4GB DDR2 or DDR3? Top Of The line Build!

Zer0Cool

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Hello,

I am getting very close to finish choosing the parts for my new build. I know very little when it comes to choosing a good RAM. I hope you guys can help me.

My Specs:

CASE: COOLER MASTER Cosmos S 1100
CPU: Q9450 OR E8500 (not suere et)
HDD: X2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0)
RAM: ???
MOBO: ??? depends on the ram I get
CD-DVD/RW: ??? (not suer et)
VID CARD: 8800 GTS (g92) or 9800 GTX (not suer et)
PSU: ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ800 (800W)
CPU COLLER: Thermalright Ultra-120 OR Tuniq Tower

I know that DD3 is still somewhat expansive, but I think I found a good deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220286

Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $369

I really want my comp to be somewhat "future proof" I know its a crazy word in today's market, but still. If someone thinks I can get better deal plz let me know. Is this a good RAM? Will it @ good? I know that a lot of people will say get DDR2, and maybe u right, but i'm just trying to build a fast GAMING computer. I' am willing to spend money If I know that the product is good (nothing 2 crazy plz like $800 DDR3 ram) also can someone plz explain to me what timing mean? (ex: 7-7-7-20) what do this numbers mean? is lower better? Also whats better (4G) 2G stick or (4G) 1G stick?

Thanks
 
that ram looks good , it will work well with the asus P5E3 Mobo . talk to a true folder about that board
 
thats great RAM. talk to true folder. he has a great build. or that other new guy that names his two comps. (cant remember)
 
Hello,
I really want my comp to be somewhat "future proof" I know its a crazy word in today's market, but still. If someone thinks I can get better deal plz let me know. Is this a good RAM? Will it @ good? I know that a lot of people will say get DDR2, and maybe u right, but i'm just trying to build a fast GAMING computer. I' am willing to spend money If I know that the product is good (nothing 2 crazy plz like $800 DDR3 ram) also can someone plz explain to me what timing mean? (ex: 7-7-7-20) what do this numbers mean? is lower better? Also whats better (4G) 2G stick or (4G) 1G stick?
Thanks

Hello, Zer0Cool.

Your build looks excellent, although i'm not sure if the QX9450 will be in production soon at all. For your graphics, I recommend you start out with a 9800GTX, as they will soon be in production, and should outperform the G92 8800GTS by at hopefully about 20-30%, if not more.

I suggest you go with DDR2 RAM at this point because if you are going to spend the least for DDR3 RAM, you might as well just go for DDR2-1066 or even 800. Tests have shown that the QX9650 performance in games is unaffected, although perhaps that will be different with the QX9450 (but probably not). I'd recommend you get DDR2-1066 to keep up with the processor (instead of DDR2-800), OR you go for the DDR3 RAM with the higher timing.

Timing matters a lot, because it decides what rate the data will be stored and retrieved from the memory, and getting the cheapest memory with the lowest timing for $100 more than its DDR2 counterpart is not a wise decision.

I bet if I used DDR2-1066 RAM on Aquos I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
 
Hello,

I am getting very close to finish choosing the parts for my new build. I know very little when it comes to choosing a good RAM. I hope you guys can help me.

My Specs:

CASE: COOLER MASTER Cosmos S 1100
CPU: Q9450 OR E8500 (not suere et)
HDD: X2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0)
RAM: ???
MOBO: ??? depends on the ram I get
CD-DVD/RW: ??? (not suer et)
VID CARD: 8800 GTS (g92) or 9800 GTX (not suer et)
PSU: ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ800 (800W)
CPU COLLER: Thermalright Ultra-120 OR Tuniq Tower

I know that DD3 is still somewhat expansive, but I think I found a good deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220286

Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $369

I really want my comp to be somewhat "future proof" I know its a crazy word in today's market, but still. If someone thinks I can get better deal plz let me know. Is this a good RAM? Will it @ good? I know that a lot of people will say get DDR2, and maybe u right, but i'm just trying to build a fast GAMING computer. I' am willing to spend money If I know that the product is good (nothing 2 crazy plz like $800 DDR3 ram) also can someone plz explain to me what timing mean? (ex: 7-7-7-20) what do this numbers mean? is lower better? Also whats better (4G) 2G stick or (4G) 1G stick?

Thanks
If you want performance, then DDR2 1200MHz RAM is faster than any DDR3 currently available, so that would be the logical choice if you're going for performance. However, newly released motherboards are obviously encouraging the switch from DDR2 to DDR3 and perhaps the next motherboard you buy won't even support DDR2. So as you want it to be "future proof", I recommend DDR3.
Timings are basically the time the RAM needs in ms to switch rows, columns etc. The lower the better, this is the advantage DDR2 has over DDR3. As for what is better, 2x2 or 4x1. 2x2 is generally a lot more expensive. So buy whatever seems better value. There is no performance difference. If you can I would try and get higher speeds than 1333MHz though as otherwise it's really not worth it over $50 DDR2 800MHz memory.
If you decide to go with DDR2, then I recommend you don't bother spending more on 1066MHz stuff. A lot of 800Mhz kits can OC up to 1100MHz (Corsair and Mushkin).
 
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