ddr2 ram: 667 vs. 800 which way to go...

[chansigrilian]

well, time for some comparisons. any ideas as to which might be the better way to go, or has someone already run similiar tests? i found this link detailing the geil at 667 3-4-4-8 against the geil upped to 800 4-4-4-12... the geil at 667 with lower timings was slower as can be seen. i imagine this would hold true across the board, regardless of brand.

memory details: both are dual channel, i've got both in my possession right now so testing is possible but figured i'd post here for some feedback first

2gb (4x512mb) geil ultra ddr2 667 pc2 5300 @ 2.1v 3-4-4-8 link to geil page
2gb (2x1gb) patriot extreme ddr2 800 pc2 6400 @ 2.1v 4-4-4-12 link to patriot page

system is as follows:

cpu: amd athlon64 x2 4200+
mainboard: gigabyte ga-m57sli-s4
video card: evga 7600gt
psu: rosewill 550w psu
hdd: 36gb raptors x2 in raid 0
os: windows xp pro sp2

i would also wonder at what point faster ram speed will succumb to lower ram timings. i'm leaning towards the 800+ at 4-4-4-12 timings right now since i'm aircooling, but...

any thoughts folks?

 

[pkme2]

AT Memory Guide comparison.
http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2862&p=2

 

[chansigrilian]

hrm... that writeup would seem to agree with the above posted link if i'm reading both properly. their conclusion is to go with the ddr2 800, even at 4-4-4-12 timings if not oc'ing the system. while i am oc'ing, it's not a tremendous amount.

thanks for the info, anybody else care to contribute? the memory guide posted has some good info but more is always good

 

[Juno]

i kinda regret for buying a pair of ddr2 800mhz memory rams. i should've gone with 667mhz instead.

 

[The-Noid]

Lower timings are better for AMD. Amd can't handle 4 dimms very well though. Chao

 

[Canai]

I've got a pair of 667s running at 800 on stock voltage on 4-4-4-12 timings... plenty fast for me. and a looooot cheaper too.

 

[chansigrilian]

i was running the 1gb (2x512mb) geil and it was plenty fast altho i needed a little more memory for what i was doing with nwn2, hence the additional 1gb, not installed yet.

in the interim, i picked up the 2gb of patriot (2x1gb) and installed it today, equally very fast.

i expect i will not be able to tell the difference without benchmarks tho.

so far it would seem folks favor the 667 altho the comment about the onboard amd memory controller not handling the 4 dimms is a little disconcerting

any other feedback folks?

 

[chansigrilian]

no other ideas?