Ram for NF7-S Mothboard

[waazzuup]

I just ordered a NF7-S. Right now I have 2 sticks of 512mb pc2700 kingston hyperx. I am going to sell the hyperx on ebay or in the forums here. What ram should I get for the new mobo. I want to get 2 512mb sticks, but I'm not sure what kind / speed I should get. I was thinking about either the Corsair XMS Pro (With the leds) or OCZ Platinum. I'm not sure what speed I should get. I was thinking either pc3200 or pc3500. I am planning on doing some overclocking. Right now I have an unlocked barton Running close to 3200+ speeds, but I might change to a mobile barton soon. Please let me know what you think. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[morriswindgate]

Kingston, Geil, Crucial, Buffalo Tech. Just remember that when you use PC3200 you can only use two sticks of it, even though the board has three slots.

[Panama Red]

For oc'ing, I'd go with the OCZ. Here's my next purchase for the same board and 2500+M:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...146-984&depa=0

[waazzuup]

I think I might get this once it becomes available...

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...146-983&depa=0

It's the same thing you (Panama Red) want, but it is 512x2 instead of 256x2. Also, it is only pc3500 instead of pc3700. Do you think that's ok?

It's more than I would like to spend though. Hopefully I can find it on another site for a cheaper price.

[Tin]

be cautious of geil memory, i didnt have very good luck with 2x256MB of geil ultra PC3200. they wouldnt even run stock speeds at the advertised timings. i had that memory combination on my NF7-S and i got 220FSB out of the sticks, however, i could never get them to do CL2 at 200FSB.

[imbest123]

Originally posted by Tin Canary be cautious of geil memory, i didnt have very good luck with 2x256MB of geil ultra PC3200. they wouldnt even run stock speeds at the advertised timings. i had that memory combination on my NF7-S and i got 220FSB out of the sticks, however, i could never get them to do CL2 at 200FSB.

AMD and Geil dont mix well :-/

[Tin]

best words of advice i can give you, alot of your cheaper memory has the same chips as the more expensive stuff. in order to get the better chips, you must hand pick them from a local retailer. my kingston value ram PC3200 has the hynix D43 memory chips, which are PC3700 standard. you just have to pay close attention.

[waazzuup]

I'm thinking about maybe only spending about $200 on ram and saving the rest of the money for something else.

I like to have 4-5 applications open at once. If I get pc3500 ram. Do you think I should get

2x256 Really good ram
1x512 Really good ram (and possibly get more later)
2x512 cheaper ram

Will I notice any slowdowns? I am running 2x512mb kingston hyperx pc2700 currently. Also, remember that I do plan on overclocking (nothing rediculous though).

Thanks for the help

[Tin]

check these out, A-data PC4000 Vitesta. theyre $109 for a 512mb stick and theyre superfast. they will do 2-3-3-11 timings at 200FSBm and will do 2.5-4-4-11 at 250FSB. its probably the best memory out there for the money right now. they usually come with hynix D43 or hynix D5 memory chips, which are very high quality chips. theyre the same used in the OCZ PC3700 EB.

[waazzuup]

Will that work with my board? I really appreciate the help.

[Tin]

yep, it uses the same memory chips as my ram, which i used to run on an NF7-S. i got 250FSB out of it on the NF7-S with the L12 mod.

[ja83]

OCZ RAM all the way. Look at my sig. This motherboard loves OCZ RAM.

[waazzuup]

Originally posted by Tin Canary yep, it uses the same memory chips as my ram, which i used to run on an NF7-S. i got 250FSB out of it on the NF7-S with the L12 mod.

L12 mod? Would I have to do that? I don't know how to do any modding.

[waazzuup]

Originally posted by ja83 OCZ RAM all the way. Look at my sig. This motherboard loves OCZ RAM.

Yeah, I'm going to have to make a decision soon. If I get the OCZ ram, I will only get 1 stick of 512mb right now. I will probably add another stick of 512mb eventually though.

Right now I can't decide what I want.

Also, why do most people use 3DMark2001SE for benchmarks, when there are newer version out?

