Overclocking Buyer's Guide - August 2004
by Wesley Fink on July 27, 2004 11:24 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
DDR2 Memory
DDR2 Recommendation: 1GB Kit (2 X 512MB) Crucial PC2-4200UPrice: $364 shipped
In our recent roundup of DDR2 memory, the Gold Editors Choice went to Crucial DDR2 533. The 533-rated Crucial is based on the top-performing Micron DDR2 chips and it performed at 533 at 3-3-3 timings, which is much better than the rated 4-4-4 timings. We even reached the highest speed that our memory test bed could support at DDR2-686 - well beyond the next speed step of DDR2-667. Even 686 was achieved at 4-4-4 timings, which are, again, better than the Jedec rating of 5-5-5 at DDR2-667.
Crucial accomplishes all this performance with one of the better prices among DDR2 memory. This is not to say that Crucial DDR2-533 is cheap, but DDR2 has dropped quite a bit in price the last month. In fact, the current price is not radically different from the better high-speed DDR that we have recommended.
Frankly, all the memory in our DDR2 roundup reached DDR2-667 speed, so you can shop for DDR2 looking for the best value right now. However, the DIMMs based on Micron memory - from Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, Kingmax, and Mushkin - provided the widest bandwidth in our DDR2 tests. You can select any of them and expect excellent DDR2 performance.
We are currently looking at DDR2-667 rated memory from Corsair, Crucial, and OCZ. These DIMMs may provide even more headroom at the very top of DDR2 performance, but it is too early to say. We will be doing an update in the next few weeks on exactly what you can expect with DDR2-667 rated modules now that we have the Asus P5AD2, which is capable of extending DDR2 memory to its limits.
Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on DDR2 memory from many different reputable vendors:
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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danidentity - Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - link
...for sale either online or in stores, I meant.danidentity - Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - link
Wes, do we have ANY idea when we'll start seeing PCIe X800's?Pollock - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
I would have expected to see the 3000+ in there with the recent price drops... And I'll second #6, even if you did mention CAS 2.5 ram on the summary.I also think that you shouldn't focus on clear cut categories, but perhaps design one for each of the sockets that appeals at the time. Basically what I'm saying there is that you've got to get socket 754 in there but you don't have to cut anything else out.
Pumpkinierre - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
Agree with #15 Wesley, you've added passion to the buying guides.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
#15 - The price in the Guide has always been $389, which is certainly close to $390. New Egg shows the eVGA 6800 GT expected tomorrow 7/28 at a price of $410. Pricewatch shows this link for $389 with an ETA of 7/30 - 3 days away - at http://www.buyxtremegear.com/vc129114.html. The PHY brand is also shown at $389 with an ETA of 8/10 at http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?P...kherman - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
Awesome article! Love the concept even though I'll never do an OC rig. It's interesting to read about though.RobJ - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
But the 6800GT is not listed in the real-time pricewatch list because eVGA's website says that the GT won't be available until September 2nd and that it will cost $390, not $380. I have been able to find it on some websites for markups as high as $460. I'll wait until the price comes down to $380. Other companies are even selling the GT for $500 and above. That's crazy.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
#12 -The only reason I did not list this in the guide is because we will be making some HSF recommendations in the next OC Guide. The HSF I had in mind for $12 was a "SPEEZE 80mm LED CPU Cooler for Socket A, Model "5F353B1L3GL" -OEM" which has an 80mm fan. A quick check shows you can now buy this Speeze for $9.99 from a reputable on-line retailer. I have found the 80mm fan HSF move more air and do a better job of cooling than the more common 60mm fan models - even the expensive ones. The 80mm are also normally lower noise.
trexpesto - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
Wonder what 12$ HSF is used for the DFI Infinity?"Overclockers will also be happy to find the 4 mounting holes around the CPU socket for heavy-duty cooling; although, we do find the CPU area has too many components around the socket that could interfere with some of the larger cooling solutions." - http://anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2138&am...
Zebo - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
#9 Thanks....While only a couple mobos seem to have found a work around I appologise for my ignorance Wes. Still have issue with the presshot not because of heat, the northwood/canterwood is so much more mature and even a bit faster clock for clock,. The price factor of course.