Intel 975XBX and Conroe - which RAM?

[jkc120]

So I've decided to get the Intel 975XBX motherboard for the Conroe I've pre-ordered, and I'm trying to figure out which RAM to use in it.

I've seen mixed information on the internet, some stating ICH7 only supports DDR2-667, others showing the motherboard capable of DDR2-800.

The Conroe I purchased is the E6600 (2.4 GHz, 1066 Mhz FSB). I'm not interested in overclocking, but I'd like to get the most optimal RAM possible for this configuration. If it means I have to overclock the RAM, I'm willing to do that as long as it's not much and remains stable.

I'm still unsure how important the CPU FSB to RAM ratio is. I know that back in the PC66/100/133 days, it was ideal to get a 1:1 ratio to ensure proper sync with the FSB and RAM. Is that still the case?

So I guess I'm not sure which of these I should be getting:

* PC2-3200: DDR2-SDRAM memory stick specified to run at 200 MHz using DDR2-400 chips, 3.200 GB/s bandwidth
* PC2-4200: DDR2-SDRAM memory stick specified to run at 266 MHz using DDR2-533 chips, 4.267 GB/s bandwidth
* PC2-5300: DDR2-SDRAM memory stick specified to run at 333 MHz using DDR2-667 chips, 5.333 GB/s bandwidth1
* PC2-6400: DDR2-SDRAM memory stick specified to run at 400 MHz using DDR2-800 chips, 6.400 GB/s bandwidth

Or should I get PC2-8000 to allow me to use a better ratio/multiplier? Would it make more sense to get a good multiplier/ratio to get the E6700 instead of the E6600?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Big B]

If you want to raise the memory speed, then get DDR2-800. If you'll just leave everything at stock speeds, get DDR2-533.

 

[jkc120]

If you want to raise the memory speed, then get DDR2-800. If you'll just leave everything at stock speeds, get DDR2-533.

Actually, I ended up going with the Intel DP965LTCK motherboard. So are you saying I'd have to do some kind of overclocking to take advantage of the DDR2-800? I'm not planning on overclocking the processor or FSB. But I do want the fastest RAM possible, within a reasonably price.

If I understand correctly, the FSB on the Conroe is 1066 (4x266). Which means DDR2-533 would be synchronized with the FSB which used to be (and maybe still is) a good thing. But I am guessing that running the memory at DDR2-800, despite being non-synchronized will result in better overall performance, right? Does being synchronized really make much difference anymore?

Would I be better off running it at DDR2-800 with the 800 timings (the stick I'm looking at is 4-4-3-10) or at DDR2-533 with assumedly much faster timings (I'm guessing it'll be at least 3-3-3-8 or so?)

Is it worth spending the extra money for DDR2-800 with 4-4-3-10 timings over DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timings? Or would the performance difference be negligible? For that matter, would the performance be much difference between DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timings versus DDR2-533 (which would match the FSB) at 3-3-3-12 timings?

The DDR2-800 4-4-3-10 stuff is $329, the DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 RAM is $272, and the DDR2-533 3-3-3-12 sticks are $170.