One final upgrade question for the moment ... memory

[vivman1107]

So, now my system looks something like this:

CHP: Nvidia nForce 780i SLI
MB: EVGA 132-CK-NF78
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3 GHz
GPU: PNY Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB
RAM: 4 x 1 GB Corsair DDR2-667 (5-5-5-18)

My memory is 2 sets of this to make 4 GB, I believe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

I was wondering if it makes sense to upgrade the memory and how much faster (percentage wise) it would be if I do. These are some options I am looking at:

DDR2-1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220282
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220241

DDR2-1150

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227196

DDR2-1066

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145043
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227178
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227191

I'm not sure what difference in speed I would get in going from what I have now to one of these. In addition, how much better would it be to go higher than DDR2-1066? My MB should be compatible with DDR2-1200. Any comments, suggestions and recommendations are welcome.

[W1nTry]

Generally the faster you go the higher the latency which can be more of a hindrance in spite of the increase in frequency. Luckily DDR2 has been around long enough for the 1200 latency not to be too much of a problem over the 1066. I would opt for the DDR2-1200 because youŽll have a higher ŽnaturalŽ'operating frequency and that should help with OCing. Also alot of X38 and the newer P45 mobos use DDR2-1200 as the memory standard. Lastly the price difference is not that much $20USD. 2x2GB would be nice, but latencies are again higher and well... unless youŽre running a 64-bit OS it doesnŽt make a difference since you lose a bit. The Patriot 2x1GB DDR2-1200 would be my recommendation. If you wish to go 1066 however G.Skill ftw.

[Arcmanov]

Any of the 1066 kits listed there will do nicely.  My personal choice would be the Corsair Dominator, because of the
superior heatsinks on em.

As for the 1200 kits, I would lean towards the Patriot Viper, again, because of the superior heatsinks.

The reason I stress on the heatsink equipped models of course, is because of heat.  If you touch a heatspreader on a RAM module
while its in operation you can feel the intense heat being radiated.  In this case the higher operating
voltages used by DDR2 RAM give rise to a significant level of radiated heat.  The more heat radiated, the better the RAM
module itself can perform.  This is even more significant when OC'ing.

[vivman1107]

In terms of a comparison between the memory I'm running now, about how much of a performance gain would I see from upgrading? Is it going to be a noticable increase?

[Arcmanov]

You may not notice the increase in everyday apps.  You will certainly notuce a difference in memory intensive benchies
and applications though, and some games.
I thought you were running DDR3 though?  Was that a typo?

I say go for the upgrade.  You have nothing to lose with the DDR2-1200.

[W1nTry]

Actually one thing to point out about memory with large heatspreaders, whilst cooling SHOULD be better, depending on the HSF you use for your CPU or the mounting mechanism, it can be a problem. E.g. My Xigmatek uses the stock retention bracket and as such I cannot reposition the orientation of the HSF. INHERENTLY it sits VERY close to the RAM modules so if I used ram with large heatspreaders... well you get the idea. Also keep an eye on the layout of the mobo. Even if the HSF comes with its own mounting bracket and the orientation can be changed to suite, certain mobos PCIe 16x slots would prohibit you from seating the HSF facing the rear, hence you would have again to place it facing the PSU and run into the SAME problem with the taller heatspreaders.

[vivman1107]

I was running DDR3 for a day before I found out how slow it ran compared to my original DDR2 (shown above).