Recommendations on RAM?

[iWong]

This is a new build (my first build). I'm planning on overclocking a bit (maybe 2.4GHz) and I need recommendations as to what RAM I should get. I think the best buy for me would be 2x512MB Dual Channel RAM. Here are the specs:

Raidmax Scorpio 668 Silver ATX Case
Antec TruePower 480W PSU
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice 2.0GHz
EVGA NVidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCI-e
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA2
5x Coolermaster 80MM Blue LED Case Fans

Some of the ones I'm looking at are:

2x OCZ Value Series PC3200 512MB DDR400 CL2.5-4-4-8 $80
2x Samsung PC3200 512MB DDR400 $84
Corsair Value Select PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400 Dual Channel Memory Kit $90
OCZ Premier PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400 CL2.5 3-3-7 Dual Channel Kit W/ Ramsink $109
OCZ Platinum EL PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400 CL2-3-2-5 Dual Channel W/ Ramsink $130
Kingston HyperX PC3500 1GB 2X512MB DDR433 Dual Channel W/ Ramsink $130

Is there much difference between them in terms of performance and OC'ability (enough to justify price differences)? Do I need ramsinks? What would you recommend for my system?

Note: I'm using the stock HSF on the CPU. Idle CPU temp is 27C and temp under load is 37C.

[elcapitansnb]

I think that with the AMD Athlon 64 series it doesn't really matter all that much.

On average premium ram, like the Platinum and HyperX, only increase overall performance by an average of 5%, but no more than 10%. The Platinums produce the better results, although even if they make a 10% difference, I don't think you will be able to notice it, nor are 10% increase worth the money. See here for review. (http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2548&p=20)

I would recommend that you go for bigger RAM bandwidth, for example buy a PC4000 2x1GB dual channel kit. Even if your mobo will not be able to use anything over PC3200 (will downclock anyway), you will notice the difference for sure with such a kit. Vista will use up way more resources than XP, so a 2GB set might come in handy if you switch over. Also, for intensive games it will also be a great benefit. Ramsinks help prolong the life of ram by keeping it cool - they are not necessary per se - although very useful. :)

Finally, just a suggestion, if you want to increase system performance, you might also want to spend some more money on the GPU. If you don't want to spend too much money, you might want to look at the XFX 6800 GS.

If I was you, I would pick up a big (2GB) entry level kit (e.g. Mushkin XP or OCZ EL Gold GX XTC (they seem to be the cheapest dual channel kits - with ramsinks). Good Luck!