One for Ted: From DDR2 to DDR3?

[Bjoern]

Since I'm earning a bit of money now I was thinking of giving my main rig a small boost.
I'm looking into replacing the mainboard and getting DDR3 RAM.


The reasons:
- I'm running my current config fully overclocked. When I say "fully", I mean "fully". I can't squeeze out one more single MHz from the FSB or lower the RAM timings one more notch. It's simply impossible.
- The Q9450 I'm using still has overclocking potential, but only with an increased FSB as the multiplier is set at 8 already (the maximum for the CPU).
- DDR3 RAM modules might come in handy for a future, completely new, system (in two years or so).


My current config:
- Asus P5QL Pro (Intel P43 chipset, DDR2, FSB running at ~407 MHz (maximum possible))
- Intel Q9450 (running at 3.25 Ghz, much more potential 'though)
- 4Gb OCZ DDR2 RAM (stock clock: 400 MHz, overclocked to 486 Mhz; timings 5-5-5-18)
- 520W Coolermaster RealPower PSU
- Xigmatek S1283 CPU cooler
More info: http://www.sysprofile.de/id109664


What I want:
- At least a P45 chipset board (as it's much more capable than the P43). Asrock's P45X3 Deluxe looks nice and apparently overclocks well.
- 4GB of DDR3 1600 RAM (CL8 maybe), maybe even 8 GB should I bump into a good deal
- Maybe a new CPU cooler

The budget:
200€ = 275 US $


Why:
I can't afford a new PC for another two years (I want to start from scratch...SSD, octa core et al.), so I want to tickle out the last breaths from socket 775 based hardware. Getting a new CPU is still too expensive. The Q9550, e.g., just a notch better than my CPU costs as much as $300 here!
And this test kind of illustrates the benefits of DDR3 over DDR2:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mem...0-roundup.html


Plan B:
Wait one more month, spend another $275 and switch to AMD's hexacores or high end quads. The advantage of that solution is that AMD doesn't introduce new sockets every year or so and keeps a certain backwards compatibility in their CPUs and sockets.

[Bjoern]

Increased my budget, decided to stick to Intel, and am after an Intel X48 board (Gigabyte X48T-dq6) now. Still need Ram 'though.

Recommendations?
(DDR 1600, CL8, < 85$ )


I'll also go for an SSD. I think 120 Gb should be enough for FSX and some add-ons.

[txnetcop]

Bjoern the Corsair Dominator 1600 DDR3 is a proven winner. Also OCZ Blade 1600

[Bjoern]

It was either XMS3 or a G.Skill set for my budget. Chose the latter along with a SSD from one shop to save on shipping.

So since 9 pm there's an OCZ Vertex 2 120 Gb and 4 Gb of G.Skill DDR3 1600 7-8-7-24 1.3V on order for me. :d