imported_Undertow
Junior Member
So I've been looking at some of my system's settings today looking to possibly squeeze more performance out of my rig. My question is, what gives more performance, lowering memory timings or increasing my CPU overclock?
Right now I'm running my 2x512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Edition Rev 3 Dual Channel Enhanced Latency DDR @ 466MHz at 2.5-3-3-5 at an FSB speed of 233 or 3.26GHz.
Lowering CL2.5 to 2 works, but evidently doesn't 'take'. It shows 2 in my BIOS, but all my Windows programs report it as 2.5. Does so at 3.26 and at stock. No noticeable performance difference either way.
Changing RAS to CAS Delay from 3 to 2 boots @ 2.8 (doesn't even boot @ 3.26) but BSODs either on the Windows loading screen or just after getting to desktop. Same with RAS Precharge.
The Cycle Time, SPD of 8 but currently running at 5, works fine but there's no noticeable performance difference according to this site.
I've read that running DDR400 at 333MHz usually allows one to run tighter timings, but that will result in quite a large performance hit, more than the performance gain I would get by tightening the timings, wouldn't it?
He mentions my RAM specifically (well rev 2 instead of rev 3) as being excellent for a balance of timings and clock speeds, so is my situation normal?
Also, what effect does Performance Mode (Normal, Fast, Turbo and Ultra-Turbo) have on all this?
Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 2.8e @ 3.46GHz
Thermaltake Spark 7+ Xaser Edition CPU HS/F
MSI 865PE Neo2-PFISR motherboard (BIOS ver. 3.8)
2x512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Edition Rev 3 Dual Channel Enhanced Latency DDR @ 466MHz (2-3-3-5)
Built-by-ATI Radeon 9800 Pro @ XT 128MB DDR 256-bit
Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer Rev 3
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum
Cyber Acoustics CA-4100 4.1 Surround
Maxtor 6Y120M0 120GB HDD 7200RPM/8MB SATA
Seagate ST3200826AS 200GB HDD 7200RPM/8MB SATA NCQ
Sony DDU1612 40x/16x DVD-ROM
Sony CRX230ED 52x/32x CD-RW
Enermax Noisetaker EG475P 470W PSU(+3.3V = 34A, +5V = 40A, +12V = 33A)
Ultra Dragon ATX Mid-Tower Case
Windows XP Pro SP2
Right now I'm running my 2x512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Edition Rev 3 Dual Channel Enhanced Latency DDR @ 466MHz at 2.5-3-3-5 at an FSB speed of 233 or 3.26GHz.
Lowering CL2.5 to 2 works, but evidently doesn't 'take'. It shows 2 in my BIOS, but all my Windows programs report it as 2.5. Does so at 3.26 and at stock. No noticeable performance difference either way.
Changing RAS to CAS Delay from 3 to 2 boots @ 2.8 (doesn't even boot @ 3.26) but BSODs either on the Windows loading screen or just after getting to desktop. Same with RAS Precharge.
The Cycle Time, SPD of 8 but currently running at 5, works fine but there's no noticeable performance difference according to this site.
I've read that running DDR400 at 333MHz usually allows one to run tighter timings, but that will result in quite a large performance hit, more than the performance gain I would get by tightening the timings, wouldn't it?
He mentions my RAM specifically (well rev 2 instead of rev 3) as being excellent for a balance of timings and clock speeds, so is my situation normal?
Also, what effect does Performance Mode (Normal, Fast, Turbo and Ultra-Turbo) have on all this?
Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 2.8e @ 3.46GHz
Thermaltake Spark 7+ Xaser Edition CPU HS/F
MSI 865PE Neo2-PFISR motherboard (BIOS ver. 3.8)
2x512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Edition Rev 3 Dual Channel Enhanced Latency DDR @ 466MHz (2-3-3-5)
Built-by-ATI Radeon 9800 Pro @ XT 128MB DDR 256-bit
Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer Rev 3
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum
Cyber Acoustics CA-4100 4.1 Surround
Maxtor 6Y120M0 120GB HDD 7200RPM/8MB SATA
Seagate ST3200826AS 200GB HDD 7200RPM/8MB SATA NCQ
Sony DDU1612 40x/16x DVD-ROM
Sony CRX230ED 52x/32x CD-RW
Enermax Noisetaker EG475P 470W PSU(+3.3V = 34A, +5V = 40A, +12V = 33A)
Ultra Dragon ATX Mid-Tower Case
Windows XP Pro SP2