P5LD2 Deluxe mobo - what RAM?

Just wondering what RAM should I use with an Asus P5LD2-Deluxe mobo and P4 3.2ghz 640 processor?

Mobo can go up to 1066 FSB, so does that mean if I grab a some quality DDR2-533 RAM I should be able to crank it up to 4.264ghz?

Or alternatively speaking, I don't plan to do any overclocking, I should just grab some DDR2-400 RAM and leave it at 800FSB?

Or can I chuck DDR2-533 RAM in there anyway, and run it at 800 FSB still? But that would be going backwards considering more conservative latency timings in the 533 RAM as opposed to the 400 RAM?

Thanks in advance.

 

DDR2 is not the same as "overclocking RAM" ... it's just faster RAM .. so yea if you have themoney go with 533s

 

Yeah I was just asking if I'm looking at it correctly, ie. if I put some DDR2-533 RAM in there, I should theoretically be able to crank the FSB up to 1066mhz and the RAM would be able to handle it?

The other question was that if I wasn't going to overclock at all, ie. leave the FSB at 800mhz, is it better to just get DDR2-400 RAM because of the lower latency timings? Cos if I am not doing overclocking, 533 RAM will just run at 400mhz anyway, except probably slower due to higher latency timings? Am I looking at it correctly?

 

first off the FSB speed is determined by your CPU not the RAM

if you get DDR2-533 it will run at 533MHz as opposed to 400MHz .. so you should get a higher memory bench

you might read up on it at tomshardware.com for a more in depth eplaination

 

I understand. According to the overclocking guide on MajorGeeks, it would seem that RAM frequency is increased automatically as FSB is tweaked upwards (assuming 1:1 ratio).

So given this, and assuming the multiplier remains constant at 16x:

(No overclocking)
CPU = 16 x 200mhz = 3.2ghz
800mhz FSB = 4 x 200mhz
Therefore, DDR2-400 remains at 2 x 200mhz = 400mhz running at say, 2-2-2-5 latency timing

Given the above scenario, if I chuck some DDR2-533 in there instead, I'd still be running at 2 x 200mhz = 400mhz but at say, 4-4-4-8 latency timing.

So my question is, would it be better to just run DDR2-400 RAM as they allow lower latency timings?

However, still assuming multiplier to be 16x, if I choose to overclock in this manner theoretically:

(Overlocked to shits)
CPU = 16 x 266.5mhz = 4.264ghz
1066mhz FSB = 4 x 266.5mhz
Therefore, DDR2-400 will be insufficient at 1:1 ratio (I would prefer to keep it 1:1), and DDR2-533 would be perfect as they would be 2 x 266.5mhz = 533mhz.

Unless of course, I change the multiplier to 12x:

(No overclocking)
CPU = 12 x 266.5mhz = 3.198ghz
1066mhz FSB = 4 x 266.5mhz
Therefore, DDR2-533 can be used efficiently at 1:1 ratio without overclocking.

So given the above scenarios, should I go for DDR2-400 or 533 RAM? That is of course assuming that my understanding of the above is correct to start with!

 

afaik you can't change the multiplier in any modern CPU

"Given the above scenario, if I chuck some DDR2-533 in there instead, I'd still be running at 2 x 200mhz = 400mhz but at say, 4-4-4-8 latency timing.:"

it doesn't matter you will run @ 533MHz regardless of your FSB ... if I got DDR333 and put them in my rig it wouldn't run at 400MHz, even though my CPUs multiplier is 14x200 and my CPU wouldn't slower either ... "Overclocking RAM" is what is covered in that overclocking guide not DDR2.

generally speaking, timings are better for games, while bandwidth is important to server apps and photo editing programs and others .. so it depends on what you do with your computer

 

Hmmm...

Lifted from the Overclocking Guide:
"FSB:RAM Ratio: If you want to raise your FSB to a higher speed than your RAM supports, you have the option of running your RAM at a lower speed than your FSB. This is done using an FSB:RAM ratio. Basically, the FSB:RAM ratio allows you to select numbers that set up a ratio between your FSB and RAM speeds. So, say you are using the PC-3200 (DDR 400) RAM that I mentioned before which runs at 200MHz. But you want to raise your FSB to 250MHz to overclock your CPU. Obviously, your RAM will not appreciate the raised FSB speed and will most likely cause your system to crash. To solve this, you can set up a 5:4 FSB:RAM ratio. Basically, this ratio will mean that for every 5MHz that your FSB runs at, your RAM will only run at 4MHz."

I know it is not possible to go forwards, ie. your example of DDR333 not being able to run at 400mhz but isn't it the case that RAM is backwards compatible, ie. I know that my current DDR400 can run at 333mhz and 266mhz.

So in the case that I put DDR2-533 in my rig and run 200FSB, wouldn't the RAM run at 400mhz instead of 533mhz, given that FSB:RAM ratio is set at 1:1? Unless of course, I set a ratio of 533/400, in which case I will be able to run 200FSB and have RAM run at 533mhz, that is my understanding of the concept? Is that erroneous?

My computer is used for both games and a/v editing so I suppose I'm trying to reach a compromise.