Question about which ram to go with.

[Soliex]

Im currently peicing things together for my new computer and so far this is what i have come up with.
-DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939
-SAPPHIRE 100106SR-RD Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
-OCZ Gold Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC
3200) Unbuffered
-AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939

And i wasent sure about the RAM, i have seen some review sites including this one where the motherboard supports UP TO DDR400 (3200) and they throw a stick of 4200 in. Its confusing me because im not really sure which id wanna choose. Im trying to find the best RAM that i can get for my system. Thanks in advance for any help.

[One4yu2c]

Anything beyond PC3200 is meant for overclocking, which the DFI nF4 handles with aplomb. The best RAM choice really depends on both your budget and what you plan on doing (overclocking or running stock).

If it were ME, I'd feel it an injustice to couple that motherboard with anything less than OCZ's VX or Mushkin's Redline, both of which require high voltages to shine. One of the highlights of the DFI is the ability to provide up to 4.0V to the RAM, a feat no other nF4 motherboard cannot match without either a voltage mod or an OCZ DDR Booster.

[Soliex]

alright i was looking around on newegg and i couldnt find any OCZ VX, but i did find mushkins redline http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146389

its the mushkin Redline XP3500 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 433 (PC 3500)

But again, the motherboard supports only up to PC3200, so this worrys me.


And another thing that worries me, Im not sure which AMD 64bit Core i wanna go with.. San diego, Clawhammer, Venice, Newcastle. I remember when i was building my other pc and it was just AMD or Intel.

[One4yu2c]

But again, the motherboard supports only up to PC3200, so this worrys me.

Because there are no AMD processors that at stock speeds will use anything higher than a 200MHz HT bus (which is PC3200/DDR400). If they market the motherboard as supporting say, PC4000, then they're basically advertising a guaranteed overclock, which obviously they can't do. If not overclocking, higher sped'd RAM will simply run at the 'slower' speed to match your processor.

OCZ VX PC3200 1gb - $152 shipped
OCZ VX PC4000 1gb - $189 shipped ($169 after $20 mail-in-rebate)
Mushkin Redline PC3200 1gb - $143 shipped ($128 after $15 mail-in-rebate)
Mushkin Redline PC3500 1gb - $169 shipped
Mushkin Redline PC4000 1gb - $186 shipped

[Soliex]

Alright cool, thanks for your help, but i do like sticking with newegg, they have proven to be awesome in the past. And id probobally fork over that extra $50 just to get the 4000

[One4yu2c]

All of those should be available at Newegg - I just linked the lowest reliable vendor from a PriceWatch search.

[Sovereign]

The only drawback with PC4000 is the need for active cooling. In Mushkin's press release regarding "Redline" memory, they stated that in order to avoid memory errors, you need 25-30CFM of air over the RAM modules.

[Soliex]

Well is that a high amount of airflow? or should a normal case output that much?, i have a case comming in later today that i bought from newegg that i plan to use, i think it has 2 80mm's up front and 1 120m in the back, plus im getting a 520W powersupply with 3 fans.

[Zelig]

Well is that a high amount of airflow? or should a normal case output that much?, i have a case comming in later today that i bought from newegg that i plan to use, i think it has 2 80mm's up front and 1 120m in the back, plus im getting a 520W powersupply with 3 fans.

You have to have fans over the ram in addition to any other case fans if you're pumping high volts into them.