Comment on my coming new rig and some general question

karhoe · 26th May 2008, 10:25 PM

I plan to get a new rig next month, so hope you guys can give some feedback on the specs, and also if you know if I can get any parts cheaper anywhere.

Core 2 Duo E8400 - RM635
Kingston PC6400 DDR2800 1GB x2 - RM150
Gigabyte EP35-DS3 P35 16x Dynamic Energy Saver - RM375
Zotac 9600GT AMP - RM590
DVDRW SATA - RM100
Silverstone ST50F
Silverstone PS01

Well, as you can see, I did not include HDD into the above specs because I plan to transfer my existing 160GB SATA2 8MB cache HDD into this pc. Then transfer another PATA HDD from my spoilt PC into this current PC.

Before this, I was considering to get WD 500GB 32mb cache HDD, but thinking that I could save that RM270, so I decided to save that money.

But just to satisfy myself, I want to ask, will the 8mb cache of the HDD become the bottleneck of the system compared to using HDD with 32mb cache? Will things speed up alot?

I also realize that bigger HDD comes with bigger cache, is there a reason for this?

And another question regarding RAM dual channel. I believe you guys know that there is the 3.2GB RAM limit on 32bit system, so if I put in two sticks of 2gb, it will total 4GB, but it will still run as dual channel although only 3.2GB is available right?

Let's say if I put in 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 now, next time when the price of DDR1066 drop, I put in another 2 x 1GB DDR1066, what would happen? Do I get two pairs of dual channel?

Many thanks in advance

jamotto · 26th May 2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karhoe

And another question regarding RAM dual channel. I believe you guys know that there is the 3.2GB RAM limit on 32bit system, so if I put in two sticks of 2gb, it will total 4GB, but it will still run as dual channel although only 3.2GB is available right?

On my AMD rig the bios has an option called DRAM Over 4G Remapping which I think solves this issue.

SkylineRemix · 27th May 2008, 12:36 AM

will you be running these on vista or xp?

Lacus · 27th May 2008, 01:55 AM

Vista can detect 4gb on system information but still only 3.2gb is being ultilized. While on the ram, if you get 1066 rams later and use it together with the current ram..I think it will down clock to 800mhz (correct me if I'm wrong)

Midicow · 27th May 2008, 03:55 AM

Vista sp1 correctly utilizes 4 gigs of ram, so thats not an issue there..

Its not a good idea to run diff speed sticks at the same time, they will all default to one combined speed which will probably 800,

Also you might want to look into a custom cpu cooler and a tube of mx-2 or OCZ OCZTFRZTC

g0tanks · 27th May 2008, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lacus

Vista can detect 4gb on system information but still only 3.2gb is being ultilized. While on the ram, if you get 1066 rams later and use it together with the current ram..I think it will down clock to 800mhz (correct me if I'm wrong)

Yes, speed/timings will always be the slowest.

slugbug · 27th May 2008, 05:02 AM

Not sure what an 8800GT goes for in your area, but here in Canada they're not much more than a 9600GT.

Mac Daddy · 27th May 2008, 07:21 AM

Nice choices and a reasonable price

Have you checked PC8500 prices in your area? A bit cheaper than PC1066 ram and you can run PC1066 speeds quite easily with them.

On price vs performance even considering the extra stream processors I would stick with the 9600GT. O/Cing I can easily match an 8800GT with similar timings on both cards.

Adrian Wong · 27th May 2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karhoe

And another question regarding RAM dual channel. I believe you guys know that there is the 3.2GB RAM limit on 32bit system, so if I put in two sticks of 2gb, it will total 4GB, but it will still run as dual channel although only 3.2GB is available right?

Let's say if I put in 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 now, next time when the price of DDR1066 drop, I put in another 2 x 1GB DDR1066, what would happen? Do I get two pairs of dual channel?

Yeah, they will still be in dual-channel. Dual-channel has nothing to do with Windows Vista. It depends on the chipset. Some chipset can run on dual-channel with odd numbers of memory modules (but more than 1 module, of course). Others require multiples of two.

karhoe · 27th May 2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midicow

Vista sp1 correctly utilizes 4 gigs of ram, so thats not an issue there..

Its not a good idea to run diff speed sticks at the same time, they will all default to one combined speed which will probably 800,

Also you might want to look into a custom cpu cooler and a tube of mx-2 or OCZ OCZTFRZTC

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lacus

Vista can detect 4gb on system information but still only 3.2gb is being ultilized. While on the ram, if you get 1066 rams later and use it together with the current ram..I think it will down clock to 800mhz (correct me if I'm wrong)

Seems like i'm having two contradicting posts here. But after reading few forums, I believe vista only shows the amount of memory installed and not memory available, am I right?

