Last request for opinions on Corsair 3200 ram (which one)

[Mattlock]

Any final thoughts on which type of Corsair 3200 RAM is best for overclocking?

Still cant quite decide between:

1) Corsair CMX256A-3200LL 256MB DDR400 XMS3200 32Mx64 184 DIMM Low Latency SPD Memory w/Heat Spreader Retail (#18 on googlegear's site) Price : $93 for 256mb

or

2) Corsair CMX256A-3200C2PT 256MB DDR400 PC3200 32Mx64 184 DIMM Cas2 Memory w/Silver Heat Spreader Retail (#19 on googlegear's site)
Price: $83 for 256mb


Is there any real difference between LL "low latency" and CAS2 in terms of overclocking?


I am building a nforce2 XP2100 rev system and want to overclock.
Plan to buy 2x256mb.

thanks,
Mattlock

Googlegear Site

 

[Shimmishim]

hey

i'm i'm correct the timings are different

i think the 93 dollar one is 2-2-2-6

and the 83 dollar one is 2-3-3-6 or something like that...

that's the only difference if i'm correct...

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

if you are planning on going over 400mhz ddr, with aggressive timings, id go iwht LL (low latency)

it has also a 1t command rate i think its called rather than 2t

if you ahve the cash, buy the best you can as ram is nothing to skimp on....but with either choice you wont be skimping on anything

 

[Mattlock]

Thanks Shimm and Champ....now my biggest challenge is convincing myself I dont need 2x512mb instead of 2x256.

I realize 2x256 is fine for gaming but I do want to do some video editing (converting Hi8mm tapes to VCDs etc)

Maybe I should get this extra 512 but thats alot of dough.....

My board is a nforce2 and I was thinking I should go ahead and get the "dual" ram instead of 1x512mb...


decisions, decisions
Mattlock

 

[pillage2001]

You know you want 512mbx2.

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

you know you want it, i know you want it, hell i know I want it...

if you have the cahs, drop it
lol

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Mattlock
Thanks Shimm and Champ....now my biggest challenge is convincing myself I dont need 2x512mb instead of 2x256.

I realize 2x256 is fine for gaming but I do want to do some video editing (converting Hi8mm tapes to VCDs etc)

Maybe I should get this extra 512 but thats alot of dough.....

My board is a nforce2 and I was thinking I should go ahead and get the "dual" ram instead of 1x512mb...


decisions, decisions
Mattlock

Dual channel?? 512mb x 2.

 

[Mattlock]

let me pass around the collection plate

 

[Mattlock]

you know I did just save $150 on my video card (8500 AIW Radeon) got it for $150 after rebates..... hmmm

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

perfect lol
you save some, to gain some

 

[Jen]

LL is best there is in Corsair

or HyperX Pc3500


or TwinMos Winbond memory which is 76 dollars a stick




those are my choices for the moment ........i'm still undecided




if someone would like to pass money my way i wouldnt mind



Jen

 

[Lyran]

LL chips are rated 5ns, C2 are rated 6ns, so theoretically the LL3200 is the same as 3500C2. theoretically.

I am in the same situation right now, exactly, and I am leaning toward the C2 or the HyperX3500. but only 2x256, 1gig of RAM is wasted unless you are video editing.

 

[Mattlock]

Anyone know if the benefits Dual sticks on the nforce2 boards outweighs the "better overclockability" of 1x512mb?

I want to overclock my xp2100 as much as possible and I've heard that I'll get more out of 1 stick.

Mattlock

 

[Gerbil333]

Get the LL (Low Latency) version. It's faster than the C2.

 

[Mattlock]

Maybe I should get this:

Corsair TWINX512-3200LLPT 512MB DDR400 XMS3200 2x32Mx64 2x184 DIMM CAS2 Dual-Channel Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail

$217 at Googlegear

I thinks this is the top of the line for overclocking (from Corsair) for nforce 2 boards.

Looks like it is $40 more than buying the seperate 256 sticks of Corsair CMX256A-3200LLPT 256MB DDR400 XMS3200 32Mx64 184 DIMM Low Latency SPD Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail .

Is it worth it?
Does the "platinum" really cool better or is it a marketing ploy.

Mattlock

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Mattlock
Maybe I should get this:

Corsair TWINX512-3200LLPT 512MB DDR400 XMS3200 2x32Mx64 2x184 DIMM CAS2 Dual-Channel Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail

$217 at Googlegear

I thinks this is the top of the line for overclocking (from Corsair) for nforce 2 boards.

