I really appreciate the help of people who responded to the first post, and
found their suggestions to be very helpful.

Given their input, I have done some more homework and put together another
list of products for a gaming computer I would like to put together.  I'd be
using the system primarily for online gaming.

I've put a web link to the web sites I looked at to get my information.  The
one area I am still needing help with is RAM.  I have two companies (OCZ and
Corsair) who both sell matched sets of RAM.  My questions on  RAM are:
1. Are these two products a waste of money for this type system and if not.
which of the two lines of RAM would be a good choice?
2.  If a matched set of RAM is not the way to go, could you make some other
recommendations?

Again would really appreciate anyone's expertise and thoughts about the
system below.  Thanks in advance for your help and time--skip

Motherboard:

Asus A8V-E Deluxe

http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socket939/a8v-e-d/overview.htm



CPU

AMD Athlon 64 3800+, 512KB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor, Socket 939

http://www.xpcgear.com/athlon643800.html



RAM

1.  OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Titanium

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_el_ddr_pc_3200_dual_channel_titanium



2.   Corsair TWINX1024RE-3200LL 1 GB matched memory for AMD Athlon 64 FX
based platform******

http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/xms.html



Hard Drive

Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB Hard Drive
(Serial ATA-150, 10,000 RPM, 8MB - SKU: WD740GD)



Case

Antec P160 Mid Tower

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81600



Power Supply

Antec TRUE480 480 Watt ATX12V

http://www.antec.com/awards/true_awards.html






Again, thanks to the people who helped earlier--skip


Skip Retzlaff
403 Rene Levy
San Antonio, TX 78227
Comm:  HP 210-645-4372
             WP 210-292-0413
             Email: Alamo-s***@satx.rr.com

Forgot to mention that the video care to be used will be an ATI X800XL
Show quoteHide quote

I gald you were able to rethink your setup

i like it, wish i could afford it, lol.

Everythings great pretty much, just got 2 comments

1 RAM
Both choices are great, go for which ever one is cheaper, i'm a firm
believer in "ram is ram", however unless you plan to do some overclocking
then it becomes a little more important, but both sets will give you great
performance, so its down to you.

2 Graphics
theres nothing wrong with your choice of graphics card, it will fly in
almost any game, but for the price your paying, you might as well use the
cash you saved from the cpu and ram to get a x800"XT"(not XL) or an x850XT,
There isn't to much of a price difference with the first, but unlike cpus
and motherboards, builders tend to take their old graphics cards with them,
especially when they cost the price of a low end pc.

Either way happy building

Show quoteHide quote

Really appreciate your time in looking this over.  I had done a lot of
comparison of the X850XT, X800XT, and the X800XL.  Withe the XL going for
299.00 and the 850XT going for 450.00, and the fact that the performance
comparisons didn't seem to far apart in all the reviews I read, I decided to
go for the XL.  I'm a sucker for a good bargain.  It also looked like ATI
was really trying to give Nvidia some competition, which I always enjoy
seeing, and rewarding, if I happen to be in the market for a new card.

Really appreciate your thoughts on the RAM.  I wasn't sure if it made that
much difference in having a matched pair.
So it looks like just getting two of the same type of RAM  would be ok then.
I don't plan to overclock.

In looking at another persons response, they mentioned Crucial balistix as a
good brand for RAM.  I went to their web site and they had a nice tool that
allowed me to put in my specific motherboard and then to get a summary of
all possible memory upgrades possible.  I've included a copy of this to get
your thoughts on with of the diferent types might be a good choice.  I am
not looking for top of the line, but just a good middle-upper-middle end
quality that makes for a good buy.   Thanks again for you time and thoughts
on this project.  I really appreciate it--skip

Out of 110,000 possible upgrades, the Crucial Memory Advisor lists only the
ones compatible with your ASUS A8V-E Deluxe, guaranteed to deliver the
performance you need.
      These 184-pin DIMM modules are compatible with your system.

