5 vs 6-nanosecond access time on RAM chips

[farmercal]

I heard someone mention in an answer to a post that they would advise against purchasing the Corsair XMS PC3200, 512MB stick because Corsair was still using 6-nanosecond Winbound chips in them. He claimed that the XMS PC3500, 512 MB stick (with 5-nanosecond chips) is a better choice.

Does it REALLY matter? I am not talking about bragging rights but in performance keeping in mind the the option of overclocking. The difference in price is $36 per stick and I intend to purchase two of them. I don't mind paying for performance but will it be performance that would make a difference?

 

[PliotronX]

The ns rating can be used as a rough estimate towards the upper end of the chips' capability, however other factors such as quality of chips, yield, heat, etc. have a significant impact on clocking.

From the ns ratings, we can gather that the 6ns are designed for 166MHz operation and the 5ns at 200MHz. Because WinBond makes fantastic chips (some of the best available), they are both capable of greater clocks. How much greater is anyone's guess, but the 5ns chips have a greater chance of achieving aggressive timings at >210MHz. If you plan on taking it up that high, the 5ns version would be a wise investment. Otherwise, if you just want to run at 200MHz with aggressive timings, the 6ns part would be fine it could do more, but it's no guarantee and since you plan on getting two of them, one of them might not match the other's ability so you'd be stuck at the lowest clock. Good luck.

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: farmercal
I heard someone mention in an answer to a post that they would advise against purchasing the Corsair XMS PC3200, 512MB stick because Corsair was still using 6-nanosecond Winbound chips in them. He claimed that the XMS PC3500, 512 MB stick (with 5-nanosecond chips) is a better choice.

Does it REALLY matter? I am not talking about bragging rights but in performance keeping in mind the the option of overclocking. The difference in price is $36 per stick and I intend to purchase two of them. I don't mind paying for performance but will it be performance that would make a difference?

That was probably me. I mentioned it because a 6ns chip running at 200MHz(400DDR) is already overclocked. If I was running at default speed, I wouldn't want RAM that was overclocked just to get there. If I was overclocking, I'd want as much headroom as possible.

 

[farmercal]

Thanks for the advice!