Anyway, what about my HDD question? 8mb cache vs 32mb cache HDD?

26th May 2008, 10:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
karhoe I'm a regular Join Date: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 314 Reputation: 11 Rep Power: 3	Comment on my coming new rig and some general question I plan to get a new rig next month, so hope you guys can give some feedback on the specs, and also if you know if I can get any parts cheaper anywhere. Core 2 Duo E8400 - RM635 Kingston PC6400 DDR2800 1GB x2 - RM150 Gigabyte EP35-DS3 P35 16x Dynamic Energy Saver - RM375 Zotac 9600GT AMP - RM590 DVDRW SATA - RM100 Silverstone ST50F Silverstone PS01 Well, as you can see, I did not include HDD into the above specs because I plan to transfer my existing 160GB SATA2 8MB cache HDD into this pc. Then transfer another PATA HDD from my spoilt PC into this current PC. Before this, I was considering to get WD 500GB 32mb cache HDD, but thinking that I could save that RM270, so I decided to save that money. But just to satisfy myself, I want to ask, will the 8mb cache of the HDD become the bottleneck of the system compared to using HDD with 32mb cache? Will things speed up alot? I also realize that bigger HDD comes with bigger cache, is there a reason for this? And another question regarding RAM dual channel. I believe you guys know that there is the 3.2GB RAM limit on 32bit system, so if I put in two sticks of 2gb, it will total 4GB, but it will still run as dual channel although only 3.2GB is available right? Let's say if I put in 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 now, next time when the price of DDR1066 drop, I put in another 2 x 1GB DDR1066, what would happen? Do I get two pairs of dual channel? Many thanks in advance __________________ My Blog

27th May 2008, 12:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
SkylineRemix Getting there Join Date: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 225 Reputation: 43 Rep Power: 3	will you be running these on vista or xp? __________________ My System: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Motherboard: Asus P5NE-SLI CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS 9500A Graphic Card: Asus EN7600GT 256MB RAM: Cosair 1GB DDR II 667 (x2) Harddisk: Seagate 250GB HDD 16MB, Western Digital 500GB HDD 16MB Monitor: Samsung 932B Plus Optical Drive: Asus 18x DVD-RW, Samsung 20x DVD-RW PSU: Enermax FMA II 460 Watts Speakers: Sonic Gear Spectra 200

27th May 2008, 01:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Lacus Super Active Join Date: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 1,026 Reputation: 166 Rep Power: 3	Vista can detect 4gb on system information but still only 3.2gb is being ultilized. While on the ram, if you get 1066 rams later and use it together with the current ram..I think it will down clock to 800mhz (correct me if I'm wrong) __________________ GUNDAM 00[CPU=Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200 (3200Mhz)\| Mobo=Asus Rampage Maximus Formula (Rampage Bios Mod)\| GPU=Gigabyte HD4850 512MB GDDR3+T-Rad2 \| RAM=4x1gb DDR2 800Mhz Corsair XMS2 \| HDD=Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB \| Soundcard=Doom's Creative X-FI XtremeMusic \| Speakers=Creative Inspire P5800 \| PSU=Silverstone Strider ST56F \| Keyboard=Creative Prodikeys DM \| Mouse=Logitech MX518\| Casing=Lian Li PC-7YCF]

27th May 2008, 03:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
Midicow Just Started Join Date: 4 May 2008 Posts: 59 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	Vista sp1 correctly utilizes 4 gigs of ram, so thats not an issue there.. Its not a good idea to run diff speed sticks at the same time, they will all default to one combined speed which will probably 800, Also you might want to look into a custom cpu cooler and a tube of mx-2 or OCZ OCZTFRZTC __________________

27th May 2008, 07:21 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle Join Date: 19 Nov 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 2,048 Reputation: 802 Rep Power: 12	Nice choices and a reasonable price Have you checked PC8500 prices in your area? A bit cheaper than PC1066 ram and you can run PC1066 speeds quite easily with them. On price vs performance even considering the extra stream processors I would stick with the 9600GT. O/Cing I can easily match an 8800GT with similar timings on both cards. __________________

27th May 2008, 05:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
slugbug Warming up Join Date: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 99 Reputation: 106 Rep Power: 0	Not sure what an 8800GT goes for in your area, but here in Canada they're not much more than a 9600GT.