Geil Value vs Corsair Value vs Samsung

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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
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Hello,

I have plans on setting up a new rig with a DFI nf4 Ultra-D, A64 3200+ and oc'ing it.

Now, I am pretty budget conscious and would like to get "value" ram. I first decided upon the Geil Value 2x512 DDR400(GE1GB3200BDC) since it is cheaper ($129 CAD, $105 USD) than the Corsair Value ($149 CAD, $122 USD) and the Geil has a cool lookin heatspreader too ! :cool:

However, after doing some searching on these forums and other places, some people have had rotten luck with the Geil even on stock settings. Now I am reconsidering my options.

I can get a stick of 512 samsung DDR400 with a heatspreader for $65 CAD ($~53 USD). Total is of course $130 CAD, $106 USD. I do not know what kind of performance I can expect from overclocking this though. Is it a hit and miss situation since samsung is considered "generic" stuff? Corsair Value ram seems to have pretty decent reviews from you guys.

So what would you guys recommend? Any personal experiences with the Geil or any other sticks that i'm considering?

Thanks in advance!
:beer:
 
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fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,382
5
81
Value ram is value ram. Get the cheapest thing. As long as it does 2.5-3-3 your fine.
 
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MrControversial

Senior member
Jan 25, 2005
848
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I have GEIL and I can't run 1:1 250MHz and I can't even run 5:4 at 220MHz? Is it the mobo? I don't know, but I did get it from SVC for $114.
 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
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Originally posted by: BouZouki
Value ram is value ram. Get the cheapest thing. As long as it does 2.5-3-3 your fine.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. But i'm getting mixed feelings about this Geil value from what i've read (some people having to have it run at 3-3-3 etc). Some say the samsungs are great modules and can get some great oc results out of it. In the end, there is still a difference in the "bang for the buck" so to speak IMO, but thanks for the input! :beer:
 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
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Originally posted by: MrControversial
I have GEIL and I can't run 1:1 250MHz and I can't even run 5:4 at 220MHz? Is it the mobo? I don't know, but I did get it from SVC for $114.
Click to expand...

What speed/timings CAN you get at 5:4 with the Geil? I'm not too sure about the mobo bit, anyone?

There is also a poll up at the top ^^^ vote vote! :D

Cheers
 
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ecvs85

Member
Mar 4, 2005
145
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Well just to let you know, my room's temperature varies from 25-35C, and I can't run my corsair value RAM at 2.5-3-3-10 on 1T, or else it's unstable. When I put on some copper heatspreaders on it, the problem was gone. This is at 200Mhz bus speed.
 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
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Originally posted by: ribbon13
DFI Ultra-D
TwinMOS above all those!

see thread
Click to expand...


I was just lookin at TwinMOS. Quality Stuff!! I can't find it anywhere here in Canada though, anyone have any info on Canadian dealers?

Or if one of ya can buy it for me and ship it up here that'll also be great (i'll sweeten the pot of course) :D
 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
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According to this thread here it seems like the OCZ Value uses the same UTT stuff as TwinMOS. So is it guaranteed that the OCZ Value is "always" UTT or only "some" are UTT?

:beer:
 
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ribbon13

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2005
9,343
0
0
OCZ VX are always UTT, TwinMos is the not guaranteed. But I haven't heard of anyone not getting em.
 
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ssvegeta1010

Platinum Member
Nov 13, 2004
2,192
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tradejose- yes, those are rated for 2.5-3-3, and are a great purchase, especially before the sale ends.
 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
0
0
Originally posted by: ssvegeta1010
tradejose- yes, those are rated for 2.5-3-3, and are a great purchase, especially before the sale ends.
Click to expand...

bah humbug, newegg needs to start shipping to us Canadians! :|

Cheapest i've found for that is $139 CAD (about $114 USD) before taxes and shipping :frown:

I am really interested in these winbond UTT chips now but alas, the premium must be paid! Closest thing to it is the OCZ Value series up here. Running for $173 CAD ($141USD) before taxes and shipping. To UTT or not to UTT, that is the question :confused:
 
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christopherzombie

Senior member
Jan 18, 2005
431
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2-3-3-6 = latency

The lower the better:

2-3-3-6 is faster than 2.5-3-3-8, but slower than 2-2-2-5. 3-3-3-8 is the standard for most cheap/value DDR RAM. New DDR2 has a latency of 4-4-4-10.


