New DDR2 RAM?

E

Endiment

Baron O'Beefdip
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
3,596
So I'm thinking about some sweet new RAM. At the moment I have 2 GB of 1066MHz OCZ Reaper. It's nice, but I need more. I multitask a lot and 2 GB is just not gonna cut it. But I'm not one for shopping for RAM so I really am not sure what to look for.

Should I look for faster clock speeds (1066 vs 800 MHz) or lower latency (4-4-4-12 vs 5-5-5-15)? Is brand really important or will a company like G.SKILL or Patriot get me memory that's approximately the same quality as a corresponding Corsair stick? Here are some that I have in mind:

Patriot Viper
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3525689&CatId=3412

Corsair XMS2
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3089474&CatId=3412

Super Talent (lol)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4350415&CatId=3412
 
I heard a lot of good reviews on G.Skill, why not that? if you want to get something like Corsair get the Dominator version :D without the fan :p (cheaper)
 
Tighter timing are 99.9% of the time better, unless youre jumping from ddr2 533 to 1066 or something extreme..

id choose the Corsair's, ofcourse they cost more, but in this case you DO get what you paid for! :)

*Running 8gb of Corsair Dominators myself, no issues, and oc quite decently ^^*
 
also endiment you need 2 take into consideration what your motherboard will hold & what your os will recognize. im currently running xp pro & since i have 4x1gb stix of g.skill, itll only recognize 3.5 gb, so ill wait til windows 7 comes out & possibly upgrade to that so that i can get the full experience w/ my memory. i would suggest gettin 2 more stix of whatcha got now (or of some kinda ocz memory in the same bus speed).
 
Munkypoo7 said:
Tighter timing are 99.9% of the time better, unless youre jumping from ddr2 533 to 1066 or something extreme..

id choose the Corsair's, ofcourse they cost more, but in this case you DO get what you paid for! :)

*Running 8gb of Corsair Dominators myself, no issues, and oc quite decently ^^*
Click to expand...

Tighter timings are generally only better than a higher frequency on an AMD rig. Intel rigs will benefit much more with higher frequencies.

Super Talent is a damn fine brand, they make some of the fastest RAM (DDR2 at least) on the market.

~Gooda~
 
If you want another pair of OCZ Reaper PC2 8500 (1066) 1gb sticks.

Let me know.

I have a lightly used 2 x 1gb Reaper pair here. 5-5-5-15.

I changed them out because i'm now on 4 x 2gb sticks. Overkill, but what the hey.
 
G.Skill coz im a G like dat. LOL. But really you should look into G.Skill too.
 
I'm more of a Corsair and OCZ kinda guy. How ever, G-skill is in on the action as well, check them out. Corsair and OCZ never failed me and I'm Always satisfied :)
 
I have looked into G.Skill, but I couldn't post any links in the OP because at the time I was having an internet brown-out and couldn't get to newegg (tiger doesn't stock g.skill).

I'm on an AMD build also. Yeah Phenom 9950!!

Looking not to spend much more than 50-60 dollars and also looking to get 4GB in 2 DIMMs for the time being, since I'll probably be doubling what I have at a slightly later date (i.e. if I buy 4GB of patriot viper, later I'll buy another 4GB).

Also, any opinions on Patriot or Crucial?

Also, since I'm running 1066MHz with 5-5-5-15 now, should I keep the same timings and clock speed or would going down to 800MHz and 4-4-4-12 make a difference?
 
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Patriot is a great brand as well! Their sticks are cheap, and very reliable. I've tweaked them extensively in my Fiance's rig, and they've been rock solid through all of it.

Patriot memory gets my vote.
 
Endiment said:
I only have 4 slots on my mobo, getting 4GB in 2 DIMMs for more expandability later.

so now it's between the G.Skill and the Patriot pretty much. Looked into OCZ Flex for a bit but they're too expensive. So is corsair.
Click to expand...
I C .Id go Gskill then.Ive been running them for years..plus I put it in all my builds.
and there great overclockers.
 
bigbaddabooma said:
I C .Id go Gskill then.Ive been running them for years..plus I put it in all my builds.
and there great overclockers.
Click to expand...

Not in my experience...G.Skill really bins aggressively. When you buy a stick of G.Skill, you're buying the rated speed...that's all. Well, except for the PI series. The upside is that their RAM runs with low voltages (1.9v on my 1000 kit) and they got a no questions asked warranty.

~Gooda~
 
When I first saw the title I thought you were talking about Dance Dance Revolution, lol :D
 
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