      1GB - CT12864Z265 DDR PC2100 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $159.99 (each)
      1GB - CT12864Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $161.99
(each)
      1GB - CT12864Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $181.99 (each)
      1GB - CT12872Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 ECC UNBUFFERED US $287.99 (each)
       512MB - CT6464Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $59.99
(each)
      512MB - CT6464Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $59.99
(each)
      512MB - CT6464Z265 DDR PC2100 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $60.99
(each)
      512MB - CT6472Z265 DDR PC2100 CL=2.5 ECC UNBUFFERED US $90.99 (each)
      512MB - CT6472Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 ECC UNBUFFERED US $90.99 (each)
      512MB - CT6472Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 ECC UNBUFFERED US $93.99 (each)
      256MB - CT3264Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $32.99 (each)
      256MB - CT3264Z265 DDR PC2100 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $32.99
(each)
      256MB - CT3264Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $32.99
(each)
      256MB - CT3272Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 ECC UNBUFFERED US $56.99 (each)
      256MB - CT3272Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 ECC UNBUFFERED US $58.99 (each)
      128MB - CT1664Z265 DDR PC2100 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $20.99
(each)
      128MB - CT1664Z40B DDR PC3200 CL=3 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $20.99 (each)
      128MB - CT1664Z335 DDR PC2700 CL=2.5 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $20.99
(each)


      These Ballistix 184-pin DIMM modules are compatible with your system.

      1GB - BL12864Z503 DDR PC4000 NON-ECC  US $279.99 (each)
      Coupon Available
      512MB - BL6464Z402 DDR PC3200 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $109.99 (each)
      Coupon Available
      512MB - BL6464Z505 DDR PC4000 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $115.99 (each)
      Coupon Available
      256MB - BL3264Z402 DDR PC3200 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $53.99 (each)
      Coupon Available
      256MB - BL3264Z505 DDR PC4000 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $53.99 (each)
      Coupon Available


      These Ballistix Tracer 184-pin DIMM (w\LEDs) modules are compatible
with your system.

      1GB - BL12864L503 DDR PC4000 NON-ECC  US $289.99 (each)
      Coupon Available
      512MB - BL6464L505 DDR PC4000 NON-ECC UNBUFFERED US $145.99 (each)
      Coupon Available




Show quoteHide quote[attached file: 184-pinDIMM.gif]
[attached file: popular_upgrade.gif]
[attached file: Ballistix184-pinDIMM.gif]
[attached file: BallistixTracer184-pinDIMM(wLEDs).gif]

Skip wrote:
Show quoteHide quoteKeeping the above as a typical group, and assuming your MB is
capable of using ECC properly, you should certainly get ECC
memory.  It will allow you to effectively eliminate the possibility
of memory errors in future.  These can be especially sly, and not
actually show up for months and years after the damage has been
done, thus rendering all backups useless.  Such faults can be
caused by cosmic rays, and are totally unrepeatable.

As you can see, the cost for such peace of mind will be about 30 to
60 dollars.  It should be much less (about 8 to 16), but the volume
has been reduced by all those penny pinchers out there.

Show quote Hide quote Looks cool but you don't need matched pairs of ram, personally I go with
Crucial balistix for performance and their standard ram on less intensive
systems and they run dual channel fine. The ATI video card is the dogs
danglies.

I'm not sure if I made it clear that I wanted to run the ram in a dual
channel mode, but that is the way I want to go.  Would you still make the
same recommendations?  Thanks again for taking the time to respond--skip

Show quoteHide quote

If you want to use the RAM in dual channel mode, which you DO because it is
faster, then, YES, you want the matched sticks of RAM.

