memory 3200/3500

[windog]

The supp;ier I am going to buy the rest of he bits from only stocks corsair 256mb pc3200 and I didnt really want to pay the price for this but they have offered me adata 450ddr at a reasonable price.
Is there any advantage/disadvantage to using this? (system based on Barton2500+/NF7-S)

Windog

[TiG]

Depends on a couple of things,

A) how much.
B) do you intend to overclock your machine to 225fsb? Is so it might not be worth the cash.
C) it gives you future proof to allow you to use it in future faster FSB machines.
D) is it worth it compared to paying for say twinmos w/winbond.?

TiG

[Austin]

Yes Corsair cost a bomb though are practically the best ... price is still overbloated though IMHO. Adata aren't as well respected as www.crucial.com/uk (free delivery BTW) or TwinMOS ( www.komplet.co.uk www.cpucitystore.co.uk ). For an idea of Adata pricing look at www.refreshcomputers.com/acatalog/

I would say Adata PC3700 (DDR450?) would certainly be superior to Corsair's PC3200 ... BUT PC3200 is easily as much as you need to get the most out of SktA (400FSB) and at stock for the hungry P4 800FSB (even o/c'ing many use PC3200 async to get 1000FSB+). By the time something faster than PC3200 is truly needed I'd imagine DDR-II will fill the place, so that may kill the added investment of DDR faster than PC3200. So what would I suggest? Look at TwinMOS, Crucial and Adata based on the official PC3200 ratings ... you may find 2x256MB is within your grasp for a very reasonable price!

[windog]

The Adata ddr 450 is £38.78 inc vat

The reason I am considering this is that cpu-city I have discovered is only 1/2 mile from me so I can collect (no delivery charge!) and I can buy the whole system from them about £3 more than shopping arround various different suppliers (excluding any delivery charges- this would make the diff greater)
Originally I was looking at Twinmoss pc3200. this would cost me about the same (or about £15 more for w/winbond) + delivery

At the moment I have no immediate plans to overclock but in the future when I know a bit more.......

So its really a money thing . If I don't create any problems using the pc3500 its probably the easiest route if the Adata is ok memory

Windog

[Austin]

Yup there should be no problems using Adata PC3500 and it may even run at PC3200 speed with fast timings. As far as o/c'ing your XP2500+ & NF7-S goes in truth all you need is PC3200 as gains going above this are tiny, even PC2700 & 333FSB aren't as much slower as many make out. It can make more sense to keep to a regular 400FSB (synced PC3200) and simply up the multiplier to find the max o/c. Anyway if you get a good price for Adata PC3500 snatch it up, it certainly won't hurt although you may just want to check with Abit that there isn't any freak incompatability with Adata (I seriously doubt it).