 
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christopherzombie

Senior member
Jan 18, 2005
431
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Corsair CAS Latency explained

CAS Latency: What Is It, and How Does It Impact Performance?
This is the question the RAM Guy gets asked more than any other question. So, I figured I'd put together a bulletin containing my $0.02 worth!

First of all, what is CAS?

"CAS" is short for "Column Address Strobe". A DRAM memory can be thought of as a matrix, kind of like a spreadsheet with memory cells instead of numbers and formulas. Like the spreadsheet, each cell has a row address and a column address (like "AA57" or "R23C34" in the spreadsheet). As you might have guessed, there is also a RAS signal, which is shorthand for "Row Address Strobe".

And, what do you mean by "latency"?

Latency refers to the time that you are waiting to get what you need. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "the interval between stimulus and response".

Now, how does CAS work?

To understand this let's walk through a simplified version of how the memory controller actually reads the memory. First, the chip set accesses the ROW of the memory matrix by putting an address on the memory's address pins and activating the RAS signal. Then, we have to wait a few clock cycles (known as RAS-to-CAS Delay). Then, the column address is put on the address pins, and the CAS signal is activated, to access the correct COLUMN of the memory matrix. Then, we wait a few clock cycles -- THIS IS KNOWN AS CAS LATENCY! -- and then the data appears on the pins of the RAM.

So, for CAS-2 you wait 2 clock cycles and for CAS-3 you wait 3 clock cycles?

Bingo!

So, CAS-2 is 33% faster than CAS-3?

Whoa, not so fast! There are a LOT of other factors in the memory performance. Here are a few of the main ones:

Sometimes you have to move to a different row in memory. This means activating RAS, waiting RAS-to-CAS delay, then doing the CAS latency thing.
Other times, you do a "burst" read, when you pull in a lot of data in one big block. In that case, CAS is only activated ONCE, at the beginning of the burst.
Also, don't forget the most important thing: processors have big caches! The cache is where the processor stores recently accessed instructions and data. The cache "hit rate", i.e., the percentage of times the processor finds the information it needs in its own cache, is typically greater than 95%!
OK, OK, so what's the bottom line?

So, the bottom line is, moving from CAS-3 to CAS-2 will offer a percentage performance increase in the low single digits for most applications. Programs which are known to be memory intensive (you gamers might know of some...) will see the best improvement.

The other thing to keep in mind is that CAS-2 memory will run FASTER ( some review sites have taken it to 160MHz!) than CAS-3 memory. So, if you're thinking of overclocking your system (now or in the future), CAS-2 is your best bet for speed and stability.

So, the Ram Guy sez...

Buy CAS-2 if [1] you want to wring the last bit of performance out of your system, or [2] you're thinking of overclocking, either now or in the future, or [3] it costs the same as CAS-3, which it sometimes does...

Otherwise, CAS-3 memory should meet your requirements

 
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supaflyz

Member
Apr 3, 2005
29
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0
Originally posted by: Excelsior

I thought the 2x512 of Corsair value select was down in the 80s, not over $100.
Click to expand...


yeah they are, but not for us Canadians! we're being gouged up here :|
 
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Excelsior

Lifer
May 30, 2002
19,047
18
81
Originally posted by: supaflyz
Originally posted by: Excelsior

I thought the 2x512 of Corsair value select was down in the 80s, not over $100.
Click to expand...


yeah they are, but not for us Canadians! we're being gouged up here :|
Click to expand...


That sucks donkey balls.
 
zerocool84

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
yea my kingston value ram wont even overclock at all and when i try to lower the timings it doesnt boot even when i bump up the voltage, would the $88 corsair be able to overclock better or get better timings cus im pissed cus of this damn kinston ram cant do crap
 
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