Hey all

im upgrading my system soon and i was wondering if my choice is good , i have aswell a few questions


i was thinking about this kind of rig :

CPU : E8500

MOBO : ASUS P5QL PRO ( Intel® P43/ICH10R - Socket 775 - FSB 1333 130$ish


RAM : 17027 - DDR2 2GB [1GBx2] DDR1066 (PC2-8500) - OCZ Intel Optimized Titanium Edition Dual [OCZ2T1066IO2GK] will take any suggestion about memory in this price range 80$ more or less for the pair


Questions :

1)
is it worth it to put 4Gb RAM in dual channel ? so that will be 2Gb ? i guess it's better for gaming but im still not convinced and i must do like port 1-3 and 2-4 with the pairs or somthing like this right

2)
another question about RAM what does PC8500 mean ? im not really into this and the timing stuff so any help would be welcome

3)
would a 550w PSU be enough considering i have a x1950 series ATI card ?

1) 4 gigs in pc will be 4 gigs. Dual or single channel.

2) Pointless & wasteful. It'll run at 667mhz. Half the cpu fsb (1333). Unless you overclock. That mobo is a no-no at that.

3) 450W minimal. 550W for CF. Actual will be lower as always.

http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfir [...] 0/%20X1950

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731

P5Q Pro (P45 chipset) would be better.

What PSU is "enough" can be argued many different ways.

Personally, I like to buy PSUs that will last me through a few builds.

i plan to overclock , but not anytime soon , when i get the time and the money to buy additional stuff like cooler , new psu etc

Def. P5Q PRO.

any model in the p5q lineup is fine.

thanks for your advices guys , now im hesitating between p5K or Asrock P45TS .. , and as for the ram i still haven't decided yet , could it be possible to attain 4 Ghz(C2d E8500) with some PC2 6400/800mhz RAM ? or it would be more wise to get some PC2 8500/1066 mhz , also since im not using Vista yet im not really sure to get 4Gb of ram , i wonder if i will see the difference between 2 and 4 on xp

to get 4Ghz you will definately need 1066 ram as 400FSB will net you less then 4Ghz.

Only on micron d9 chips rated at 800mhz. They're overclockable to 1000mhz-ish. YMMV. If you're not sure what chips the ram use, get the faster 1066mhz+ ram.

ah ok good to know , i was wondering if 2 of these could work in dual channel together (2x2x1Gb kit)? http://www.prodimex.ch/pInfos.aspx?CODE=16856 also is this good enough for O/C ?

No idea. Most won't say what chips are on the ram sticks. The users share this info.

Let me break it down for you. You're not overclocking ram. You're underclocking 1066mhz ram to overclock the cpu. Here's how:

E8500
http://processorfinder.intel.com/d [...] Spec=SLAPK

1333 / 4 = 333.25 * 9.5 = 3165.875 or 3.16Ghz cpu at stock
333.25 * 2 = 666.5 or 667Mhz ram at stock

By default, any ram will run at 667 or slower. Say, you want 4Ghz o/c on cpu:

4000 / 9.5 = 421.05~ * 2 = 842Mhz ram

The 1066 ram will be underclocked to 842. That ram guarantees to run at 842Mhz, but NOT 800mhz ram cuz the chips determine overclockability.

Back to your Q: no you won't be overclocking the ram. Just the cpu.

any ddr2-800 ram can overclock to 842mhz there is no need for a 1066 memory kit.save some money and spend it on something else.cooling maybe?

yes auscanzukus thanks for the tip even thought i've just figured this out this weekend so basically the 1066 Mhz is only like a certifiyed , im still tempted to go for 1066mhz ram since im sure not to break the guarentee when i get to O/C em and i don't need to choose a specific 800Mhz ram with the best overclockable chips , i just get the lowest priced PC 8500 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15 DDR2 and i'll be fine , by the way it's not so expensive at the moment

this RAM sounds like a good choice CZ Titanium XTC DDR2 1066MHz CL5 - 2GB Kit (Intel Optimized)

as for the MOBO i might be tempted by this board : P5QL-E but i will decide after reading a complete review of this model

The ram is ok. Not familiar with that mobo, but I'd still go with P5Q-E or P5Q PRO for overclocking.

yea prolly will go for one of these , apparently the only difference between P5Q-E and P5Q-PRO is the crossfire support on the P5Q-E right ? i assume yes i might aswell go for the P5Q-E then since i have a x1950 , and could add another one when i get the cash , then again , i rather go direct X 10 than spend on a old card for going crossfire ?! i don't know .

and by the way what you mean not familiar with that mobo any if you could post me a website where i could read about this , thanks alot again

woa i've just read that to get full use of crossfire i should get a X48 chipset mobo which is very pricy. .. so i might just go for the P5Q-PRO and get a 4Ghz stable on a E8500 , then let's hope my x1950 will hold games for a year or two