Gentlemen of Anandtech, please help - Corsair TCCD or OCZ BH-5?

[biggestseagull]

Gentlemen of Anandtech,

I appreciate that a similar question was asked a month or so ago, but in light of the recent developments with the Venice core, I would like some advice on RAM.

My current setup is an original Athlon 800 and I've been 'out of the game' for some time time now but it has come to pass that I am getting my new 'rig' next week. The specs are as follows

AMD 3000+ (winchester) or 3200+ (venice)
DFI Lanparty nF4 SLI-D (I guess the DR version is for RAID which I won't need)
Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 10 - 300Gb
Antec P160
Antec Truepower 480
Some PCI-E 6600GT I expect (or an X800?)

To cool I will probably get an XP-90C with that Zalman fan but the question is to go with either,

Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2

which I'm led to believe has TCCD chips.
This is for a price of £158.57 ~ $300 (this includes all the various taxes we pay) or,

OCZ 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC3200 Dual Channel Gold Series BH5 EL-DDR CAS2

which has the BH5 chips for a price of £135.07 ~ $255.

Cost is an issue, so I would be willing to accept any recommendations you might have about how to reduce my expenditure but similarly, I've been stuck with my damn Athlon 800 for like 5 years or something so I'm looking to get as good a performance as possible out of this.

I am looking to overclock so I will possibly hang on for a couple of weeks for a venice (they appear to be on sale in the UK in the 3800+ flavour now) and I should be able to supply the voltage (winchester is my backup if I get bored - will sell later?)

Should I therefore stick with the BH5 at the lower price if it can make the grade at higher voltage or go with the TCCD chips in case I get scared and decide to run barely above stock. Do I even need the XP90C in any case.

Your answers greatly appreciated and strongly regarded,

David.

 

[imported_Kensai]

I'll suggest that you get a pack of OCZ Value VX stuff.

 

[biggestseagull]

Tis the cheaper (preffered) option!

Further to my above post; Is a Raptor (74Gb) worth the money? I'm inclined (as is my fiancée to say no )

 

[bunnyfubbles]

VX is probably going to be a better (well cheaper) option than BH5, especially with the DFI (both need a lot of volts to obtain optimal speed)

You'll probably want to take at look at some of these articles http://www.anandtech.com/memory/

Especially this article, which compares TCCD, VX and BH5...

 

[biggestseagull]

bunnyfubbles,

thanks for your comments. I agree that the VX is really good stuff and it looks grand but the issue is sourcing it in the UK. Only a few places in the the states ship to here and I've not been able to find sensibly priced VX (value or otherwise) at all. I could also do with good timings at stock voltage just in case my co-financer/fiancée gets scared of a bit of heat!

Thanks though,

Dave.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

alright then, make sure you get stuff that can hit low latency, as the A64 prefers this over sheer bandwidth. Other than that don't spend too much because it just isn't worth it in the long run, you're better off buying a faster CPU or upgrading some other part you're lacking on.

 

[The Sauce]

If you are planning on a Venice 3200 for your "rig" then you will be 'out of the game' until longer than "next week."

 

[biggestseagull]

duly noted and agreed upon. I think I'll do that and start saving up for the next one! That or some more games!!

Thanks for the advice,

Goodnight from Saturday! D

 

[The Sauce]

PS - nice job with the links BF.

 

[biggestseagull]

"Thanks" for the heads-up Snatchface! I'm aware that I might be waiting longer but I figure that if I've gone 5 years I'll wait another month... then I'll just rebel and go intel.

In other news, sorry if I offended you with my quotes, I try too hard to sound like a cool american with your fast society, women and computers!

 

[exar333]

id also see if u can find OCZ plat rev 2 4000.....thats nice mem for the DFI if you have a hard time finding the VX (which, BTW, is awesome)...Corsair, from what a lot of people have said, is VERY touchy on these DFI NF4 boards....

 

[gobucks]

Crucial Ballistix also performs quite well on the A64 platform. I've seen reviews of both the PC3200 and PC4000 hitting like DDR594 or something, and the modules have quite low latencies at many different speeds, esp. DDR500. I'm not saying they are better than TCCD, but for A64 they are just as good and if you find a good deal then you should go for them.

 

[biggestseagull]

Appreciated.

Anyone know if Europe gets AMD stuff first? Seems unlikely I know but the Venice 3200+ is out to buy for real here on Wednesday.

 

[milkrocks]

You could even go with the Value VX - its been overclocking very well according to some of the reviews.

Raptors are awesome - still the fastest SATA HD in most tests although some of the NCQ drives are making up some ground.

 

[sangyup81]

If you get the BH-5, be sure to have good cooling for it!

 

[imported_g33k]

Originally posted by: sangyup81
If you get the BH-5, be sure to have good cooling for it!

What kind of cooling? Do you mean heatspreaders or some kind of active cooling?

 

[biggestseagull]

BH5 still cheap so with the arrival of Venice tomorrow it all seems to be ok.

I am effectively building from scratch so with the inclusion of what I believe to be a reasonably efficient PSU, a not crazy hot graphics card (X800XL or 6600GT) and some tidy cables I should be good?

Anyone know what case fans come with the P160, if I need them and any recommendations? (120mm preferred)

Cheers guys,

David