[Crunchy409]

Thanks for all your help guys.

Two last head-to-heads

For Memory,
Patriot Extreme performance (comments show some trouble)
OR Crucial Ballistix for $3 more

For CPU cooling-
Arctic cooling freezer 7
or for $23 more, a Zalman

First hand knowledge of brands is appreciated!

[Advertisements]

If you're buying Crucial branded, you're better off buying it from the Crucial site as it'll be matched specifically for your system. Buy it anywhere else and it'll just be generic. It'll probably still work but you wouldn't have the luxury of knowing it's guaranteed to work or your money back.

Re: Heatsink - most important quality is that the fan spins and continues to spin. Personally I'd be not too bothered which one. Strangely enough the cheaper one seems to have a longer warranty.

[Neil Jones]

If you're buying Crucial branded, you're better off buying it from the Crucial site as it'll be matched specifically for your system. Buy it anywhere else and it'll just be generic. It'll probably still work but you wouldn't have the luxury of knowing it's guaranteed to work or your money back.

Re: Heatsink - most important quality is that the fan spins and continues to spin. Personally I'd be not too bothered which one. Strangely enough the cheaper one seems to have a longer warranty.

[james_8970]

If your cooling a quad go with the Zalman as it is a bit better. If your cooling a single or a dual core CPU. the Arctic cooling freezer 7 is a great heatsink for the price.
The above advise is assuming that you will be overclocking, if your don't plan to do so, just take the Arctic cooling freezer 7.

The Crucial Ballistix RAM is superior then the Patriot.

James

[stettybet0]

On the memory, I have "first hand knowledge" using the exact Patriot RAM you are considering. I ran 2GB of it for a while, and just recently upgraded to 4GB of it. It is easily the best RAM I have ever owned. Some reasons why:

1. It can run at stock speed (800mhz) at just a bit slower timings (5-5-5-16) with just 1.85V for compatibility with older motherboards.
2. At stock speeds and timings (800mhz and 4-4-4-12), it really doesn't need the recommended voltage of 2.2V. I can run it at these settings with just 2V.
3. It is very overclockable. I run mine 24/7 at 907.5mhz (my mobo adds the 7.5mhz... i just wanted 900mhz lol) at 4-4-4-12 timings with 2.2V. I haven't tried pushing it further, but I bet it could do so.
4. It gets a 5.9 Vista rating (the highest possible).
5. All four sticks passed memtest error-free.
6. Rebate received promptly.

Now, this is simply my experience with the RAM. There is always a chance, as with every computer part, that you could end up with a worse batch of RAM. But then again, you could end up with a better batch as well.

However, I also have owned Crucial RAM (not those exact ones), and it is also a very good brand. For a $3 difference, here's some things that you may want to consider:

1. The Patriot RAM looks better. Who wants that bright orange color in their case?
2. Patriot is an American brand. Assuming you are from the US (and you have to be if you are ordering from newegg), you may want to support an American brand!

Also, what Neil said about the Crucial RAM is only applicable if you were buying the RAM for a commercial PC (one from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc.). But if I remember correctly, you are building a system, correct?

For the heatsink, if you are not overclocking, you should probably just stick with the stock heatsink and save yourself some money. If you will be overclocking, follow James' advice.

[james_8970]

1. The Patriot RAM looks better. Who wants that bright orange color in their case?
2. Patriot is an American brand. Assuming you are from the US (and you have to be if you are ordering from newegg), you may want to support an American brand!

Crucial mainly (if not only) uses Micron chips, it's an American company.
Micron is an American brand based in Boise, Idaho and known for far superior chips, especially in terms of overclocking, not sure if you are familiar with the D9 chips, though I doubt they are in these sticks. The D9GHM or D9GKX or D9GCT are expensive and the top notch chips. while they can be found in multiple brands, I'm not aware of Patriot ever having them.
That being said these crucial stick will not have any of the D9 chips as they are running at 2.2V to achieve 4-4-4-12 timings.

Either way,
Crucial>OCZ>Patriot
The above is a generalization for high performance RAM. If you have no intentions of overclocking, it really doesn't matter what RAM you purchase. While Crucial is a better brand, those LED's would turn me off immediately, meanwhile many people buy this RAM for exactly that reason.

As for the heatsink, I was assuming you purchased a OEM chip, so like stettybet said, if your not overclocking the stock cooler will be enough.
James

Edited by james_8970, 08 January 2008 - 01:56 PM.

[Crunchy409]

Thanks for the reply guys. Someone else talked me into this Corsair memory... Let me know your honest opinion, I can always swap if I need to!

[james_8970]

Yes, that is good RAM and better then the two previously mentioned.
James

Edited by james_8970, 07 January 2008 - 10:01 PM.

[Crunchy409]

Glad to hear that- thanks for your help!