I've got a question about a new system I'll be building. I'm getting an ASUS a8n-sli motherboard with an athlon64 3800+ (or more, depending on how prices go down). The supported memory is DDR400, or PC3200. I am planning on overclocking at some point in the future, so if I get something higher like PC3500 will that overclock better, while running at PC3200 speeds in the meantime? Or does it not work like that? Thanks for any help. edit: and even if memory is rated for a timing of say, 2-3-2-6, can it be run at 2-2-2-5 without any trouble?
faster RAM than your front side bus will do no harm, as it will automatically be throttled bac to your side bus speed. Since AMD processors have fixed multipliers, the way to overclock is only by upping the FSB. For the best use of your overclock, and stable operation, you ideally need RAM that is NOT slower than the side bus, and consequently maing the move up to 3500 will yield benefits without any disadvantages in the meantime. Bear in mind of course, that 3500 will limit your increase to 8.25% above the clock rate since this is how much faster the RAM is than current. With an A64 3800, i doubt you'll overclock very far though, so PC3500 RAM should suffice. Note: check the temp of your system when overclocking, the 3800 is a very warm CPU!
I'm not looking for a huge increase, maybe +200Mhz to get to stock FX-55 speed. Also there seems to be a huge price gap in between 3200 and 3500... OCZ enhanced latency 3200 2-3-2-6 is around $125, while the same in 3500 is almost $100 more! So I'm probably going to take my chances with PC3200.. newegg reviews said they got some good overclocks. Does San Diego run cooler than Venice? Depending on how the prices go down after x2, I might go with SD4000+ (same speed, +512kb cache)
200mhz is about max I think on a cooler that doesn't swamp your case. I think Diego and Venice are both very hot but an OC'ed A64 mainstream should theoretically generate less heat than an FX-55 or 57.
sammorris how do you like your video card? i ended up getting the latest one out there its in my sig. and WOW its a great card
