Entry Level Buyer's Guide, October 2005
by Jarred Walton on October 14, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Memory Recommendations
We just took a look at several 1GB DIMM configurations. For the AMD socket 754 boards, it's important to remember that these are single channel memory controllers, so using two DIMMs won't help performance. Quite the opposite, in fact; some socket 754 motherboards will have problems operating two DIMMs at the fastest DDR400 speeds. We won't recommend using 2GB of RAM in a "budget" computer, but depending on price, it may be worthwhile to get 1x1GB instead of 2x512MB. It is important to note that the Intel configurations have differing RAM requirements. The office motherboard uses DDR memory, but we'll be using DDR2 for the gaming setup. Since we'll also get the benefit of dual-channel memory controllers on Intel, we chose 2x512MB packages for all the systems.
Price: $87 shipped (Retail)
We checked out prices on all the 1GB DIMMs in our RTPE and compared that with the prices of 2x512MB DIMMs. The difference in cost was only around $10, but generally speaking, the 512MB DIMMs had better timings for the same or lower price. (As we noted above, you would definitely want two DIMMs for the Intel Office system.) We've gone with the cheapest option, which ends up being the Patriot PC-3200 2x512MB Signature RAM. Rated at 2.5-4-4-8, the RAM isn't super fast, but the difference between this RAM and something a bit nicer like the Gaming RAM will in most instances be less than 5%. (You can likely run the RAM at 2.5-3-3-8 as well, though it's not guaranteed.) An extra $10 to $20 on every component adds up quickly, and we've tried to avoid going that route. For other alternatives, take a look at our "Gaming DDR RAM" recommendation below.
Price: $95 shipped (Retail)
For the Gaming RAM, we wanted a bit more headroom for overclocking. Even though the lower memory ratios provide a lot of flexibility with Athlon 64/Sempron, it's still useful to be able to go above DDR400 speeds. We referenced our Value RAM Roundup as a guide - note that the OCZ Value VX/BH5 are no longer available without spending more money. For the best bang for the buck, the OCZ Premier at $95 is the most attractive upgrade. We managed to run this RAM at up to DDR480 with 2.5-3-3-8 timings (at 2.9V), so this should help out any overclocking attempts. CPU speed is generally king, but having a bit faster RAM is never a bad thing for performance.
Price: $74 shipped (Retail)
We've commented in a few other articles on the state of RAM prices, and DDR2 continues to drop. When you consider that you can get RAM capable of running up to DDR2-533 speeds for less than the cheapest DDR-400, the advantage of moving to DDR2 becomes clear. Yes, DDR2 generally has higher latency values than DDR, but there are a few architectural changes as well that make 4-4-4 DDR2 timings slightly faster than 4-4-4 DDR timings at the same clock speeds. The important thing is that getting DDR memory that can run at 533 MHz and above can cost almost twice as much as DDR2 RAM of the same speed. As with the Office DDR choice, we picked the most reasonably priced 2x512MB DDR2 offering that we could find, and once again, that was Patriot Signature. There are quite a few other manufacturers that make memory in this price range, but nearly all of them have the same specifications, and we might as well save $10. OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin, G.Skill, GEIL, and Crucial are all viable options, if you can't find Patriot RAM in your area.
Price: $86 shipped (Retail)
While technically no faster than the Office DDR2 RAM, we decided the extra $12 for the cool factor of the aluminum heat spreaders was a nice addition. (No, we don't mean "cool" as in temperatures - generally speaking, RAM heat spreaders don't actually help much.) G.Skill has some RAM with a yellow heat spreader if you're interested in more bling. Will the RAM run cooler or overclock better? Probably not, and the low CPU bus speed should make it a moot point. If you want the ability to push for even higher memory bandwidth, you could opt for some DDR2-667/PC2-5300 RAM instead. The cheapest qualifying RAM in that case also comes from GEIL, but costs $104. However, another $20 on a single component is hard to justify for this price segment.
Disclaimer: As we've said in the past, overclocking is not required. You may get an extra 20% or even 50% more CPU performance, but applications like games will often remain bottlenecked by the graphics card. For the hardcore enthusiast, overclocking can be a fun and cost-saving measure, but results are never guaranteed. If you need to ask how to overclock, you probably shouldn't do it (yet).
