Question about memory bus speeds...

[DaButtonMasher]

ECS GeForce 6100PM-M2 (v2.0)
Athlon64 x2 4200+
2GB PC6400 RAM
EVGA NVidia 9600 GSO 512MB
SB Audigy MP3
500GB WD HD

Back in the day you used to buy PC133 RAM even if you had a 100MHz mobo because the memory would slow itself down automatically and you could move the memory to a new 133MHz mobo when you upgraded. Does the same wisdom still apply? Which is the fastest memory I can buy and still have it work with my current 800Mhz mobo?

I ask because I want to upgrade to 4GB RAM and I want to be able to move it when I eventually upgrade to a Phenom II x4. Thanks for any help.

 

[SEH]

Uhhh...okay?

 

[DaButtonMasher]

Sorry. Cat jumped on the keyboard and submitted it before I was done.

 

[crystalklear64]

you can still do the same. the memory will go as fast as whatever you synch it at with the fsb. however, don't go for ddr3 in a ddr2 only mobo and vice versa. they are different in more than just speeds.

these would be the fastest you can get at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...10170147 1052427322&name=DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600)

 

[DaButtonMasher]

[quote name='crystalklear64']you can still do the same. the memory will go as fast as whatever you synch it at with the fsb. however, don't go for ddr3 in a ddr2 only mobo and vice versa. they are different in more than just speeds.

these would be the fastest you can get at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...10170147 1052427322&name=DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600)[/QUOTE]

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[crystalklear64]

well that link doesn't seem to work, so if you're gonna use newegg, just search the the 1200 ddr2 memory, thats the fastest.

 

[n25philly]

[quote name='crystalklear64']well that link doesn't seem to work, so if you're gonna use newegg, just search the the 1200 ddr2 memory, thats the fastest.[/QUOTE]

That's great if you want to throw away $60-70. The thing is that there is no real DDR2 ram that is more than 800. Anything rated higher is the manufacturer saying that it should be overclockable. First you need to look up your motherboard and see what speeds it can support.

Either way though you are best off buying a good quality DDR2 800 ram. Why? First off performance will be improved more by how much ram you have than how fast it is. Ram speed don't effect performance that much, but not having enough can be a big problem. Secondly 9/10 times you can overclock good quality ddr2 800 ram to match the same speeds as the more expensive "higher speed" ram, you're just not paying an extra $60-70 for a guarantee.

Honestly though if you are planning on moving to a new platform soon you might be better off just waiting to get the ram with the new mobo and getting ddr3

 

[crystalklear64]

he didn't ask for good advice, he asked for the fastest

 

[n25philly]

[quote name='crystalklear64']he didn't ask for good advice, he asked for the fastest[/QUOTE]

lol, my bad