Best memory for Abit AV8-3rd eye

[fighterpilot]

Dear Ram Guy,

 

I am building a gaming system based on the Abit AV8-3rd Eye Mobo (or the ASUS A8V Delux if the Abits aren't in stock). The processor will be an Athlon 64 3500+ with a winchester core (90 nm process), which I am hoping is a fairly overclockable chip. I would like to overclock to some degree, but my primary goal will be a stable system. There's nothing like flying a 1 hour mission in Il-2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles, only to have your computer crash right as you're trying to land the plane (and thus losing credit for the mission). So, which memory is the best choice?

 

1. Corsair XMS Twin X 1024-3200XLPT DDR 400 (Xtra Low Latency timings 2-2-2-5)

 

2. Corsair XMS Twin X 1024-4000PT DDR 500 (3-4-4-8)

 

3. Corsair XMS Twin X 1024-4400C25 DDR 550 (2.5-4-4-8)

 

4. Some other Corsair memory

 

Is the Twin X 1024-3200XLPT the best choice since it has very low latency timings (thus very good performance without any overclocking) and is still overclockable? If I go with faster memory, am I defeating myself (since the timings are more relaxed, and you must overclock to make up for this, which seems like it would impact stability)? Can you run the 1024-4000PT and the 1024-4400C25 sticks at DDR 400 without adverse effects? (and at their standard latency timings?) I was hoping to buy a computer very soon, so I hope you have time to answer this quickly. Thank you very much for you advice.

 

Here's more info on the system I was planning to build, if its helpful:

 

550 Watt Antec "True Power" PS

Thermaltake Viking Case with two 120 mm case fans

Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU CPU cooler (aluminum/copper heat sink with fan--I'm not into water cooling)

Arctic Silver 5 under the heat sink

Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT video card

Audigy 2 ZS sound card

Seagate 160 gig SATA harddrive

Western Digital 120 gig 7200 rpm IDE drive (recycled from current system)

Pioneer Dual Layer DVD burner drive

NEC floppy drive

 

total cost approx 1600 plus shipping from Newegg

[RAM GUY]

Well let’s put it this way,

If you just want to run at the best timings with out much of an O.C. then Twinx1024-3200XL would be the best choice. However if you will try for the highest Frequency at the best timings I would suggest Twinx1024-4400C25 as they would support tighter timings at a lower frequency but still have the margin for an extreme O.C.

[fighterpilot]

OK, let me phrase the question a little differently. There is a thread from 9/1/04 where you (RAM Guy) said that "the AMD 64 platform has not proven to OC much past FSB 220-230 MHz 1:1" This was 4-5 months ago in reference to an Athlon 64 3000+ processor, which I would guess had an older core (Newcastle?) and was likely based on 130 nm technology. Are you seeing any improvement in FSB speeds for the newer Athlon 64's (Winchester core and 90 nm technology)? So, three questions:

 

1. What max FSB speed would your realistically expect to get overclocking an Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket 939) with a Winchester core (90 nm technology)? (Obviously, the system needs to be stable.) I know this type of figure is variable and you don't have a crystal ball--I'm just looking for ballpark realistic numbers to help me choose memory.

 

2. What max FSB speed would a pair of Txin X 1024-3200XLPT modules realistically support? What would be the timings you would recommend?

 

3. Which Mobo would you prefer? Abit AV8-3rd Eye or ASUS A8V Delux or some other Mobo?

 

Thanks for your expertise!

[RAM GUY]

1. What max FSB speed would your realistically expect to get over clocking an Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket 939) with a Winchester core? (Obviously, the system needs to be stable.) I know this type of figure is variable and you don't have a crystal ball--I'm just looking for ballpark realistic numbers to help me choose memory.

 

A: There is no way I can answer this, and if I could I would not be permitted. But I would suggest you do some research like at http://www.overclocker.com and see what others have been able to over clock their CPU's to. That would be the best way.

