choosing ram for new ASUS M3A78-T

[GMB509]

Can anyone help me decide on some RAM for this board? Newegg.com - ASUS M3A78-T AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
I was never quite good at choosing ram. (but i am also undecided on the asus 790gx/sb750[kinda])

I was looking at this however:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Now, when duel slotting ram, how does that work out with the ram speed? cous I want to try OCing maybe a month from when everything is built... just to make sure everything is stable outside of gthe box at least. It just seems the more i read about ram, the more confused i get.

[EXreaction]

What about:
Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

That'll save you a good $30 after the rebate.

The ram speed is no different with dual channel. Dual channel does have 2x the bandwidth (theoretically). Think of it as a 2 lane highway versus a 4 lane highway. The 4 lane can have 2x as many vehicles because it is 2x as wide, and it is the same thing with dual channel.

[pullmyfoot]

Originally Posted by EXreaction

What about:
Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

That'll save you a good $30 after the rebate.

The ram speed is no different with dual channel. Dual channel does have 2x the bandwidth (theoretically). Think of it as a 2 lane highway versus a 4 lane highway. The 4 lane can have 2x as many vehicles because it is 2x as wide, and it is the same thing with dual channel.

But there are not always 2x as many vehilcles. Hence why dual channel does not make much difference

[GMB509]

Do you think I should go for 8gigs, and then run a 64bit OS? It is kind of tempting, but I dont know if I really need that kind of power... Well, this is a gaming rig so, how much of a difference would then 4 gigs on 64bit OS do? Oh and if i dont go for the 8, do i just socket the 4 gigs seperately?

[EXreaction]

I wouldn't get 8 gigs unless you really think you can use over 4GB. But then again, it only costs $60 or so for another 4GB of ram.

You should use a 64bit OS either way. I doubt you'll get better performance with 8GB of ram over 4GB in gaming. The most I've seen a game take up is about 2GB of ram. Also, if you really want to OC it, 8GB of ram will likely give you less headroom for overclocking because you have 2x as many memory sticks that could hold it back.

I don't know what you mean by "socket the 4 gigs seperately".

[GMB509]

Neither do I... Well, What I mean is, Do I insert them side by side, or do I insert them with a slot seperating them.

[EXreaction]

The instructions will tell you how. Usually it is the closest to the cpu, and then the 3rd closest to the cpu.

[GMB509]

Thank you very much! =D