Memory compatibility

[1pyro]

I have an Athlon xp 2400+ T-bred 266 fsb cpu and am running 2 x 256 mb pc 3200 matching sticks of Kingston Valu-ram. They're running in dual channel @ 266 fsb since my cpu won't go any higher. I also have a 256mb stick of Kingston valu-ram pc 2700. My question is should I just run the 2 sticks of pc 3200 or can I add in the 256 mb stick of pc 2700 and run at the slower speed but with 768 mb of ram. Will I gain or lose? Or is it just one of those things I need to try to see which I prefer.

Oh yeah......My pc 3200 sticks are CL 3 and my pc 2700 is CL 2.5 will this make a big difference?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Pyro

 

[Cannabis]

Depends on how much memory is being used by application. Having a extra 256 megs of slower ram is much faster than having to use the swap file on the hard disk.

 

[Cawchy87]

doesn't pc2700 ram run at 333 anyway? and pc3200 runs at 400mhz. So both will run the same at 266

 

[nitromullet]

You are only running at PC2100 speeds anyway, so it won't make any difference. Your CL is most likely lower as well on the PC3200 sticks at PC2100 speeds because you are running them below stock specs, which usually decreases the CL. Now the compatability between the different modules in dual channel might be different story, but you won't know until you try it.

 

[Regs]

Yes.

 

[chuwawa]

Can anyone explain to me (or point me to an article) that explains this dual channel ram vs the single channel ram. What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Also, how big is the difference in performace between a CL2 and a CL3 ram? Worth the money? Also, I often see people 'changing their timings'. So you can buy crappy ram, change its timings and improve it? Blah, I'm confused!

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: chuwawa
Can anyone explain to me (or point me to an article) that explains this dual channel ram vs the single channel ram. What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Also, how big is the difference in performace between a CL2 and a CL3 ram? Worth the money? Also, I often see people 'changing their timings'. So you can buy crappy ram, change its timings and improve it? Blah, I'm confused!

Dual channel ram for an AMD system with AGP graphics may have a 1-5% increase in performance. Very variable. With integrated graphics, there's more of a benefit even though pointless because I would rather have an AGP video card. Integrated motherboard graphics likes the extra bandwidth since it shares the memory. For an Intel CPU that supports a larger memory bus can benefit much more. This is because the Intel requires a lot of data flow to the CPU for less stall outs in it's "pipeline".

CL2 Vs CL3. Cas Latency. Cl2 is some what faster. Meaning the memory can perform a given task quicker per clock cycle now with fewer steps to accomplish the task sending data off to the CPU. Like CAS 2 means 2 steps, and Cas 3 means 3 steps. With the new A64 cores with onboard memory controllers the benefits are somewhat more less useful. But are more helpful for AMD XP CPU's.

 

[chuwawa]

Ok, thanks. What about my other question with regards to the timings?

 

[Regs]

2nd paragraph? Depends. On an AMD XP or Intel set up, especially if you want to over clock, the real world difference will be variable. Windows may load up a little faster, an extra snap in application start up, or a few more frames per second in a game. This will not effect every game or application either. RAM timings are but yet another hardware enthusiast necessity.