We just took a look at several 1GB DIMM configurations. For the AMD socket 754 boards, it's important to remember that these are single channel memory controllers, so using two DIMMs won't help performance. Quite the opposite, in fact; some socket 754 motherboards will have problems operating two DIMMs at the fastest DDR400 speeds. We won't recommend using 2GB of RAM in a "budget" computer, but depending on price, it may be worthwhile to get 1x1GB instead of 2x512MB. It is important to note that the Intel configurations have differing RAM requirements. The office motherboard uses DDR memory, but we'll be using DDR2 for the gaming setup. Since we'll also get the benefit of dual-channel memory controllers on Intel, we chose 2x512MB packages for all the systems.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $87 shipped (Retail)
We checked out prices on all the 1GB DIMMs in our RTPE and compared that with the prices of 2x512MB DIMMs. The difference in cost was only around $10, but generally speaking, the 512MB DIMMs had better timings for the same or lower price. (As we noted above, you would definitely want two DIMMs for the Intel Office system.) We've gone with the cheapest option, which ends up being the Patriot PC-3200 2x512MB Signature RAM. Rated at 2.5-4-4-8, the RAM isn't super fast, but the difference between this RAM and something a bit nicer like the Gaming RAM will in most instances be less than 5%. (You can likely run the RAM at 2.5-3-3-8 as well, though it's not guaranteed.) An extra $10 to $20 on every component adds up quickly, and we've tried to avoid going that route. For other alternatives, take a look at our "Gaming DDR RAM" recommendation below.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $95 shipped (Retail)
For the Gaming RAM, we wanted a bit more headroom for overclocking. Even though the lower memory ratios provide a lot of flexibility with Athlon 64/Sempron, it's still useful to be able to go above DDR400 speeds. We referenced our Value RAM Roundup as a guide - note that the OCZ Value VX/BH5 are no longer available without spending more money. For the best bang for the buck, the OCZ Premier at $95 is the most attractive upgrade. We managed to run this RAM at up to DDR480 with 2.5-3-3-8 timings (at 2.9V), so this should help out any overclocking attempts. CPU speed is generally king, but having a bit faster RAM is never a bad thing for performance.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $74 shipped (Retail)
We've commented in a few other articles on the state of RAM prices, and DDR2 continues to drop. When you consider that you can get RAM capable of running up to DDR2-533 speeds for less than the cheapest DDR-400, the advantage of moving to DDR2 becomes clear. Yes, DDR2 generally has higher latency values than DDR, but there are a few architectural changes as well that make 4-4-4 DDR2 timings slightly faster than 4-4-4 DDR timings at the same clock speeds. The important thing is that getting DDR memory that can run at 533 MHz and above can cost almost twice as much as DDR2 RAM of the same speed. As with the Office DDR choice, we picked the most reasonably priced 2x512MB DDR2 offering that we could find, and once again, that was Patriot Signature. There are quite a few other manufacturers that make memory in this price range, but nearly all of them have the same specifications, and we might as well save $10. OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin, G.Skill, GEIL, and Crucial are all viable options, if you can't find Patriot RAM in your area.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $86 shipped (Retail)
While technically no faster than the Office DDR2 RAM, we decided the extra $12 for the cool factor of the aluminum heat spreaders was a nice addition. (No, we don't mean "cool" as in temperatures - generally speaking, RAM heat spreaders don't actually help much.) G.Skill has some RAM with a yellow heat spreader if you're interested in more bling. Will the RAM run cooler or overclock better? Probably not, and the low CPU bus speed should make it a moot point. If you want the ability to push for even higher memory bandwidth, you could opt for some DDR2-667/PC2-5300 RAM instead. The cheapest qualifying RAM in that case also comes from GEIL, but costs $104. However, another $20 on a single component is hard to justify for this price segment.
Disclaimer: As we've said in the past, overclocking is not required. You may get an extra 20% or even 50% more CPU performance, but applications like games will often remain bottlenecked by the graphics card. For the hardcore enthusiast, overclocking can be a fun and cost-saving measure, but results are never guaranteed. If you need to ask how to overclock, you probably shouldn't do it (yet).
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grimdeath - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
good choice on the samsung 997df monitor, i bought mine for the same price at best buy as well around 2 years ago. its still crips, clean and bright :) im not sure how i hear more ppl voting for other brands after looking at this compared to others(though NEC seems decent)JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
I also own an NEC FE991SB that I purchased for $260 or so 18 months back - maybe even two years ago? Overall, I prefer it to the Samsung, but the Samsung has a higher resolution. Both of them cost more now than they did a year ago, though, which pretty much sucks. Sadly, the new NEC CRT models aren't even equal to the old Samsung monitors.IntelUser2000 - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
An entry level gaming graphics card is Geforce 6600GT?? Sheesh. My friends who are "Hardcore Gamers" have Radeon 9800 Pro/XT.JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
I look at "Entry Level" gaming in terms of price, not performance. To me, that means $100 to $150 is ideal, and the 6600GT fits that requirement quite nicely. You can play many games on a slower graphics card, but usually with lower detail settings. Why not spend the extra $30 and get a decent performance boost?You can also think about it another way: how much does a current game cosole cost? $150 or so, right? Take a budget PC - because many people will want a PC in the home for other uses - and you can suddenly have a respectably gaming PC for the same amount as a console. The good news is that a 6600GT will play every game currently available at 1024x768 resolution without difficulty. Many games will even handle 1280x1024 or 1024x768+4xAA.
DrZoidberg - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
I agree, if u play games regularly the minimum card a gamer should get now would be a 6600gt or 9800pro. A 6600gt is only slightly faster than 9800pro so they both similar cards. Most brand new 9800pro (not crappy se edition) on newegg is selling around $120, so its not much cheaper.