Show quoteHide quote

I do want to run a dual channel mode, which I might not have made clear in
my first reposting.  In looking at the
Corsair site, they had a number of choices, and I am not sure what would be
a good choice.  If you have a moment to look this over, I have included a
copy of the list I came across below.  Thanks again for any help you might
be able to provide.  Also, if you happen to know of any good tools (such as
the one I found on Crucial site that allowed me to put in my mother board
and get a recommended list of possible RAM, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks again in advance--skip

              XMS PRO SERIES

              Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

              TWINX1024-4000PRO XMS4000 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

              TWINX2048-3200PRO XMS3200 2048MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

              TWINX1024-3200LLPRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM Black
XMS ProSeries

              TWINX1024-3200C2PRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 * 2x184 DIMM Black
XMS ProSeries

              TWINX1024-3200XLPRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-2-2-5 2x184 DIMM Black
XMS ProSeries

              CMX1024-3200PRO XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

              CMX512-4000PRO XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

              CMX512-3200LLPRO XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

              CMX512-3200C2PRO XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries
            * These parts support 2-3-3-6 latency on Intel platforms, and
2.5-3-3-6 latency on AMD platforms.



                            XMS SO-DIMMs

                             The only performance memory in a 200-pin
SO-DIMM configuration.



                XMS3200

              Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

              CMXSD512-3200LL XMS3200 512MB 2.5-3-3-6 200 DIMM n/a

              CMXSD256A-3200LL XMS3200 256MB 2.5-3-3-6 200 DIMM n/a

              XMS2700

              Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

              CMXSD512-2700LL XMS2700 512MB 2-3-2-6 200 DIMM Black

              CMXSD256A-2700LL XMS2700 256MB 2-3-2-6 200 DIMM n/a




                    TWINX MATCHED MEMORY PAIRS

                    Matched pairs for today's hot dual channel motherboards.
                  TWINX modules are tested in pairs, in dual channel
motherboards,
                  at very aggressive latency settings for optimum
performance
                  and compatibility.


                XMS4400

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    TWINX1024-4400 XMS4400 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-4400PT XMS4400 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024-4400C25 XMS4400 1024MB 2.5-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Black

                    TWINX1024-4400C25PT XMS4400 1024MB 2.5-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    XMS4000

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    TWINX1024-4000PRO XMS4000 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Black XMS ProSeries

                    TWINX1024-4000 XMS4000 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-4000PT XMS4000 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-4000 XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-4000PT XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    XMS3700

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    TWINX1024-3700 XMS3700 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-3700PT XMS3700 1024MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-3700 XMS3700 512MB 3-4-4-8  2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-3700PT XMS3700 512MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    XMS3200

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    TWINX2048-3200C2 XMS3200 2048MB 2-3-3-6* 2x184 DIMM
Black

                    TWINX2048-3200C2PT XMS3200 2048MB 2-3-3-6* 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX2048-3200 XMS3200 2048MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX2048-3200PT XMS3200 2048MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024-3200LLPRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM
Black XMS ProSeries

                    TWINX1024-3200C2PRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 * 2x184 DIMM
Black XMS ProSeries

                    TWINX1024-3200C2 XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6* 2x184 DIMM
Black

                    TWINX1024-3200C2PT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6* 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024-3200LL XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-3200LLPT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024R-3200C2 XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM
Black

                    TWINX1024R-3200C2PT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024-3200 XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-3200PT XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX1024-3200XL XMS3200 1024MB 2-2-2-5 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-3200LL XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-3200LLPT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-3200C2 XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-3200C2PT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-3200 XMS3200 512MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-3200PT XMS3200 512MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-3200XL XMS3200 512MB 2-2-2-5 2x184 DIMM Black

                  * These parts support 2-3-3-6 latency on Intel platforms,
and 2.5-3-3-6 latency on AMD platforms.

