Which RAM should I buy? 4

[DougsterMG]

I don't which of these I should buy:

Kingston KHX3200AK2/1G dual 512MB HyperX DDR Ram (2-3-2-6-1)

Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PRO dual 512MB XMS DDR Ram (2-3-3)

Corsair TWINX1024-3200LLPROdual 512MB XMS DDR Ram (2-3-2-6)

Which of these do you people think I should purchase for my PC? I would really like to hear which you think is the best and why.

 

[kippy13]

Depends on the system you are putting it in and in all honesty you wont notice the difference between any of them.
I'd prefer the Kingston myself as it has a nice name

"Sometimes I do not know but I try hard"- R.F. Haughty 1923

 

[Blujacket]

I haven't had any problems with Crucial RAM

http://www.crucial.com.

Knowing more about the computer could help.

 

[DougsterMG]

The computer spec:

Gigabyte GA-8I875 ULTRA motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz 512MHz Lv1 Cache 800FSB CPU
ATI Radeon 9800XT 256Mb
Western Digital Caviar 250Gb 7,200 rmp SATA150 hard drive
Sony 52x52x32 CD-RW

All three of these RAM modules are for gaming but I don't know which of the 3 to get.

 

[cdogg]

If you're just worried about stability at the rated speed, then either model will give you what you need. Neither is really more reliable than the other.

If you decide to push the memory beyond its rated speed then you'd probably want to go with a different model from either brand. The Corsair XMS4000 can easily run up to 500MHz and occasionally run stable at about 502MHz. Kingston makes the HyperX KHX4000K2 which has been proved to run as high as 526MHz!

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[DougsterMG]

I'm not going to over clock my PC much, I always increase performance a teeny bit but not enough to stretch the memory above what it can handle. One of these 3 RAM modules is what I want. All 3 are as reliable as each other but I don't know which would be better to get for gaming and speed. There must be difference, no matter how small in speed between the 3.

Which is fastest model of the 2 Corsair's? If I find that out I can decide whether to go for the Corsair or the Kingston modules.

 

[kippy13]

Whichever is most expensive is obviously better.

"Sometimes I do not know but I try hard"- R.F. Haughty 1923

 

[cdogg]

Well, the timings you see in parenthesis ultimately represent latency. The lower the latency, the better the overall performance (though very slight).

Out of the three the Kingston and Corsair LLPro have the best timings, pretty equal with each other. Toss a coin and move on, it's not worth any more of your time.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[cdogg]

kippy,
"[blue]Whichever is most expensive is obviously better[/blue]"

Nah, that's definitely not always true.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[kippy13]

I was being very very sarcastic.
This is a discussion about choosing between three extremely similiar types of memory whose difference in performance will not be noticed by a human. It would be a different conversation if we were discussing some different types of memory.
Sorry, Its been a long week, shouldnt be talking it out in this thread.

"Sometimes I do not know but I try hard"- R.F. Haughty 1923

 

[cdogg]

Yes, then I must be feeling the long week too since your sarcasm went unnoticed!

 

[jurgen36]

No definetely not. The more expensive is not necessarely the best. I had problems with kingston and corsair rams at 533 Mhz. I replaced the ddr ram with the cheapest unbranded I could find and had no problems at all. I did overclock the ram up to 560 Mhz and used MS ramtest over night. No errors at all. Later on I found out that the manufacturer only makes one type of ram and labels them whatever the distributors order,it seems to be the cheapest way, only making one type. This should give room for a thought. Greetings Jurgen

 

[kippy13]

Indeed.

"Sometimes I do not know but I try hard"- R.F. Haughty 1923

 

[DougsterMG]

1) Kingston KHX3200AK2/1G dual 512MB HyperX DDR Ram (2-3-2-6-1) Cost = £185.00

2) Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PRO dual 512MB XMS DDR Ram (2-3-3) Cost = £149.00

3) Corsair TWINX1024-3200LLPROdual 512MB XMS DDR Ram (2-3-2-6) Cost = £199.00


So I'm either going to get 1 or 3. I still don't know which to get though.


1) Kingston KHX3200AK2/1G dual 512MB HyperX DDR Ram (2-3-2-6-1):

3) Corsair TWINX1024-3200LLPROdual 512MB XMS DDR Ram (2-3-2-6):

 

[DougsterMG]

I really need to know which of these 2 to buy.

