Advice for buying RAM

[Dubstyles]

Hi all!

I was directed here from the Fallout3nexux forums by Rondeth who said i'd find more knowledgeable answers here!

Im buying new RAM so Fallout 3 can look as lovely as it does on a platform and hopefully better!

Here are my specs:
2.67 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
EVGA Nvidia NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. P35-DS3L
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz

(interestingly enough, i have the CPU overclocked to 3.33 in BIOS but Windows still reads it at 2.67...)

After reading the basic memory knowledge sticky and swearing off Crucial Ballistix, the last RAM i had which burned out just after a year, i have decided to get either G. Skill or Mushkin. A little more expensive but hopfully worth the money.

My question is what timings and speed should i be looking for?

It seems that 4-4-4-12 DDR2 800 is cheaper than 5-5-5-15 DDR2 1066 at Newegg regardless of manufacturer. Is the extra 20 bucks worth it with my setup? What ram would you suggest for my MoBo? Also do i really need to D/L the latest Gigabyte BIOS Drivers, i'm scared to mess anything up!

Any ideas on what would be best for my computer? I'm mainly concerned with my FSB speed of 333 and i don't know how to choose the best ram for that speed, if bottlenecks will occur etc...

Thanks in advance, i'm hoping to place my order late tonight or tomorrow...

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

You maybe should buy a better GFX card, I am no gamer but isnt that a older card that may be why your game does not look/perform so well also?

[marcus_maxwell]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

Any ideas on what would be best for my computer? I'm mainly concerned with my FSB speed of 333 and i don't know how to choose the best ram for that speed, if bottlenecks will occur etc...

Same thing I was going to ask...

Does it rly matter what FSB speed is set when selecting RAM?
If I'll have FSB 333 should I look for DDR2 PC-8000 (3x333) for best performance, or any other will do same fine like PC-6400 (2.4x333), PC-8500 (3.2x333) et cetera?

[godto]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

the welcome window in vista only show the default of cpu speed ... click on show more detail ... you will see your cpu speed and also the OC speed

[randomness]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

Probably speedstep is lowering its speeds, u cant rely on vista's hardware thingy to give accurate clock speed readings.

And yes, the 8600GTS is probably not upto scratch to play fallout3. i just got it today and ill test it with my hardware, see how it goes.

[Dubstyles]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

yeah its old but it ran oblivion pretty well of mid-high settings and ran bioshock at full setting flawlessly. Mass effect i could not run on full resolution though.

I ended up getting this RAM: Newegg.com - mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Never heard of Mushkin, but it is the most recommended in the sticky above. We'll see how it does, it has to be better than Crucial Ballistix which died after 1 year.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Advice for buying RAM

You will like Mushkins they are nice!