                    XMS2700

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    TWINX1024-2700LL XMS2700 1024MB 2-3-2-5 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX1024-2700LLPT XMS2700 1024MB 2-3-2-5 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    TWINX512-2700LL XMS2700 512MB 2-3-2-5 2x184 DIMM Black

                    TWINX512-2700LLPT XMS2700 512MB 2-3-2-5 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                          XMS XTREME MEMORY SPEED DIMMS

                              These are the modules that have been taking
the gaming and
                              overclocking world by storm. The XMS family
are the world's most
                              highly awarded memory.



                    XMS4400

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    CMX512-4400 XMS4400 512MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-4400PT XMS4400 512MB 3-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX512-4400C25 XMS4400 512MB 2.5-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-4400C25PT XMS4400 512MB 2.5-4-4-8 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

                    XMS4000

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    CMX512-4000PRO XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black XMS
ProSeries

                    CMX512-4000 XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-4000PT XMS4000 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX256A-4000 XMS4000 256MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-4000PT XMS4000 256MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    XMS3700

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    CMX512-3700 XMS3700 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-3700PT XMS3700 512MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX256A-3700 XMS3700 256MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3700PT XMS3700 256MB 3-4-4-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    XMS3200

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

                    CMX1024RE-3200 XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX1024-3200C2 XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6* 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX1024-3200C2PT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6* 184 DIMM
Platinum

                    CMX1024-3200 XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX1024-3200PT XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX512-3200LLPRO XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Black
XMS ProSeries

                    CMX512-3200C2PRO XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 184 DIMM Black
XMS ProSeries

                    CMX512-3200LL XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-3200LLPT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX512R-3200C2 XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512R-3200C2PT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX512-3200C2 XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-3200C2PT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 * 184 DIMM
Platinum

                    CMX512-3200 XMS3200 512MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-3200PT XMS3200 512MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX512-3200XL XMS3200 512MB 2-2-2-5 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3200LL XMS3200 256MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3200LLPT XMS3200 256MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX256A-3200C2 XMS3200 256MB 2-3-3-6 * 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3200C2PT XMS3200 256MB 2-3-2-6 * 184 DIMM
Platinum

                    CMX256A-3200 XMS3200 256MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3200PT XMS3200 256MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX256A-3200XL XMS3200 256MB 2-2-2-5 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-3200XLPT XMS3200 256MB 2-2-2-5 184 DIMM Platinum
                  * These parts support 2-3-3-6 latency on Intel platforms,
and 2.5-3-3-6 latency on AMD platforms.
                    XMS2700

                    Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader


                    CMX512-2700C2 XMS2700 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX512-2700C2PT XMS2700 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Platinum

                    CMX256A-2700C2 XMS2700 256MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Black

                    CMX256A-2700C2PT XMS2700 256MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Platinum



                            REGISTERED XMS MODULES

                             Registered XMS - Designed Specifically for
Athlon 64 FX.



                REGISTERED XMS3200

              Part Number Speed Size Latency Package Heat Spreader

              TWINX2048RE-3200 XMS3200 2048MB 3-3-3-8 2x184 DIMM Black

              TWINX1024RE-3200LL XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM Black

              TWINX1024RE-3200LLPT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM
Platinum

              TWINX1024R-3200C2 XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM Black

              TWINX1024R-3200C2PT XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM Platinum

              CMX1024RE-3200 XMS3200 1024MB 3-3-3-8 184 DIMM Black

              CMX512RE-3200LLPT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Platinum

              CMX512R-3200C2 XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Black

              CMX512RE-3200LL XMS3200 512MB 2-3-2-6 184 DIMM Black

              CMX512R-3200C2PT XMS3200 512MB 2-3-3-6 184 DIMM Platinum




Show quoteHide quote[attached file: spacer.gif]
[attached file: proseries_r7_c2.gif]
[attached file: xmsSODIMMmod.gif]
[attached file: xms_mods_r1_c1.gif]
[attached file: xms_mods_r1_c6.gif]
[attached file: xms_mods_r2_r1_c1.gif]
[attached file: xms_mods_r2_r1_c2.gif]
[attached file: xms_regmod.gif]

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