Komplett RAM - A good offer?

beaker

What do you guys think of this special offer Corsair Value Select?

Is that decent RAM?

Would it work well in my (soon-to-be-built) machine:

- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum-54G

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice

- Sapphire Radeon X800XL PCIe 256MB

?

Thanks...

snappieT

Yeah, It'll work no problem, but don't expect to be overclocking it.

beaker

So if I go with value RAM, does this mean I won't be able to overclock the processor at all?

Or does it mean I will be able to overclock the processor, but not the RAM?

(Was planning to research overclocking after I got up and running... )

jessy

no you will be able to OC, but not as much as if you had Faster RAM.
[EDIT] FSB bottleneck [/EDIT]

jessy

beaker wrote:

(Was planning to research overclocking after I got up and running... )

probably a better idea to research it before you buy as most of the parts you buy will have some effect on it. post up your spec MB CPU RAM PSU Cooling Solution Case e.t.c will be able to give you a better idea on over all performance.

beaker

Thanks for your help.

Here's the full spec:

- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum-54G

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice

- Corsair Value S. PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB Kit w/two matched Value Select 512MB ???

- Sapphire Radeon X800XL PCIe 256MB

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ

- DVDR IDE NEC ND-3540A Dual black bulk

- Fortron/Source Powersupply ATX 400W rev2 120mm, SATA Special Edition, 24pin

- Cooler Master Cavalier 3 Black (Without PSU)

- Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 English OEM

I already have a 19 inch CRT, a Creative Audigy Sound Card and a Hauppauge PVR 150 TV Tuner Card.

I'm hoping to order very soon - first time build - looking forward to putting this baby together...

jessy

looks good
are you going to use the standared Heatsink & fan that comes with the CPU, for OCing you will need to be looking into better cooling.

those xl are preforming almost the Same as XT, great Value gfx card.

beaker

I was planning to start with the standard heatsink and fan and see how I go. I'm pretty sure I've read about people getting decent overclocking on Venice chips with stock cooling. I reckon I could add posher cooling later.

I've also read that expensive RAM provides only small performance increases (compared to spending the same money on a better processor or graphics card).

So, the six million dollar question is:

Is it worth spending more on RAM or will I get a worthwhile overclock using the Corsair Value Select RAM?

beaker

Any other thoughts on this question?

(Any help would be much appreciated - Going to order as soon as all my parts are in stock)

Mutant_Fruit

beaker wrote:

I've also read that expensive RAM provides only small performance increases (compared to spending the same money on a better processor or graphics card).

If you're not overclocking, expensive ram provides very little increase in performance. However, more expensive ram (i.e. faster than PC3200) is needed if you're going to be overclocking. As soon as you pop that PC3200 ram into your computer, its going to be at maximum speed, and the odds are high that it will limit your ability to overclock.

Get PC4000 if possible, that will allow you plenty of headroom for overclocking. But that will cost you a fair bundle. If you can't afford that, just get some good quality PC3200 (or maybe PC3500/3700) and see how high they go.

beaker

Would anyone have any suggestions for RAM that would not break the bank but would allow me to overclock a bit?

Given that the Venice 3200 is costing € 188, I had hoped not to pay much more than € 100 for the RAM. (The Corsair Value Select is attractive at € 90)

But I guess I could pay a bit more if it would allow me to get full value out of the processor (I keep reading that it will overclock really well).