[Tin]

the OCZ is pretty good ram, but, like with all memory sticks, its all in the chips. Now that winbond is out of the picture in the memory arena, there are other manufacturers making very good chips. the chips to look for right now are hynix D43, micron -5b, hynix D5, and samsung TCCD. TCCD and hynix D5 are probably the better ones, theyre both rated at 4ns, which makes them true PC4000 chips. the D43 and micron -5b are the slower of the 2, but still hold decent timings at 250FSB. -5b chips are true PC4000 chips, and they are good for around 250-280FSB. the hynix D43 on the other hand, uses PC3700 chips, and will max out around 260FSB.

[QuickSilver]

Tin, could you post some links for where you get your memory info? This would be a big help. Thanks!

[waazzuup]

I really appreciate all of the help Tin Canary. I'm still wondering what the L12 mod is and if I would need to do it.

[Tin]

what kind of processor do you have? the L12 mod is for 133FSB processors, it makes the default to 166FSB reulting in higher FSB overclocks for the chip. the 166FSB and 200FSB AMD chips do not need to be L12 modded.

[waazzuup]

I have an unlocked barton 2500+ (not a mobile). I think it has a 333 FSB. So it doesn't need the mod - right? 166 = 333 - right?

[Tin]

correct, no mod is needed for you.

[waazzuup]

Alright. I think I am going to buy one stick of that A-DATA ram that you said was good. Then I will probably sell my 2 sticks of hyperx on ebay and buy a second stick of the A-DATA.

Thanks a lot for the help.

[waazzuup]

Also - When I get the ram, how will I know which memory chips they have?

[Tin]

you will have to lift the heatspreader a little bit. its not hard to do on that ram, since the heatspreader barely contacts any of the ICs. take a look and write down the numbers you see on the memory chips. remember, A-data PC4000 has a hard time doing CL2 at any FSB speed, however, CL2.5 runs very good. there are plenty of reviews about this ram, just do a google search on it.

[waazzuup]

Tin Canary - I almost ordered that A-Data ram about a week ago, but then I bought a raptor hard drive instead. I just put some stuff on ebay and I was planning on ordering the ram in a week or so after my ebay stuff sells. The problem is that the link to the A-Data ram doesn't work any more. Newegg must be out of it.

I did a search and they do have this...
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...211-122&depa=0

It says 32M x 64 -Bit
The other one was 64 x64 - wasn't it?

I don't really know what that means, but is there a big difference? If I can't get the other A-Data ram, is there anything else that you recommend? OR - do you know of another good website that has the A-Data in stock? Thanks for the help.

[Panama Red]

My A-Data DDR500 just arrived today. Maybe that's why Newegg is out!!

Here we go TC, back to test mode! BTW, here's the numbers on my chips:

ADATA HO4 16
ADD 8608A8A-4B

Mean anything to you?

[Tin]

Originally posted by Panama Red ADATA HO4 16 ADD 8608A8A-4B Mean anything to you?

congrats, you have 4ns memory chips . they should do pretty good.

[waazzuup]

Originally posted by Tin Canary congrats, you have 4ns memory chips . they should do pretty good.

Tin Canary - I almost ordered that A-Data ram about a week ago, but then I bought a raptor hard drive instead. I just put some stuff on ebay and I was planning on ordering the ram in a week or so after my ebay stuff sells. The problem is that the link to the A-Data ram doesn't work any more. Newegg must be out of it.

I did a search and they do have this...
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProdu...-211-122&depa=0

It says 32M x 64 -Bit
The other one was 64 x64 - wasn't it?
Also, I would like to get 512mb instead of 256mb (I plan on getting another stick later).

I don't really know what that means, but is there a big difference? If I can't get the other A-Data ram, is there anything else that you recommend? OR - do you know of another good website that has the A-Data in stock? Thanks for the help.

[Panama Red]

Here's the Adata I bought. 2 sticks of 256ea.


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...211-122&depa=0

[waazzuup]

I just did some googling and I found this thread
http://www.ocforums.com/archive/index.php/t-301373.html


Do you think that ram at www.komusa.com is the Same ADATA that newegg had before?

[Panama Red]

Originally posted by waazzuup Do you think that ram at www.komusa.com is the Same ADATA that newegg had before?

Hard to say for sure. Their site is a little confusing on which memory you would get if you order. Two different color heat spreaders and A-Data is referenced in the discussion, but I don't see a way to specify Adata memory.