DDR2 800 vs DDR2 1000 (PC6400 vs PC8000)

[Davegod]

I'm pondering an upgrade and I'm trying to get a handle on the benefit of getting 1000mhz ram over 800mhz.

specifically OCZ Reaper X 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 1000MHz vs. Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz if timings count more).

To put the £ price difference into context it's a new console game - or 10% of my total upgrade budget! But, if that means I keep the rig running 10% longer then it'd be worth it.

I plan to pair it with a E8400 or Q6600 (haven't decided whether fewer & faster or more & slower will do me better over the next say 2 1/2 years) which I'd mildly overclock. I've mostly turned gaming over the the console but would like to keep it reasonably capable for FPS and RTS games.

Moved to Memory and Storage
MarcVenice -- General Hardware Moderator

 

[Davegod]

must have hit 'new topic' on the wrong tab, intended this for Memory and Storage
edit: thanks mods

 

[DSF]

It's unlikely to be the difference between your computer lasting 10% longer or not.

Since both of those chips have 9x multipliers, using DDR2-800 will essentially cap your CPU overclock at around 3.6GHz. With the Q6600 that's essentially the limit of the chip anyway. The E8400 on the other hand most likely has the headroom to go past 3.5-3.6GHz if your motherboard and RAM allow.

 

[MarcVenice]

But then again, the corsair ram will probably overclock to 850-900mhz. Allowing for a 3.8-4.0ghz overclock.

Still want me to move this to Memory and Storage?

 

[taltamir]

the only reason to buy ram over 800mhz IS to over clock. Even if you bought the DDR1000 ram, it WILL be running in DDR800 UNLESS you are over clocking. The DDR1000 ram is basically "guaranteed to over clock this much" ram.

 

[bryanW1995]

I dunno, there can be some benefits to running your memory at a higher trd even if you're not going for that super oc. I only run my e6750 at 3.4 but my pc 8500 ballistix are at a 1:1.25 multiplier, so a trd of 6. I seem to get a lot more ppd from seti@home than other c2d's running at 3.4, and the consensus seems to be that the higher memory speed is for some reason a big help in this app.

 

[daggermeerkat]

What about this ram?

 

[Davegod]

yeah following the comments here I'd put down the 5-5-5-15 version of that ram but I see the price difference is now just £5 more to get that ram with the tighter timings (though I see the SPD is still programmed at 5-5-5-15 and you have to up voltage to get the 4-4-4-12, but still).