what's the best ram out there if i want to build a computer on stock speed... with a slight possibility of OC'ing in the future?

processor will be intel c2d or quad core most likely.

Only one choice - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231065

Now *that* is cheap for 4-4-4-12 DDR2-800 RAM

Normally the cheap stuff has horrible timings.... you americans suck, we'd pay double for that

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] de=85025-6

No, that is absolutely awful. I wouldnt buy it for 50$.

The RAM I chose is the best u can find.

With little or no OCing you can save some money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145015

I am running this at 700 with 4-4-4-12 timings.

@ Track,

The XMS is pretty good RAM and more than enough for the OP. Take the extra $35 and put it in the proc or vid card..

I would suggest the Kingston Value Ram 2gb ddr2 667 kit.

I have a friend with this kit, and I have bought Kingston products 15 times with only perfect experiences. cant say the same for Corsair

it costs 65 with free shipping on the egg

Look, if u dont want to overclock then thats fine.

But its not worth half of the RAM i chose, because its Mircon D9. It can overclock to over 1000Mhz and its the best chips there are - more reliable aswel.

Just go here and see what's cheap that day, then pick what ya comfy with

$91 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145034
$83 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145590
$75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820144062

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820134046

$65 with Free Shipping

its a very reliable company as I said b4.

if i wasnt going to OC thats the ram that I would get

Looks like a killer deal to me Haywood.

1) Cheap.
2) Great Timings
3) Headroom to increase the FSB from 533 to 667 on the C2Ds.

I like it, Gonna get another 2Gb this week. OC's plenty far for me and I know it will hit 800 at 5-5-5-18 with 2.0v.

thanks for the recommendations.

is 4-4-4-12 the best timing for stock build?

For this speed, yes.

The RAM I chose is the best, regardless of timings.

Below is the List of chips used on DDR2 RAM modules, that is about 3 months or so outdated, is still good as a reference.

http://ramlist.infinityx.nl/ddr2/

what are your opinions on crucial ballistix?

and what's the difference between ddr2 800 and ddr2 1066 except for the price and 400 mhz / 533 mhz respectively?