Dr_Fil

Hi guys!
Im currently running a INtel Pentium 4, 530, 3.00ghz Prescott processor (200*15) and am planning to upgrade my mobo and memory so that I can overclock my processor. what speed on the memory will i need. Will DDR2533 be enough as Im not planning on going over 4.00 ghz and what is the need of those DDR2667 RAMs ?

Nasgul

DDR2 667 is the way to go............just make sure you do not buy an nForce 4 based chipset motherboard.

It needs to be with an Intel chipset. It has to.

Thumper

What's your budget on the board and RAM?

The P5WD2 is one of the best OC boards out now, the E-Premium is the best as it offers great future proofing.

533 RAM will probably be ok, but I would get more, again, for future proofing. Keep in mind that you never want to have your RAM running slower than your CPU, and consider that when you overclock your RAM, you may need to loosen timings, it's better to get faster RAM than you need.

For instance, with 533 modules, you will limit your OC to 3.99 (266x15=3990). You can probably go higher by overclocking the RAM, but then you might end up with loose timings.

If you get 667 RAM, you can go higher on the CPU (maybe, depends on the CPU, board, PSU, ect), and at the very least, you can underclock the RAM and tighten up your timings.

See, DDR2 is usually factory at 5-5-5-15 or so, really loose timings. But you can usually tighten them up, and by underclocking the RAM, you can get even tighter.

It all depends on what you want, and what you can spend. DDR2 533 shouldn't be a big hinderance to your OC, but it will limit your OC on upgrades, like if you went to the 9xx CPUs where a 270+ FSB is common, and 300+ is attainable.