Looks like it is $40 more than buying the seperate 256 sticks of Corsair CMX256A-3200LLPT 256MB DDR400 XMS3200 32Mx64 184 DIMM Low Latency SPD Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail .

Is it worth it?
Does the "platinum" really cool better or is it a marketing ploy.


PM chizow on this. I believe he bought those sticks.
Mattlock

 

[Mattlock]

Someone made these comments on another board.

Anyone have any differing opinions about the whole "1 or 2 stick" debate:

Mattlock

Quote:
The corsair 3200 LL Twin is basically the 3500C2 (5 ns chip), with testing to make sure the match pair to run at DDR 400 6-2-2-2 timing (SPD). Corsair is good that its spec is the tightest on timing, and at least you are sure what you are getting.

For current AMD MB, there is little advantage to do dual channel since the FSB running in SYNC with memory can only take the bandwidth of 1 memory stick, unless you are using the integrated video.

Dual channel is advantageous when FSB is 50-100% faster than the memory bus, so the dual channel bandwdith can fill up the FSB, like in P4 or future AMD FSB (400). In other word, current twin stick of memory can be used for future, faster FSB running dual channel ASYNC. Or reuse old PC2400 (150 MHz) to run FSB @ 200 in dual ASYNC to improve bandwidth (by ~18%).

If you run with 1 stick, chance is better to get tighter memory timing and a few MHz on the FSB, resulting in few % better memory bandwidth. The different between 1 stick or 2 stick dual channel is not big at SYNC mode.

Whether PC3200 or 3500 is needed depends on how high you can clock the FSB, they are good for FSB at 200-220 MHz at tight timing. People are getting FSB between 180-230 MHz on A7N8X out of the box, may have to raise Vdd of the board to get the north bridge ito run @ high FSB. I think the 8RDA+ has higher adjustable Vcore, Vram and Vdd than A7N8X. The TBred B 2100+ you are getting is a good overclocking CPU.

 

[Mattlock]

I've been learing alot lately about overclocking Athlons, Memory etc.

If the whole issue of which ram is best (3200 or 3500) depends on whether or not the person will exceed 200fsb, why not just keep the fsb under 200 and increase the multiplier?

Seems like that should allow 3200 ram to keep overclockers happy.

What am I missing here?

Mattlock

 

[chizow]

Its a bit more complicated than that, and only b/c the nForce2 boards are a bit picky about what RAM can be detected on boot. The 3500C2 and 3200LL are both 5ns chips, but again, their SPD (serial presence detect) is programmed differently for the rated speeds. Also, the 3500C2 is specifically tested for that speed, so it should give you 434DDR, otherwise you can get an RMA. There are no such guarantees on 3200LL, but theoretically you should be able to run the same speed and timings by adjusting in BIOS.

When I say there are possible complications, its because of the way some nForce2 BIOS set the RAM and FSB clock according to SPD. The BIOS detects DDR 400 or DDR 434 and may go nuts, resulting in no post. Here's a link to Corsair's known issues about nForce2 boards.. I didn't have any problems, but I think it is because I had already upgraded my BIOS. I'm almost 100% sure I would've gotten no boot if I had been using the 1001.G shipping BIOS (as it detects by SPD). But I'm also pretty sure a cold-boot would have let me boot at 100mhz FSB.

With any board, not just nForce2, the overclockability will be affected as dimms increase in density and in number. Memory controllers run at very high speeds, and adding complexity to the timings and interactions with multiple banks and dimms will often result in less overhead/fault tolerance when it comes to overclocking. This seems to be even worse with the nForce2 in dual channel over a board running single channel with multiple dimms.

The only reason to buy TwinX vs. 2 standalone LL dimms is for the guarantee from Corsair that they will run at the rated speed and timings. Many users have tried purchasing a 2nd identical stick or an unmatched stick and still found problems (or less OC'ing headroom), so for me it was worth the extra $10-$15 dollars. Also, I bought the 1024MB TwinX 3200LL, and as I mentioned earlier, higher density (and dual-bank) dimms can be even more problematic, so the insurance was worth it to buy TwinX.

If you don't go with TwinX, I'd go with the LL, as the C2's SPD has been known to have problems on nForce2 boards. I think the premium on 512MB of TwinX is a bit high, but for 1024MB of TwinX, it actually worked out to be a little bit cheaper

Chiz

Oh yah, if you think you might want more than 512MB later on (a few months), I'd go with 1 512MB stick of LL now, then get a 2nd later.

 

[Mattlock]

thanks Chiz...

