Mobo + CPU + RAM ?'s

[Theorem]

Well, I'm getting ready to finally build my very own system next month, and I'm in dier need of some help.
I need to know some definitions and also I need to find what will work with what.

So here I go....

-How much of a difference does the E6400 have over the E6300?
-What are ideal FSB speeds?
-Is there a difference between...say...a 1GB stick and 2x512MB sticks of RAM?
and
-What's Cas Latency and RAM timing?


So far I'm Planning on going with this setup...

Motherboard = ASUS P5LD2
Processor = Core 2 Duo E6400
RAM = OCZ Gold Series 1BG (2x512MB) DDR2

Do these all comply with eachother?

Still really sketchy, but I definately want to go with an ASUS mobo because I've heard nothing but good things about them and that they are great for OC'ing. I also want to keep this in the $400-450 range.

well, that's all for now.
I'd appreciate any help I can get. Thanks in advance!

[.Maleficus.]

The difference between the two are just the speeds. Since you are looking at the 2MB cache ones, I'd go with the E6300, because it is cheaper and is supposed to be the best oc'er of all the C2Ds.

FSB is front side bus. Don't worry about it now, you're fine with the mobo.

A single stick runs in single channel, and the 2 stick sets run in dual-channel, which is supposed to be faster.

Cas Latency and timings: the lower the better. The Cas Latency is the first number of the timings.

[Silenced_Coyote]

Core 2 Duo E4300 is a bit cheaper.

[Theorem]

Thanks for the good info Maleficus, and the cool fact Coyote.
helped a lot.

Just two more questions and I'll stop buggin' you.

-When installing a new CPU and Mobo, do you have to reinstall your OS? (XP for me)

-Does the RAM's speed have to match the motherboard's memory standard exactly?
(ex:.... RAM = DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)....and....Mobo = Memory standard 667

Thanks.

[simon275]

Thanks for the good info Maleficus, and the cool fact Coyote.
helped a lot.

Just two more questions and I'll stop buggin' you.

-When installing a new CPU and Mobo, do you have to reinstall your OS? (XP for me)

-Does the RAM's speed have to match the motherboard's memory standard exactly?
(ex:.... RAM = DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)....and....Mobo = Memory standard 667

Thanks.

You can get away with not reinstalling the OS. But most people do anyway for spring cleaning purposes.

[Silenced_Coyote]

Thanks for the good info Maleficus, and the cool fact Coyote.
helped a lot.

Just two more questions and I'll stop buggin' you.

-When installing a new CPU and Mobo, do you have to reinstall your OS? (XP for me)

-Does the RAM's speed have to match the motherboard's memory standard exactly?
(ex:.... RAM = DDR2 667 (PC2 5400)....and....Mobo = Memory standard 667

Thanks.

I'm not sure about reinstalling XP. I know that it has "counters" for each part and if you change too much, then you will have to reinstall XP. I don't know how much each component is worth and what the limit is. Someone else can inform you on that.

The RAM speed does not have to match the motherboard's officially supported speed. You can overclock if you want to have higher RAM frequencies. If you don't overclock and put DDR2-800 in a motherboard that supports DDR2-667, then it will default to 667. You can put RAM with lower frequencies if you want. Just change the memory multiplier so you don't have to slow your CPU.