Ram question ?

[XLR8]

If anyone can help me it would be great. I am currently running OCZ gold gaming ram 800 mhz with timming at 5-5-5-15 1.8v , 4 -1 gig sticks. Ian thinking of buying Crucial Balistix 800 mhz ram with 4-4-4-12 , 2.0v , 2-2gig sticks

 

Both are 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

 

Both have Heatspreaders

[EtherealN]

First of all, I do have some very nice overclocking experience with Crucial BallistiX 800Mhz sticks.

 

That aside, there are a few points you need to consider: the chips in the BallistiX sticks aren't really 4-4-4-12. They are 5-5-5-18. The difference is they've been "binned" (google for "binning" in chipmaking, principle is roughly the same in RAM as for CPUs) to manage the same clock at the 4-4-4-12 ratio. In my experience, there are no real disadvantages to this, except that they have very poor heatspreaders. If you want to use them, ensure that you have good airflow through your box. (As you can see in my signature, with a slightly extremely airflow-oriented chassis I've gotten good results from them.)

 

Do note however that before swapping your RAM, you really should get some tests run to see if your RAM really is a bottleneck on your system. Best way to do this is to run a benchmark program (3Dmark Vantage, FPS-tracking through FRAPS or whatever suits you), and then redo the same thing but after having underclocked your RAM a tiny bit. No change? Do it again. If underclocking your RAM doesn't give you a decrease in performance, don't bother. You should instead find what's bottlenecking your system and replace that, not the RAM.

 

Also note that some people have reported flaky reliability with the Crucial sticks, whereas my own experience with them is overall pretty good. (I had a few STOP 25's at high ambient temperatures.) But before performing the upgrade - make really sure that you have cause to think that they are a bottleneck in your system for the applications that you use.

 

An overview of the other hardware in your system would help in judging this, but final word can only come from tests.

[XLR8]

Thanks for the reply. I will do the test and see what happens. Thanks

[vortex360]

I have 2 gigs of the OCZ Gold RAM as mentioned above and got 2 more of some cheaper RAM at similar specs and have no complaints.

[XLR8]

Update----I did the test and found out a lot of info. My scores compaired to same type of pc was a little better than the one I conaired it to.

 

Before you start laughing I have a dell xps 710.My specs.

C2D e6600 2.4

Gforce 768 8800gtx

150 gig 10000 rpm raptor HD

4 gigs OCZ Gold Gaming ram

sound blaster exstrean sound card

750w power supply

XP

 

Is there a way to overclock this pc ? The bios are locked.Hacking ect....

 

I can play any game without lag..

[EtherealN]

Hm. That BIOS might be an issue. By locked, do you mean password-locked (the classic "forgot-the-password" thing I tend to subject myself to) or just that it's not equipped for overclock?

 

In the latter, it might be possible to hack the BIOS but I wouldn't recommend it. If the former it can be reset.

[XLR8]

I can get into the BIOS but it says there unchangeable. I thought just maybe someone would have heard of it being done.I have overclocked other pc's.

 

 

I am wanting to build my own rig,but not for sure how to.

[Ramstein]

in the util CPU-Z I was checking to see what my HP memory was running at. On the motherboard bios I had my Ram set on Auto.

 

My HP ram (2x1gb) is rated at 5-5-5-15 timing.. but CPUZ was showing it was running at 3-3-3-5. I switch the memory to manual settings and entered the rated 5-5-5-15. I picked up a few hundred points in 3DMARK06 and a few FPS in Black Shark.

 

Gota say though my cheap ass ASRock ($60 new) motherboard is not so great for OC. Also note that other problems I have with it were happening with no OC and only stock settings, so can't blame any problems on OC.

 

:music_whistling:

 

btw, when I bought these 1gb sticks of DDR2 ram they had a promotion and sold it for $2.99 each after rebate.. been running great for more than a couple years now..

Edited August 28, 2009 by Ramstein

[EtherealN]

XLR8, It is fairly easy to build your own computer from components. You just need to be careful with the components and read the instructions very carefully (and never trust a stock CPU fan :P ). Read reviews of the components to ensure that they're what you want, and compare them in price and capability with similar ones.

 

Then just order the machine and get building. Manuals show you where to connect things, and you just need to be very careful with electrostatic discharges and be methodical. Peripherals like an antistatic armlink, extra silver paste and a silver-paste removal agent are awesome as well.

 

There's probably guides out there if you google the topic, as well.

[XLR8]

The hardwarw looks siple enough to do.But the BIOS not for sure.Exsample do you have to install them like windows or are they preinstalled.

 

 

Maybe someone could help on this problem.I installed some new ram on my sons pc ,stuff that will work. But I get a BSOD error -IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL