Hi guys,
Since building my first sytem a year ago I've been a little out of the hardware loop, so I wonder if someone can explain something to me?
My current system is with an Athlon XP1800+ and 256mb crucial DDR 2100.
I want to upgrade the memory to 512mb ( a single stick).
Then in about three months I will add another 512 stick (to get a total of a gig)
Then in about 9-12 months I plan to upgrade the processor. By that time, my existing processer will be a bit sluggish and the processors around the 3ghz mark will have dropped down in price a lot.
My question is this: I know that memory is backwards compatible, so when I buy a new 512mb stick, I want to get something faster than DDR 2100 so that when I upgrade the processor I wont have to change the memory again.
So do I need DDR 2700 or 3200? I know that the newest Athlons use a 333fsb...and I assume that's what I'll go for when I upgrade.
So I *think* DDR 2700 would be fine....but are there any reasons to go for the DDR 3200? Which I think runs at 400mhz...
*EDIT* Okay, I see the new Athlon 3200 uses 400mhz....I'm not sure whether I would go that fast when I upgrade, or just settle for a 3ghz at 333. But should I just get the fastest memory I can? The 3200 isnt any more expensive than the 2700...
Cheers,
MAS


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Definitely PC3200 (DDR400) preferably a good brand like TwinMOS, Crucial or Adata. You don't mention a mobo in your plans, you'll surely need that as you current would be limited to 266FSB right? Finally you don't need to worry about affording the 'top' CPU as if you buy the right mobo, cooler, RAM and CPU you can easily achieve XP3000+ to XP3200+ speeds out of any TbredB or Barton CPU (£40-70). If you may want to game with this system then definitely look to the gfx card first, by far the most vital part and even a £70ish GF4TI4200 on your current XP1800+ and 256MB PC2100 would fly!
Most of Geil's earlier RAM was cheap crap that was over-volted to hell in order to run at its claimed speed. Crucial have always been known for absolutely rock solid reliability and a wonderful guarantee, service etc. Corsair is considered the best but it's no where near worth the asking price. Adata is often as cheap as much generic stuff but way way better. Samsung is very well praised and widely used in the US, not so common over here. TwinMOS is probably still the top pick as you get great RAM that's often o/c'able with a good latency time and is very well priced (CPUcity & Komplett IIRC). Absolutely no point in getting 'dual matched' stuff and there's very little point in getting 'low latency' (esp on Dual Channel mobos) or stuff rated faster than PC3200 esp if they demand a higher price.
SN41G2 use the nForce2 IGP and as such are not capable of 400FSB but you may still get pretty close. The IGP is about as good as onboard gfx gets but still WAY WAY slower and less capable than the current entry level offerings which sell for around £40. If you do use IGP then definitely use Dual Channel as it gives your gfx almost double the speed (GF4MX440 vs GF4MX420).
