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Dual Channel for 754? 2GB CAS2 vs CAS3?

A

alteredNate

Member


Basically, I am looking to build a system from scratch (to add to my current Dell laptop), and I'm NOT going to wait for NF4, as tempting as it is - instead I'll go with a 754 base, the idea being I'll save a bit of cash, and from what I've read the advantage of 939 isn't really worth the extra cost (yet, anyway). Here's the basic proposed config:

A64 3400+ Newcastle
ASUS K8N-E Deluxe OR DFI Lanparty NF3 (Any thoughts?)
ASUS 6800GE (80? less than the *real* GT)
2 GB RAM............

So the question is this: I'm a serious multitasker, and I plan on doing some heavy 3D work and photo editing, so I believe that 2GB is the way to go. I'll be doing some gaming as well, but it won't be the primary function (However I figure putting the 150 euros I'll save by NOT going 939 is better spent for the video card, as I'll have a big LCD with a native 1920x1200). Faced with the cost of 2GB of PC3200, is there *ANY* advantage to going with a dual-channel matched pair? On top of that, am I going to see a big performace increase if I shell out for 2x 1GB CAS2?

Here's some RAM and some prices that I can find in France:
Corsair XMS 2x 1GB CAS3: 514?
Corsair XMS 2x 1GB CAS2.5 "PRO": 558? (with the heatspreaders and useless LEDs)
Corsair TwinX XMS 2x 1GB CAS3 = 504?
Corsair TwinX XMS 2x 1GB CAS2.5 "PRO" = 600? (with the heatspreaders and useless LEDs)
Kingston "ValueRAM" 2x 1GB CAS3: 549?
OCZ 2x 1GB CAS3 "Performance Dual": 541?
Samsung 2x 1GB PC3200 (CAS unknown, assuming 3): 398?

So basically, the price differences for all of that are nearly negligable, except for the samsung. The only reason I could possibly think of paying more for the dual-channel is for future use in a 939 board... however I have a feeling at the time of my next upgrade we'll be well into dual-core and DDR2 so that's probably not worth considering. Or am I missing something with 754 and dual-channel?

The bigger question would be CAS 2 vs CAS2.5 vs CAS3 - I'm not sure I really understand what real-world performance differences there are, nor exactly how all that fits into overclocking and all that... I'd like to do do some minor tweaking, but stability is more important to me than high marks.

Can someone help me out here?
 
socket 754 doesnt support dual channel. as much as i am an amd fanboy, i'm gonna have to recommend you get a P4 if you are going to do multitasking.

what's your budget? maybe you can afford a dually opteron.
 

So Hyperthreading really helps out? I haven't spent any time reading about P4's at all...

Although I'm not made of money, I'm willing to spend quite a bit to get what I need. This computer will be half used for work, so it's worth it. But as I said I'll be gaming as well, and in all the A64 benchmarks, I see how far behind the P4 is and it makes me stay away - but it's true that in the rendering marks the P4 is the same or ahead.

What are we talking about for dual opteron? Any suggestions?
 
find the programs you use and look around for benchmarks with the sckt 754, 939 and p4. i personally went with a p4 on my last machine (2.8c) because i was doing quite a bit of photoshop, illustrator and premiere work along with encoding and using squeeze. i had a problem with squeeze as it would only use 30% cpu and maybe 60% with 2 instances running. i guess it is not smp/smt aware, but when i would encode with windows media encoder i would get 100% utilization. it all comes down to the exact application you are going to use. also, if you are that serious of a multitasker, you may look into a true dual processor setup. it will be pricey, but they really move, or you could always get a couple of xp-m chips and o/c them, again verify they are still unlocked and do your research on the benches.

as far as dual channel only worry about that if you planning on going with some sort of options that takes advantage of it, like a p4.

i wouldn't mess with the o/c if you are wanting reliability. first off it takes time to find the correct combo that runs as fast and as reliably as you need. this will mean hours of running prime95 until you get it correct. i feel that if this is a work machine then you should go with a faster processor vs o/c, but that is just me, but you will have reliability.
 
Originally posted by: alteredNate
I know someone has some thoughts to share on CAS2 vs CAS3 for me... 😉
Click to expand...

Well if you use search, google or go to anandtech or tomshardware you will find your answers.
But basically lower timings are faster.
 

Thanks for your reply! I've pretty much decided, after a bit more looking, that I'll just stick with a 754 3400+ and 2GB CAS3. I'm going to sink the extra cash on the video card, as I will be wanting to do some high-res gaming on my 243T. As I'm starting from scratch, I'm getting high-quality components all around, with less focus on the main components, and I'll be expecting to be ready to upgrade them in the not-so-distant future.

This article made up my mind about Latency - it's well written with useful benchmarks.

This machine will not at all be 100% for work, but from time to time I will be doing some 3D, Photoshop, web creation and AutoCAD work on it. I totally agree with you in that stability is more important than ultimate speed, but for the experience I'd like to try some overclocking. And the more I read about multitasking, the more I realize that eventually it will be necessary to go dual. I think I'll hold out for now, as that is a drastic price increase. I'll be interested to see what dual-core offers, and once the sticker shock of this rig as-is goes away, I'll be drooling over sonething new (which will probably be sooner than I'd like!).
 
