Memory sticks question

[Taz]

I want to buy 4GB of DDR2 memory. I can do this by buying 4 x 1GB sticks or 2 x 2GB sticks. I have seen two sets of memory sticks that interest me. There is a huge price difference between the two so I was wondering which would be better to purchase (i.e. would the expensive set be worth it?).

Set 1
===
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
800MHz RAM Speed, CAS 4-4-4-12 Timings, 1.9-2.3v VDIMM, Lifetime Warranty with GeIL. - £35.24

I would need two of these sets to make up 4GB, bringing the price to £70.48

Set 2
===
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK)
800MHz RAM Speed, CAS 4-4-4-15 Timings, 2.1-2.2v VDIMM, Lifetime Warranty with OCZ - £140.99

As you can see, Set 2 would keep two of my memory slots free but I doubt I would ever use them anyway. It's twice the price of Set 1. With Set 1 I would need four sticks. Would the timings suffer as a result? I assume that Set 2 would work at the advertised 4-4-4-15 timings but Set 1 wouldn't work at the 4-4-4-12 timings if four sticks were used? If this is the case then would using four sticks slow down the memory timings significantly?

[dave87]

Traditionally it was better to go for less sticks to enable you to overclock more. As far as I'm aware this makes little to no difference on the newer intel chipsets, and so you may as well go for the 4x1gb.

[WannaPiEcE]

but Set 1 wouldn't work at the 4-4-4-12 timings if four sticks were used?

As long as you set the timings and voltage manually in the BIOS there should be no reason why those sticks wouldn't run at their rated speed and timings in 4x1 Quad channel. Yes thats right Quad Channel 2xDual Channel look it up.

Anyways from my own previous experience with 2GB sticks is that they are a pain to overclock and also, your motherboard might not support DDR2-800 when using 2GB sticks, some motherboards (p35 and others) only support DDR2-667 when using 2GB sticks. However on the other hand overclocking 4x1 GB sticks can prove difficult as well.

IMO get yourself the £70 set and save some money.

[freddie]

yup, stick to the cheaper (though hardly less able) 4 x 1gb sticks.

4 gb is plenty for the next year or 2 if not longer, by then i imagine you'll have a new computer! spend the extra money on a case & quiet fans!

thats just what i'd do.

[Oobie-]

As a note (just to be aware and to not throw you off them)
Those GeiL's are the same ones I have. And less than a year later, one stick has decided to bugger itself up. May have just been mine, one bad batch, may not apply to you. But just so you know.

[2Cold Scorpio]

I had the same decision to make (except I was choosing Patriot-branded RAM). I went wit hthe 4x1GB set; it was only $140 for 4 sticks of 800MHz RAM with 4-4-4-12 timings (which I thought were pretty good, IMO) and heat spreaders. I don't plan to overclock my RAM any more than absolutely needed to make my CPU's overclock work properly, and anything over 4 GBs of RAM is pointless without 64-bit Vista (and some would argue you don't even notice a difference after 4 GBs anyways). Just my two cents; I'd get two sets of the 2x1GB; its much cheaper!

[Blitzen]

For the fantastic value of 2x1gb sets its the way to go.
4gb of RAM for under £80 is plain and simply the best value in the component world at the moment.

The prices will go up soon though i think as Christmas approaches.

[Taz]

Well, I ordered the cheaper memory but it ended up not quite such a fabulous deal as OcUK charged me £8 for delivery! It was still a good deal but the delivery charge was rather excessive.