RAM advice for a64-3400+/MSI Neo PLatinum

[rc23]

I need some advice in choosing between some ram. It will used on a MSI K8N Neo Platinum with a A64-3400+ Clawhammer. I'm not a serious overclocker, but I do want some fast ram for possible o/c down the road. So I'll probally be running the system at stock speed. Price is important to me, I'll use the savings twords a new video card.

Corsair XMS 1GB DDR PC-3200 (2x512mb) (TWINX1024-3200C2PT) Cas: 2-3-3-6 T1 for $228 at Newegg

or

two sticks of 512mb Crucial Ballistix DDR PC-3200 (BL6464Z402) Cas:2 for $298 ($149@) at Newegg
*I might be able to get a price break on these if I order direct from Crucial haven't called them up to see yet.

 

[ctk1981]

I had run OCZ Technology gold series rev 2 3700 ram at 466mhz. Timings were 2-3-3-7 2T. That actually ran fairly decent.

Currently I am running Kingmax Hardcore ram. 2 x 512MB. 500mhz DDR. Timings 2.5-3-3-7-2T with aggressive timings enabled. Im running at 2.8V - manufacture spec says 2.6-2.7 is their recommended operating range, yet the spec sheet lists the modules rated for 3.5V. Im sure my warranty is voided if anything ever happens to them at 2.8V but Im cruising along quite nicely now.

I believe those two sticks cost me 206 from newegg.

So whats more important? Low Latency I think. However, you need to have some ram that will allow you room to overclock (if thats your thing). I think I got lucky with the kingmax sticks running at the settings I have them at.

 

[rc23]

Never heard of Kingmax. I was looking more for advice between the two sticks I listed. The Ballistix are the better of the two but I don't know if they are worth the extra cash.

 

[ctk1981]

forum.msi.com.tw - go there and look under the AMD64 nvidia based section. They have a listing of ram that has worked well and a list of not worked well. Id go with whatever seems to work better between the two. Plus its a great place to get beta bios and such.

 

[BBC454]

I have the same corsair ram that you linked to above. Those timings are for intel cpus, amd cpus are 2.5-3-3-6. I tried them at CAS 2 instead of 2.5 but they needed more voltage and I don't care for overclocking or pushing the voltage higher. Kind of pissed me off when I got them and found they only run at CAS 2.5 with 2.7 volts.

Oh, and I have the MSI K8N Neo Plat and a 3200 newcastle.

 

[rc23]

I ended up getting some Ballistix PC4000 ram. Newegg had the pc3200 instock, but it was about $20 cheaper to direct order the 4000's from Crucial. I'll try them out this weekend.