Originally posted by: biostud666

Well if you use search, google or go to anandtech or tomshardware you will find your answers.
But basically lower timings are faster.
Click to expand...

Check the link in my last post - CAS is really only important for games, and even then they found a max of about 5% inicrease from CAS3 to CAS2 - for about 50% more cash. They do say that it makes a big difference for overclocking - lower latency models can handle higher frequencies, even if it's necessary to loosen the timings a little bit.
 
Originally posted by: alteredNate

Thanks for your reply! I've pretty much decided, after a bit more looking, that I'll just stick with a 754 3400+ and 2GB CAS3. I'm going to sink the extra cash on the video card, as I will be wanting to do some high-res gaming on my 243T. As I'm starting from scratch, I'm getting high-quality components all around, with less focus on the main components, and I'll be expecting to be ready to upgrade them in the not-so-distant future.

This article made up my mind about Latency - it's well written with useful benchmarks.

This machine will not at all be 100% for work, but from time to time I will be doing some 3D, Photoshop, web creation and AutoCAD work on it. I totally agree with you in that stability is more important than ultimate speed, but for the experience I'd like to try some overclocking. And the more I read about multitasking, the more I realize that eventually it will be necessary to go dual. I think I'll hold out for now, as that is a drastic price increase. I'll be interested to see what dual-core offers, and once the sticker shock of this rig as-is goes away, I'll be drooling over sonething new (which will probably be sooner than I'd like!).
Click to expand...

not trying to bust your bubble and i know you want to build now, you might want to check out the new 939 boards with 2 of the pci 8/16 slots for sli...

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2284
 
I think he already knows about that, but said he would rather save some cash and use socket 754


Originally posted by: bob4432
Originally posted by: alteredNate

Thanks for your reply! I've pretty much decided, after a bit more looking, that I'll just stick with a 754 3400+ and 2GB CAS3. I'm going to sink the extra cash on the video card, as I will be wanting to do some high-res gaming on my 243T. As I'm starting from scratch, I'm getting high-quality components all around, with less focus on the main components, and I'll be expecting to be ready to upgrade them in the not-so-distant future.

This article made up my mind about Latency - it's well written with useful benchmarks.

This machine will not at all be 100% for work, but from time to time I will be doing some 3D, Photoshop, web creation and AutoCAD work on it. I totally agree with you in that stability is more important than ultimate speed, but for the experience I'd like to try some overclocking. And the more I read about multitasking, the more I realize that eventually it will be necessary to go dual. I think I'll hold out for now, as that is a drastic price increase. I'll be interested to see what dual-core offers, and once the sticker shock of this rig as-is goes away, I'll be drooling over sonething new (which will probably be sooner than I'd like!).
Click to expand...

not trying to bust your bubble and i know you want to build now, you might want to check out the new 939 boards with 2 of the pci 8/16 slots for sli...

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2284
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: coolred
I think he already knows about that, but said he would rather save some cash and use socket 754
Click to expand...

Yeah, I definately know about that... it's been a struggle. What really made up my mind was looking at the fact that a 754 3400+ Newcastle it only slightly below in performance to a 939 3800+, at 1/4 the cost. I really think that the benifit of paying that much more for a 939 has yet to be proven, and although I'm sure it will arrive, right now I am starting to think it's mainly a plecebo.

And as for future-proofing, there's really no such thing, as dual-core and DDR2 for the A64 are just around the corner. The only real question there is how long AGP is going to last. In my opinion, it's not leaving anytime really soon.... at least until the geforce 8 series 😉 At that point I'll be ready to jump on the new wagon, whatever it is.

Here's my current build idea:
Newcastle 3400+
DFI LanParty UT NF3
2GB Corsair 3200
ASUS Geforce 6800GE
2x Segate 200GB SATA
Thermalright XP-120 + Panaflo L1A
Lian-Li V1000 + 2x Panaflo L1A
Antec NeoPower
Logitech MX1000

Currently, all this runs about 1350 euros.

Assuming I get paid today I'll buy it all next week!
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
why do you need 2 gigs of ram?
Click to expand...

Well, I'll possibly be doing some renderinig and large photo work. I also tend to multitask quite abit (read my original post...)

I'm still considering this one, however I think in the long run I'll be happier with 2GB. Why, do you think it's a bad idea?
 
I, like a lot of people on here are getting close to being AMD fanboys....but in this case as the guy earlier said...go P4....

If there is one thing that the P4 is strong at it is multitasking and general office work.....

The AMDs are best bang for buck for gaming but answer this question.....Will you really notice a 10fps difference in a game when running over 100Fps? I don't think so

So unfortunately/or fortunately in this case I will push u towards the P4....
 
Originally posted by: alteredNate
I know someone has some thoughts to share on CAS2 vs CAS3 for me... 😉
Click to expand...

It used to matter back in the day, but nowadays, I remember seeing benchmarks where there is virtually no difference... which is why I didn't buy expensive memory this time around.. CAS3 Infineon PC3200. works great.

Also, dual channel is pretty well useless too. 5% improvement at best. S754 should run very closely along side what a 939 system would run.
 
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