Upgrading to 4GB DDR2-800 vs DDR2-1000

[dna1x]

Hello All,

I'm looking to upgrade my existing memory from 2GB to 4GB. I currently have 2GB OCZ value pro DDR2-667 value pro running at 625MHZ with 5-5-5-18-26-2t timings. I think can go with 4GB DDR2-1000 since my cpu is @ 2500MHz so my memory speed would come out to 2500MHz/5*2=1000MHz anyway, right? Can this also be achieved with DDR2-800 or even DDR2-1066? My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-M51GM-S2G which supports up to DDR2-800 and it has the latest bios. I can manually adjust the memory speed (400/533/667/800) and timings but there are no voltage adjustments. What do you think will be the best/fastest memory for this motherboard? Also, if I am wrong about anything in my post, kindly let me know. Thank you.

 

[dna1x]

My current mobo doesn't give enough options to overclock the memory. I was thinking about upgrading the mobo to an EVGA nForce 590 SLI for $50. Now, my question is, how painful would it be to upgrade the motherboard considering that the OS was installed using a trial version of XP and a Vista Premium upgrade? Can I simply repair and reactivate for free or do I have to pay for another os?

 

[Andy_007]

I would say to get the mobo since its cheap, even though its quite old it will still work well. I have a Gigabyte M57SLI which has a nforce 570 chipset thats pretty much the same as the 590 in that mb your looking at buying. I am using G.SKILL 4GB kit F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ which runs fine up to around 1100mhz with standard voltage (2.1V). They run cool and dont really need a fan over them, and also they are pretty cheap. Your right about the ram speed. Im not sure about paying for OS

 

[suraswami]

My current mobo doesn't give enough options to overclock the memory. I was thinking about upgrading the mobo to an EVGA nForce 590 SLI for $50. Now, my question is, how painful would it be to upgrade the motherboard considering that the OS was installed using a trial version of XP and a Vista Premium upgrade? Can I simply repair and reactivate for free or do I have to pay for another os?

If I were you I wouldn't buy a refurbished board, mostly its a broken one. They don't really test vigorously to certify it, if it posts with a cpu and mem then its certified.