Holiday Buyers Guide, Part I: CPUs, GPUs, Mobos, and RAM

Megabytes of Memory

Windows Vista has significantly changed the requirements for memory since its release last January. While this operating system will run on 1GB of memory, we firmly believe that anyone not wanting to experience some agonizing delays should run a minimum of 2GB. This is particularly important if you plan to use the Media Center Functionality or if gaming is a priority. We can also make a strong case for using 2GB with the Business Edition version if you happen to be a user multitasking between several Office 2007 applications. For those who have gone the extra step to run Vista 64 (or XP 64 for that matter), we highly suggest 4GB of memory, or even 8GB for users who spend their day doing CAD/CAM or Financial Modeling.

If you are still using Windows XP then now is a great time to upgrade to 2GB of memory if you have not already done so. As games increase their requirements and we encounter more media centric applications, it is always nice to have additional memory available for the operating system. We may sound like members of the "Please Buy More Memory" council, but unlike Bill Gates infamous quote over 20 years ago, believe us when we say you can never have enough memory.

After deciding the amount of memory you need, the next decision is deciding the type, configuration, and then settling in on a supplier. When utilizing a 2GB configuration we recommend a 2x1GB setup to take advantage of the dual-channel memory controllers present in our motherboard selections. Dual-channel operation can improve system performance an average of 3%~5% in most cases, so you should take advantage of it. If you already have a 2x1GB configuration and plan on upgrading to 4GB, adding an additional 2x1GB is the generally the best way to go if you have four memory slots. Those buying new systems who do not plan on running higher memory speeds (i.e. overclocking), we suggest going the 2x2GB route if you plan on upgrading to 8GB at a later date.

While there has been a continual race between memory module manufacturers to provide memory that can run at ever increasing speeds, the fact of the matter is that we have reached a plateau with current processors and chipsets. Memory performance past DDR2-800 is generally not that important in the grand scheme of things. Yes, running DDR2-1066 or higher at low latency timings such as 4-4-3-9 1N will certainly improve your synthetic benchmark scores and can even make a minor difference in certain applications, but these differences are generally minute unless you benchmark for a living. Spending money on upgrading other areas almost always brings larger performance dividends than upgrading memory - the only exception being those you plan on serious overclocking beyond 500MHz base bus speeds (2000FSB).

While we are usually the first ones to line up for the latest and greatest in technology, we are going to take a more pragmatic view in our choices for memory this time around. Don't get us wrong: we greatly appreciate the performance gains and cost reductions that competition has brought to this market. Nevertheless, for the typical user we generally think DDR2-800 with CAS4 latencies offers the best all around value and performance at this time. Additionally, most of the current DDR2-800 CAS4 memory can typically hit DDR2-1000 to DDR2-1066 speed with timings reduced to 5-5-5-15 and a small bump in voltage to 2.0V~2.15V, keeping those who want to dabble in mild to moderate overclocking happy.

Of course, one could argue that DDR2-800 CAS5 or even DDR2-667 should be just fine and that any difference in performance is negligible. For those with budget systems for SOHO or office use, you would be right and we agree. However, we like to think our audience is diverse enough that our recommendations will satisfy the vast majority of users. The cost difference for DDR2-800 CAS4 vs. CAS5 is minor and ensures some additional headroom if you want to dabble in overclocking. A minor (less than 3%) performance increase is nothing special, but then an extra $10 (less after rebates) is well within the means of most people as well.

For enthusiasts, now is a great time to be in the market for high speed DDR2 and a decent time to make the jump to DDR3. We are experiencing a mini-revival in the high-end DDR2 market with DDR2-1066 CAS4 modules at low voltages becoming readily available, and the top modules now reach close to DDR2-1300 at 2.4V. We expect to see DDR2 modules eventually hit DDR2-1333 before we see widespread adaptation of DDR3. Speaking of DDR3, we are finally starting to see some price relief, but the cost of entry is still prohibitively high for most users.

We are seeing DDR3-1333 CAS7 (capable of CAS5) modules priced around $170 per GB. DDR3-1600 CAS7 and DDR3-1866 CAS9 modules are going for $215 and $250 per GB, respectively. By comparison, top DDR2 kits usually cost less than $100 per GB. Based upon performance results and the upcoming 1600MHz FSB capable Yorkfield processors, if you're going to upgrade to DDR3 we would have to recommend DDR3-1600 as the minimum, with a strong inclination for the DDR3-1866 kits for overclocking headroom. While we expect to see prices come down 40% over the next year, DDR3 will only remain an option at the enthusiast level for the near future.

Entry-level SOHO/Office Systems

DDR2-800 2x1GB Kits

If you are looking for a solid set of DDR2-800 memory, then you cannot go wrong A-DATA's entry-level kit that features 5-5-5-18 timings at 1.8V. Sure, they might not overclock very far (though you can still run 1:1 ratio with 1600FSB on Intel), but in this category users are primarily concerned inexpensive and reliable memory.

DDR2-800 2x2GB Kits

GSkill 2x2GB DDR2-800 CAS5 F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ Kit - $80 after $40 rebate

This will be the first of many GSkill recommendations today, their 2x2GB kit runs fine in a wide variety of boards. The memory is set at DDR2-800 with 5-5-5-15 timings on 1.80V. We had to increase voltage to 1.90V to ensure absolute stability on most of our P35 boards. These modules will overclock up to the DDR2-900 range at 5-6-5-18 timings on 2.0V. If you want a reasonable way to run 8GB, this would be our choice in the budget sector (especially considering the rebate available today).

Mainstream Gaming/Entry Level Overclocking

The following are kits that provide an excellent price to performance ratio and will suffice for a large majority of users. We were even able to extract a fair amount of overclocking headroom from these choices.

DDR2-800 2x1GB Kits

A-DATA 2x1GB DDR2-800 CAS4 Extreme Edition Kit - $45 with $10 Rebate

Once again, we have to give the nod to A-DATA's Extreme Edition kit that will run 4-4-4-12 timings at 1.8V on most boards. We recommend bumping the voltage to 1.9V to ensure stability, however. These modules are overclocking friendly for the beginner with speeds up to DDR2-1000 at 5-5-5-15 timings on 2.0V. We have even overclocked them on our DFI P35 board to DDR2-1066 at 5-6-5-18 timings with 2.1V.

If you can find this memory on sale with the rebate, then we highly recommend it. This kit will run 4-4-4-12 timings at 1.9V on most boards. We recommend bumping the voltage to 2.0V to ensure stability on just about any motherboard. These modules are overclocking friendly with speeds up to DDR2-1000 at 5-5-4-12 timings on 2.2V. We have reached DDR2-1066 at 5-5-4-15 timings with 2.3V and 5-5-5-18 at 2.2V on our DFI P35 board.

We have had good luck with this memory on our NVIDIA boards and it features EPP capability. This kit runs 4-4-4-12 timings at 1.9V on several of our mid-range P35 and NV650i SLI boards. Again, we recommend bumping the voltage to 2.0V to ensure absolute stability across most boards. We were able to keep 4-4-4-12 timings up to DDR2-950 with 2.1V on our Gigabyte P35 DS3R board. These modules will run at speeds up to DDR2-1000 at 5-4-4-12 timings on 2.2V and DDR2-1066 at 5-5-5-15 timings with 2.2V on our P35 boards. Our MSI 650i SLI board reached an overclock of DDR2-960 at 4-5-4-11 2T timings with voltage set to 2.1V.