Ram speeds

**xactly** · #1 1st Sep 2007, 12:57

is there any difference between 667mhz ram 800mhz and if a mobo supports 8gb and i only want 2gb would it be better to buy 1x2gb stick or 2x1gb.

**cyberspacegenie** · #2 1st Sep 2007, 17:50

Basically the difference between them is the top speed of the RAM.

In terms of which is better, it depends on a few factors inc. your cpu, RAM price, latency, and whether or not you are planning to overclock.

In terms of memory, its better to get 2x1GB. This will run dual channel (basically its like having more roads to and from your memory so less chance of congestion). Just be sure that you put them in the right slots - your motherboard should have matched slots (usually 2 sets of slots the same colour) this is for dual channel. Your motherboard manual should tell you which slots are matched if you're not sure.

**xactly** · #3 2nd Sep 2007, 15:14

rigt thnx it was i was choosing between OCZ 2GB 667mhz "SPECIAL OPS" and OCZ 2GB 800mhz "SPECIAL OPS" i was thinking of overclocking the FSB for the cpu and ram to increase it a little but its aq6600 going to 3.0Ghz stage.

**cyberspacegenie** · #4 2nd Sep 2007, 17:26

When you overclock its best to set the cpu:ram ratio to 1:1 so the ram speed automatically increases in proportion to cpu speed. I have a q6600 running at 3GHz and it was pretty easy to achieve, but I am using a thermalright ultra 120 extreme cpu cooler, not the stock cooler. I know the stock cooler can reach about 2.8Ghz but I heard after this it starts to struggle and temps get high, so I would suggest getting an aftermarket cpu cooler not using the stock.

There is a really good guide to overclocking a q6600 here:
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=110267

I found it really useful. Read the guides (you`ll see the others when you get to the bottom of this one) for core 2 duo too - its useful for background. i had to read things a couple of times but it made the overclock very easy in the end.

My RAM is DDR2-800. When I overclocked it was running at 1:1 with the cpu so @ 3GHz it was running at 667Mhz. I have since increased it to 800mhz so its running at a 5:6 (cpu:ram). I havent run any benchmarks so not sure if it makes any real difference. If you want a higher overclock than 3Ghz then definately get DDR-800 Ram. After 3Ghz you will have to overclock DDR2-667 Ram but DDR2-2 800 will will still go further before you need to think about overclocking.

Also Vcore voltage is important so try to keep this as low as possible while keeping the system stable. for me it is 1.30volts but for others i have seen it as low as 1.25 or less. just depends on your chip. Basically the lower the voltage, the lower the heat. Just make sure you run orthos or something else that is recommended to ensure your system is stable.