Barton 2500 + Abit NF7-S = Which RAM to Buy?

[John Bennett]

Any computer guys can help me out on this?

I'm building a computer for Christmas. Syncronizing all these bus and clock speeds has me confused. Bacially, I just my rig to run stable and not make a mistake in this configuration.

Mother board will be an Abit NF7-S (200/266/333/400 FSB)
Processor will be an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton" (333 FSB).

The Abit manual shows that it requires 184pin DDR DIMM, but which of these "speeds" should I purchase?!?

Given that:
- I want 512 Mb
- I don't want to overclock.
- I want the best value/performace ratio.

PC2100 (DDR266 133MHz)
PC2400 (DDR300 150MHz)
PC2700 (DDR333 166MHz)
PC3000 (DDR375 188MHz)
PC3200 (DDR400 200MHz)
PC3500 (DDR433 216MHz)
PC3700 (DDR466)
PC4000 (DDR500 )
PC4200 (DDR533)

I'm confused!

Any help appreciated!!!


(my tenative "wishlist" is located here (http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishList.asp?position=HISTORY&submit=VIEW&ID=480806) ).

[irondawg]

Buy a Dell...it's a LOT cheaper than building your own. I just went down this path. Was going to build a box but started looking at Dell's web site and got a P4 2.4Gig 512Mg Ram, 60Gig HD, DVD, CD-ROM burner, and 17'' inch plasma screen for under $1000. And no, I do not work for Dell or know anyone who does. They're just the cheapest around right now. PLUS you get OS, firewall and other assorted software and a 1 year warranty. Hard to beat.

[John Bennett]

I did the Dell thing 9 ways to Sunday. Even with stacking $100 off coupons and free shipping coupons I could never get a system like this.

Also, you have to pay sales tax on a Dell because they're in Texas where Dell is. Dell comes close, but I wanted to pick name-brand components. I've had bad luck with the proprietary no-name components mass builders use.

Check this rig...

ABIT NF7-S w/NVIDIA nForce2 onboard audio, lan, firewire - $104.99
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" - $90.00
512MB RAM - $89.00
Seagate Barracuda 80GB - $71.50
Logitech Black Internet Keyboard - $10.50
ViewSonic P95F+B 19" CRT - $279.00
Logitech Premium Optical Wheel Mouse - $12.00
Lite On 52x Cd Rom - $16.99
Logitech X-120 2 Piece Speaker - $25.00
Enlight EN-72500AZB Case - $53.00

Shipping - $ 33.00
No Tax

Grand Total » $ 784.98, kick-*** monitor included.

I've already got a DVD burner and Windows XP Pro, so that saves me about $150 right there.

I just want to make sure I'm getting the best RAM possible before I order everything.

[AggieVFR]

I've got a gig of RAM on my Dell and it ROCKS! :dude: No more problems running AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc. like on my old computer. I've also got a 533 MHz front side bus, so I imagine that helps too. I'm not the computer guru in the family, so my dad has to take the credit for the specs on my computer, but after much research and watching the Dell refurbished site, he found mine for a decent price. I already had a monitor and everything else, so I just needed the CPU and the O/S it came with. I recommend getting as much memory as you can afford and get as high of a bus speed as possible so it can use that memory efficiently. At least I think that's how it works... :? Ask me about pistons, rods, camshafts, valves, etc. and I can talk about it until I'm blue in the face, but computer equipment jargon is still pretty new to me. :oops:

[HotChickenStrips]

Hey John, whatare you gonna use the PC for??? what kind of work?? basic?? games?? heavy graphic tasks??

f your goal is to use to to everyday basic work, e mail, web browsing, listening to MP3's, you can go with 2100, but if you going to do more complex tasks, I believe your motherboard top Ram will be 3200, but the manual should be more specific, you dont want to spend extra money on faster RAM if the motheboard won't take advantage of it. Here's why.
If the motherboard's topRAM speed is, let's say, 2700, and you install 3200, the motherboard will use it as a 2700.

The manual should show how to adjust the BIOS to adjust RAM speed.