 

[455buick]

Hi Marsta,

This is only my opinion. You have a very high performance board that is Prescott ready. Most suppliers of this board seem to suggest adding the Corsair ram by default. Corsiar has a good reputation and has been overwhelmingly excepted by overclockers. I know you stated that you don't intend to overclock, but Gigabyte boards do have Easytune 4 and adding 5 to 10% to the fsb is really easy, if the other components can handle it. The Corsiar and Kingston can handle the OC, but Corsair also tends to allow tighter timings at stock 200mhz fsb speeds. If it were me, the 3200LL Pro would be my choice.

I hope this helped,

455buick
"There's a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"

 

[teknikal]

Who are we kidding here? I would appreciate 455buick's answer too, but is the question really necessary?

let's see:
1) We're not overclocking (or at least not by much)
2) We're talking about the difference between two top-performing brands - HyperX vs. 3200LL Pro
3) This site has to be able to serve a better purpose other than one's gaming needs...

In my opinion, the Corsair's slightly better latency timings at stock speed is hardly worth the extra £14.00, especially when you won't ever see, hear, or even smell the difference.

Look, it's nice that you want the most for your money but this is really a win-win decision. Man, I'd hate to see the day you had to (or will have to) decide on wedding invitations.

 

[455buick]

Hi Teknikal,

I'm sorry that my opinion and Marsta's request impuned your sensitivities.
Marsta was looking for advice on three types of memory, A,B,C. There was no D or F chioce. Some folks in these forums always get away from the stated requests. They wanted to know which was best and why? Not some rant about the monies. That is always left to the poster or the customer. If you'd go to Anandtech and read their story about searching for the memory holy grail you'll find that speed DOES matter! A small excerpt:

"It is conclusive from these benchmarks that Memory Speed does matter in real-world performance on Intel 875/865 motherboards. Game benchmarks, Super PI, and Sandra Memory Tests all benefit from increases in memory speed. This was true up to the highest memory speed that we tested — DDR533. The differences, when we looked at just the effect of memory alone, varied from 9% to 11% at a given CPU speed, with the limited memory ratios Intel has provided us on the 875/865 chipsets. You will have to decide if the increases in performance from using faster memory are worth the cost of that speedier memory. For some, these increases will matter a great deal, while for others, they will not be worth the cost."
Note the last line. Marsta will have to be the judge of how much to spend.
Marsta did state which motherboard she has but not what the intended use was or is. Based only on the post, I related my opinion. The motherboard owned by Marsta is very high end and I don't think putting low performance memory in it will meet the needs what ever they may be. I post in several other forums, ie: Anandtech, Extreme Tech, Vaporchill, etc. and own my own business. When a customer asks very specific questions, I give very specific answers based on my experience or that of good resources like Anandtech.
I won't comment on your last point #3. It is by definition "your opinion"
Take care,

455buick
"There's a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"

 

[DougsterMG]

I'm sorry if I have upset you teknikal. That was never the idea.

This PC isn't only used for gaming; I run a lot of high-end video editing and creation programmes. I'm also planning in the very near future to work on gaming projects and modifications so the difference, no matter how small between the 2 RAM modules is important to me.

I have ordered the Corsair TWINX1024-3200LLPROdual memory as it has in most online reviews come out the better of the 2, also I have been using Corsair RAM for years so I feel more comfortable sticking with a brand I know well.

[tt]teknikal wrote:
Look, it's nice that you want the most for your money but this is really a win-win decision. Man, I'd hate to see the day you had to (or will have to) decide on wedding invitations.[/tt]

That's okay, I don't believe in marriage.

As this is the end of this topic for me I would like to thank jurgen36, cdogg, kippy13, Blujacket and especially 455buick for their invaluable information and help with this problem, thanks!

 

[455buick]

Hi Marsta,

Thanks for the kind words. Again it gets back to what the customer wants and feels comfortable with, and obviously you like Corsair. That's Great! A couple of other notes. You have a very nice system there and I think you'll like it a lot. You'll have the ability later to upgrade to the Intel Prescott cpu when it comes out and the prices drop to the point where mortals can afford it. Lastly, according to the Intel white papers the i875/865 chipsets run the best with 4 double sided memory dimms. Followed by 2 double sided or 4 single sided dimms. There's a gain of 3-9% depending on system and applications. 2 single sided dimms even running in dual channel mode are down about 10% and don't quite have the oomph! The P4 loves bandwidth! Obviously mixing and matching dimm types and manufacturers is a no-no. I believe the Corsair PC3200LL is double sided and the Kingston Hyper X single sided, I think...

Take care,

455buick
"There's a fine line between a hobby and mental illness"