Is the benefit of "dual ram" very significant now with nforce2 boards. Everyone seems to think its better to get 2x256 because of the benefits. I've been told that overclocking is better with 1 stick.

under what type of scenarios "applications" would 2 sticks really benefit (if any?)

The other thing I am struggling with is the 512 or 1024 ram thing. I do want to work with my HI8mm video tapes (converting to VCDs) but wondering if I really need that much now.



thanks,
Mattlock

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Mattlock
thanks Chiz...

Is the benefit of "dual ram" very significant now with nforce2 boards. Everyone seems to think its better to get 2x256 because of the benefits. I've been told that overclocking is better with 1 stick.

under what type of scenarios "applications" would 2 sticks really benefit (if any?)

The other thing I am struggling with is the 512 or 1024 ram thing. I do want to work with my HI8mm video tapes (converting to VCDs) but wondering if I really need that much now.



thanks,
Mattlock

Not two sticks are made the same but they can pretty much be close in overclock ability. DC DDR will give you about 5-15% increase in performance.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Mattlock
thanks Chiz...

Is the benefit of "dual ram" very significant now with nforce2 boards. Everyone seems to think its better to get 2x256 because of the benefits. I've been told that overclocking is better with 1 stick.

under what type of scenarios "applications" would 2 sticks really benefit (if any?)

thanks,
Mattlock

Not many, and almost none (and negative in most cases) if you are running high FSB with relaxed timings (other than Cas2). It gives some performance increases in some games and multimedia apps, but I don't recall seeing any improvements greater than 5%, which certainly isn't across the board either. I think the only reason why people emphasize it is b/c it a natural progression; most don't have 1 dimm that satisfies their memory needs, as most people with newer systems and DDR have 256MB dimms. Which is why I think its a better purchase *today* to buy a single 512MB dimm, then give yourself flexibility (and go dual channel) down the road and get a 2nd 512MB dimm. Otherwise you'll essentially be saddled with 2 sticks of 256MB which you'll have to unload and eat depreciation on, and then go and fork out for 2 more 512MB dimms!! :Q

Theoretically, you could use 2 x 256MB in dimm 1 and 2, and 1 x 512MB in dimm 3, and the end result would be an even 512MB load on each memory controller, but again, its something that would probably hinder your OC'ing ability severely, not to mention an unknown result on dual-channel performance.

Right now the Athlon doesn't require the bandwidth that DDR400 and dual-channel offers, it simply needs more clocks before that happens, but since DDR will be the de-facto standard for the next year or two (probably 1 1/2 to 2 years before DDR-II is feasible), its a good idea to buy high performance stuff now b/c its cross-platform. It would go nicely in a Canterwood set-up with 800mhz quad-pumped dual channel P4's

Chiz

 

[petrek]

Mattlock, can you direct me to a site that discusses the necessary hardware to put Hi8 onto SVC. I stumbled upon a site a few months back that listed two video capture cards that were good for converting, but then I reformatted my harddrive and can't figure out which hoops I jumped through to get to that page.

Thanks
Dave

 

[serialb]

Thanks chizow for your detail explanation on the Corsair RAM.

I am also very hesistant to purchase RAM right now as the price is dropped so much over the past couple weeks. Looks like the 512 C2 stick is quite affordable now. However, after reading the bad rep about its compatibility with the nF2, I might consider the LL stick instead.

I agree that the dual channel performance from the current nF2 platform is more of a "hype" than reality performance.

 

[drewski]

Originally posted by: Mattlock
Maybe I should get this:

Corsair TWINX512-3200LLPT 512MB DDR400 XMS3200 2x32Mx64 2x184 DIMM CAS2 Dual-Channel Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail

$217 at Googlegear

I thinks this is the top of the line for overclocking (from Corsair) for nforce 2 boards.

Looks like it is $40 more than buying the seperate 256 sticks of Corsair CMX256A-3200LLPT 256MB DDR400 XMS3200 32Mx64 184 DIMM Low Latency SPD Memory w/Platinum Heat Spreader Retail .

Is it worth it?

this sounds like a bigger marketing ploy than the "platinum" vs regular heatspreader you also mention. imo, if you're going this route, just buy 2 sticks separately and save some cash. have there been issues of 2 sticks of the corsair not working correctly together?

Originally posted by: Mattlock

Does the "platinum" really cool better or is it a marketing ploy.

without knowing what material their standard heatsinks are made out of, its hard to say. most sites have little to no difference in price. based on that i'd say, if it's a marketing ploy it's not a good one.

if you have a window on your case, i'd say go for the platinum, if not, the standard. that's my opinion based on the lack of information & data on the corsair site!!