CL2/CL3

[sblake]

Sisoft Sandra reports my memeory as follows:

CL3 upto 133MHz CL2 upto 100MHz

What settings do I use with this memory? Is it CL3 or CL2?

 

[peemo]

Sandra is reading what is programmed in the SPD. This may not reflect the actual capabilities of the RAM. What's your rig? Are you running 133MHz or 100MHz FSB? Somewhere in between? If you can set the CAS latency in your BIOS, you can obviously try CAS2 and see whether your system is stable. Do you know what the chips on the RAM module are? If you read off the markings and go to the manufacturer's website, you can probably find a spec sheet. You won't really know what setings to use without trying variations.

Good luck.

 

[sblake]

I haven't installed it yet. It is PNY brand and I will be running at 133FSB. I was trying to figure out if I could set the BIOS to 3 when I install it.

 

[BFG10K]

I get the same reading from Sandra. I tried CAS2 and Quake 3 worked fine but UT crashed and kicked me back to the desktop. Interestingly SPD is disabled in my BIOS so I'm wondering were Sandra is getting the info from.

 

[Sukhoi]

If you're running a 133 MHz FSB then the memory is supposedly speced to run at CAS3, though you could try CAS2 and see if it works if you want the additional performance.

 

[sblake]

When using 133MHz memory on a 133MHz FSB, is there any noticeable difference in performance between CAS3 and CAS2?

Also which would perform best on a 133MHz FSB?
1) 100MHz CAS2 Memory or 2) 133MHz CAS3

 

[AndyHui]

Read this FAQ for the difference between CAS2 and CAS3.

 

[sblake]

Thanks for the FAQ. Very Helpful.

 

[Sukhoi]

<< Also which would perform best on a 133MHz FSB?
1) 100MHz CAS2 Memory or 2) 133MHz CAS3 >>



I'd keep the FSB and memory speeds the same...the additional latency from 133 MHz FSB and 100 MHz RAM would probably just about cancel out the CAS2 advantage. You could run some benchmarks to check though.