Entry Level Buyer’s Guide, July 2005
by Jarred Walton on July 20, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Memory Recommendations
RAM prices have mostly stabilized after some major price cuts over the past few months. We're going to go with 2x512MB for all of the configurations, though you could disperse the cost over a few months if you want to start with a single DIMM and add a second DIMM later. We wouldn't recommend getting anything smaller than a 512MB DIMM as RAM requirements are only going to increase in the future.
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Price: $83 shipped (Retail)
You can check out our prices for 2x512MB of PC3200 DDR at our Pricing Engine. Any of the brands listed there are safe bets - Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston, Patriot, Crucial, OCZ, GEIL, G.Skill, etc. - and we've gone with the lowest price on CL2.5 RAM for our recommendation.
If you're going with the socket 754 system, you could even go with a single 1024MB DIMM instead of two DIMMs - there is no dual-channel support on socket 754, you may recall. Prices for 1GB DIMMs are slightly higher than 2x512MB, and timings are generally slower with 3-3-3-8 being typical of GB DIMMs compared to 2.5-3-3-8 for the RAM we chose. Most people wouldn't notice the difference, however.
Click image to enlarge.
Price: $143 shipped (Retail)
For our upgraded DDR configuration, we're assuming that you're buying the Athlon 64 system. The reason why that's important is that Athlon 64 allows for a wider selection of CPU :RAM ratios, and 1:1 overclocking is not as important. Generally speaking, you want 2-2-2-7 1T timings at the fastest speed that your memory can handle. You can grab the OCZ VX or Mushkin Redline for 2-2-2 1T at higher speeds provided that your motherboard can supply the required voltage, but DDR400 with 2-2-2 1T is generally sufficient - maybe a few percent lower than higher clocked 2-2-2 RAM, but it's nothing to lose sleep over. This OCZ Gold uses Winbond BH5 chips, so you'll need to provide 2.8V to get 2-2-2-5 1T timings at DDR400. Intel users are better served by 1:1 ratio overclocking, but since both Intel setups are using 533FSB, any PC3200 RAM is going to be sufficient for reaching up to 4.0 GHz (assuming that the CPU can go that high).
Click to enlarge.
Price: $131 shipped (Retail)
While you can find faster DDR2 RAM - there are even PC-8000 DIMMs available - they are priced too high for a Budget Guide. We've gone with some reasonable RAM rated at DDR2-533 with 3-3-3-8 timings. You could go for RAM rated at DDR2-667, but with the processor that we've chosen, it won't matter much. Integrated graphics also stand to benefit from the faster DDR2 memory, but the difference is a case of slow graphics vs. not quite as slow graphics, so it's a minor point. By default, the RAM should run at DDR400 with the bus set to 133 MHz (533FSB), a ratio of 2:3. Raising the bus speed above 175 MHz (700FSB) might require you to adjust the memory ratio down to 3:4 in order to keep the RAM at or below the specified PC-4200 rating. Worth noting is that good quality DDR2 is now slightly cheaper than good quality DDR, so that's one less barrier to choosing DDR2.
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bob661 - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
#25Do you remember the cost difference?
Zebo - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
"I once calculated the cost of running a 60W lightbulb 24/7 for a year and it was only about $37 - 526 kWHrs at 7 cents per kWHr. "=====================
Was this after your Dad told you to turn off the lights..he's not made of money? I did the same thing.:)
BTW I calculated X2 4200+ is cheaper than 820D dispite costing $250 more up front using the same formula (although I pay 14 cents per kWHr).
Zebo - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
4/10 BTW which last time I checked was an "F".. as in Failure...as in Fu**ed up.Zebo - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
LOL @ suggesting Dell. They have a 4 reseller rating for a reason ya know. They suck. Add in the fact you must get rebates, must get a "hot deal" to relise any savings you're much better off BYO normally.Zebo - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
Nice to see those back and very good job Jarred.Of course I have issue with 1G of ram for a "value"setup.. Any video card with a one. And all should have LCD these days... simply not that much more, $50, for both more view area in 17" and much much better quality than any POS low end CRT.
KayKay - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
Good Choice on the MSI Neo4-FAbecedaria - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
For your Intel setup, I would think that a 2.4C (either on eBay or retail) would perform better than any of the options you mentioned for considerably less money. And you'd get 800FSB. And you'd get HT. Granted, the legacy socket 478 and AGP are going to limitations long term, but if you were going to go for better performance, you'd want to upgrade your video card and MB anyhow.abc
bob661 - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
#18You were most likely CPU limited with that 6600GT in that system. A 9800 Pro wouldn't be.
bupkus - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
I tried a 6600GT in my old system-- a Barton OC'd to 2.2GHz --and it didn't perform as well as my nephew's 9800 Pro on a Barton w/ a 333 fsb and mem, so I returned it.This Venice seems to perform pretty good without any tweaks. I'm using cheap of-the-shelf PNY 2x512 PC2700 DDR at all default settings. 2T, etc.
SDA - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
>> I still feel like I keep repeating myself from Guide to Guide, but maybe you readers don't notice it as much? :)>>It's a good idea to repeat important points. You'll have no trouble remembering the recommendations you made in the last few guides, but what about readers that just look at the latest guide or forgot what earlier ones said once or twice on one page?
wrt the PSU, these systems will probably eat as much power as a couple incandescent lightbulbs, but that doesn't mean a Fortron or something isn't worth the money for an upgrade. At the very least, a better PSU is pretty much guaranteed to last longer (better elcaps, fans, etc.). Remember, there are some components in rock-bottom generics that will die even if you only draw about ten or twenty watts from the things for their entire lifetimes.
>>Anyway, I don't generally worry much about the mail-in rebate opportunities, as it's basically loaning a company your money at 0% interest for several months.>>
heh.. that's a great way of putting it. Shame that most people won't get it (how many times have you seen someone brag about a large tax refund?).