 

2. What max FSB speed would a pair of Twinx 1024-3200XLPT modules realistically support? What would be the timings you would recommend?

 

A: XMS3200XL are made with Samsung Rev F TCCD IC's which are rated at Cass 3-4-4-8 at 500 MHz from Samsung. We have tested these modules to Cass 2-2-2-5 at DDR400, and that is what we guarantee them too DDR400 at Cass 2-2-2-5. That being said, they may or may not run at a more relaxed setting at a higher Frequency, but we can only guarantee them at what we have tested them at!

 

3. Which Mobo would you prefer? ABIT AV8-3rd Eye or ASUS A8V Deluxe or some other Mobo?

 

A: Again, I am sorry but I really can’t answer this question, as it will cause a conflict of interest for me. Not to mention I work with both companies every day. And both MB's have proven to run well. I would maybe try some of the other forums and ask some of the users who have both MB's and see what they have to say about them. http://www.houseofmobos.com or http://www.hardocp.com would be a good place to start.

[fighterpilot]

Ramguy,

 

Thank you for your response.

 

The link you suggested: http://www.overclocker.com goes to a vendor. Are you sure that's the right link?

 

You wrote: "XMS3200XL are made with Samsung Rev F TCCD IC's which are rated at Cass 3-4-4-8 at 500 MHz from Samsung. We have tested these modules to Cass 2-2-2-5 at DDR400, and that is what we guarantee them too DDR400 at Cass 2-2-2-5."

 

Are you saying that Samsung rated the modules at a FSB clock speed of 500 MHz or at DDR 500 (250 MHz FSB clock speed) using 3-4-4-8 timings?

 

I know your memory is only guaranteed to run at your rated specs. I wasn't asking about the guarantee. I was asking about what the "typical"

Twin X 1024-3200 XLPT modules might generally be expected to overclock to using relaxed timings.

 

Thank you very much for your help and advice.

[RAM GUY]

No Samsung rated the IC's not the modules. The modules are our design! But using these IC's!

 

I know your memory is only guaranteed to run at your rated specs. I wasn't asking about the guarantee. I was asking about what the "typical"

Twin X 1024-3200 XLPT modules might generally be expected to overclock to using relaxed timings.

 

Its hard to speculate because there are just too many possibilities. I think the best way would be to give you links to some of the reviews about these modules so you can see what others have done with them.

 

http://www.bigbruin.com/reviews/corsairtwinx/

The Corsair TwinX 1024-3200XL Memory performs great at its advertised speeds, with a front-side-bus of 200MHz and aggressive (2-2-2-5) timings. Using the (2-2-2-5) timings and changing nothing else this memory operated error free up to 214MHz. A modest RAM voltage of 2.8V allows this memory to fly. Even at a FSB of 240MHz it still maintains respectable (2.5-3-3-6) timings. 5 Stars & Product Recommended

 

 

http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=58

As always we must overclock and push new technology to the edge and find the breaking points. Lately Legit Reviews has been going for stability and quality of our overclocks rather than showing a single benchmark and showing off unstable results. All the numbers that you will see below have been found to be stable via RST Pro2 testing. When it came to overclocking the Corsair XMS 3200XL memory we found the max overclock to be 510MHz DDR with the most relaxed timings possible; 3-4-4-8, 1T with PAT disabled. This is a 110MHz increase over default and is a great overclock in our opinion. We also found it interesting that the CAS Latency didn't play a big role in overclocking this modules. By this I mean we were able to hit 500MHz+ on the memory at either CL 2.5 or 3. The numbers shown below represent the best bandwidth that we acheived. This was found to be at tighter timings with Performance Mode (PAT) enabled. It should also be noted that on the ASUS P4C800E-Deluxe motherboard the memory voltage only goes up to 2.85Vdimm, so it's possible that these modules have more headroom if more voltage is available.

 

I think if you do a search like with http://www.google.com for this part# you will find a lot more information that might help you.