Memory for Core 2 Duo

[T101]

I am looking around for what memory to get, and as I have nothing but good experiences from using Corsair, I have looked at the following sets;

Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 2048MB CL5
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2, 2048MB CL4
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C3 DDR2, 2048MB CL3, E.P.P Technology

The question I have is; How much does Cas 5 hurt Core 2 Duo compared to Cas 4 and Cas 3? since there is quite a price difference between these kits, it is something I have to know if it is worth getting a lower CAS memory kit or not.

 

[peleejosh]

GO with the the cas 5 stuff, the timiings have a very minimal effect on conroe, since they all run at 2t anyway. My cas5 corsair pc6400 is running at ddr2 900 at 5-5-5-18 and it is fast

 

[gobucks]

1) timings don't really matter too much on conroe. In my experience, running at a higher memory speed yields better gains than lowering memory timings.
2) I have the CL5 modules, and they greatly exceed recommended specs. at DDR2-800, i can run at 4-4-4-10, and at DDR2-1000, i can run at 5-5-5-12. while it is entirely possible that the CL4 modules will be even better, i doubt they can run at CL3 @ 800MHz, which they would have to do in order to warrant the extra cost.

I don't really think that the premium is worth it unless you are buying an absolute top of the line PC and are trying to squeeze every last bit of performance out of it at any cost. $100 extra for what is essentially a 2-3% performance boost is silly when you think of how that money could be better spent on something like a faster video card, or just not spent at all.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Yup, cas 5 should do fine. Here's at least one set of benchmarks to check out http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=2&artpage=1963&articID=472

 

[T101]

Thank you all for your replies. I will go with CAS 5 memory then, unless there is a significant price drop on the lower timing memory in the near future.