

assuming you have an sli mobo the 6 as opposed to 5 in the mem latency will make no difference, as nf4 mobo chipsets prefer 7 or 8 i think.
 
Soldato
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AceCard said:
assuming you have an sli mobo the 6 as opposed to 5 in the mem latency will make no difference, as nf4 mobo chipsets prefer 7 or 8 i think.


*shrug*

The memory has made a big difference, an extra gig, plus lower latancy (old ram was cas 3 with a CPC of 2T

... I'm not too sure what you're saying tbh...

I have an SLi mobo... otherwise the 2nd 7900GT would be a little redundant! :p
 
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