NEW SYSTEM - Recommend me some RAM!

[Dr. V]

out with the big, and in with the tiny! bye bye system (the one in my sig right now - selling it VERY soon) - hello LanMeister (definitely not the final title as of yet=P)

tiny issue, though, to match a tiny system...i'm hard-pressed on which RAM to get in my system...

I've decided on the Corsair HX 520W PSU (thanks Capper) and now need to be solid on which RAM/Motherboard to get. (PLEASE for any recommendations, use TigerDirect.ca or CanadaComputers.com as best as you can, thanks!)

this is all for a brand new system im building, my new project rig. woo mr LAN!

-Thermaltake Lanbox - $156.79 - (but I'm getting the black one)
-E6320 - $205.99
-Asus P5B-VM Intel P965 Chipset or G965 - I don't know which one it is lol!
-Mushkin HP2-6400 DDR2-800 2x1GB High Performance Series CAS 4-5-4-11 - $164.99 after $25 Mail-in Rebate -- as it stands for NOW...
-Corsiar HX Series 520W Modular PSU - $125.99 > $115.99 after MIR (thanks Capps)
-preserving my current video card before grabbing a 8800GTS (waiting for AMDs to come out)
--also ill be grabbing one extra 60mm fan for the 3rd slot since im not water cooling.

with all those parts, total BEFORE MIRs is $878.66 (obviously not with the video card cost, i just linked it for the sake of you guys seeing the exact video card)

AS OF NOW, $800 is my budget, so thats a bit over, but looks worth it to me unless i can get a better set of RAM...Goes without saying this is almost a PERFECT fit.

now the debate is on the RAM and the motherboard.

thanks guys!

ill probably transform this to a project thread later on:P

[Capper]

that Corsair 520W PSU will be perfect for that build.

You might want to look at the 2Gb G.Skill kits....they are very good kits, and would probably fit your budget a bit better

[Dr. V]

i have NO idea what it is, but G.Skill is almost non-existent in stores that i look at here in Toronto...and from NCIX they are too pricey for the 2GB sticks, definitely higher than the Mushkin ones.

would you recommend maybe an OCZ compared to the Mushkin HP2 set? $189.99, and after MIR = $164.99...if not maybe a Kingston HyperX set i can get for $164.99 flat...

p.s. the ram in my current list isnt a high-end selection or anything, its a "Value" series ram, but an awesome price for DDR2-800 2x1GB...

then again with much better performance from a different set for not all that much more, how can you go wrong? especially if that 520W is more than capable =D

[Capper]

I always forget you're in Canada.

If you are looking at budget memory, I'd strongly consider the Corsair Value Select, which I consider to be the best "Budget" memory. if you are looking for something more along the lines of inexpensive enthusiast memory, I'd look at the OCZ kits.....You can't go wrong between Corsair, OCZ, and mushkin, all three offer very good products and lifetime warranties

[JazzyJake]

i was going to suggest hanging onto the current CPU to save money for the moment, but then i remembered you're selling it...hmm

[Dr. V]

Originally Posted by JazzyJake

i was going to suggest hanging onto the current CPU to save money for the moment, but then i remembered you're selling it...hmm

besides, that 4MB cache being double what i have now is geared towards improving graphical and 3D performance isnt it? and thats what i do and ultimately care about most...

also, the chip i have now is a pretty bad OCer, that's the wrong stat in my SIG i actually had to bring it down to stock because it got really unstable. and i like OCing :D

Originally Posted by Capper

I always forget you're in Canada.

If you are looking at budget memory, I'd strongly consider the Corsair Value Select, which I consider to be the best "Budget" memory. if you are looking for something more along the lines of inexpensive enthusiast memory, I'd look at the OCZ kits.....You can't go wrong between Corsair, OCZ, and mushkin, all three offer very good products and lifetime warranties

that's exactly the RAM i have in my system right now - in my sig.


that Mushkin HP2 set found here seems VERY attractive! timings are amazing, 4-5-4-11, and - its Mushkin!

if there are any other recommendations, from CanadaComputers.com preferably, or TigerDirect.ca, throw then my way.

the ONLY reason why im going to TigerDirect is for the motherboard. correct me if i'm wrong, but thats one of the TOP mATX motherboards u can get, and so i dont have to settle for a worse MSI or ASUS one, it's worth the trip to TG. not really for the added distance - i just don't like dealing with them, much prefer the newest location of CC - its close and they actually know what they're doing!

as for the CPU cooler - i've decided to stick with stock for now. the Copper still allows for some OCing room, and i need to find the BEST POSSIBLE COOLER that can actually fit i that case and clear the PSU.

also, any OTHER mobo recommendations? although i think that Gigabyte is probably perfect...

[Capper]

I'll never recommend TigerDirect, their service is awful....too often i've ordered things that appeared as in stock, only to get an email days later saying it was on backorder and would be shipped once they got it in stock.

As to the memory, that CanadaComputers.com has a couple outstanding kits listed in the side panel, I'd recommend you check out the OCZ Spec Ops kit or that Titanium XTC kit

[Beetle Bailey]

I just put some in. So far so good.LOL I will have to wait for my new build to actually see how it acts.
OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 900(PC2 7200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

[Dr. V]

so we're talking

OCZ Special Ops Edition
vs
OCZ Titanium XTC EPP-Ready
vs
Mushkin HP2 High Performance

and that DDR2-900 just makes me curious lol.

[screwballl]

one thing I would watch out for is compatibility between that CPU and mobo... with the new part numbers and such with the 6X20 procs, some of the 945 series boards may not recognize it properly
also as you are going budget, I don't see why you don't just step down to 667 memory as they tend to have better timings and you will not see any difference except a few benchmarks

for the mobo, an idea might be something like this:
Asus P5B-VM Intel Socket 775 ATX Motherboard Audio Video PCI Express Gigabit LAN USB 20. & Firewire Serial ATA RAID P5BVM