PC133 SDRAM: is CAS2 worthwhile on fast Tbirds?

[Leo V]

I've long known that memory running @CAS2 has better latency, slightly improving system performance. However, the only benchmarks I remember (from 2 years ago) only showed a 1%-5% difference in actual performance at CAS2 vs. CAS3.

This is quite important to me, because a 256MB/PC133/CAS3 dimmstick costs ~$65 cheaper than its CAS2 equivalent. If we're looking at 3% better performance, there really are better ways to spend that $65 😀

So here is my question to you:

Does CAS2 make a bigger difference on a modern Tbird using a 133MHz FSB? I'll be using very FPU-intensive audio editing tools on a Tbird900, do you think CAS2 will make $65's worth of difference for me?
Thanks!
LeoV

 

[Howard]

You'd think more RAM would be more worthwhile. 🙂

 

[Leo V]

Yucky, I was thinking the same thing. We've reached a nirvana of memory prices, 384MB PC133 (256+128) now costs $155 shipped! 512MB PC133 (2x256), $200 shipped! Who would've thought... 😎

 

[BurntKooshie]

for FPU code, its bandwidth is more important than Latency. Integer ops is where latency matters the most (due to the places where each type are most commonly used).

 

[DaddyG]

My 2 cents, strictly speculation:

When benchmarks show such little differences, REAL world will show no difference. On a Duron, with the smaller L2 cache, CAS2 may get better results, but on the BIRD with a total cache hit rate approaching 90%, I don't think the diff is really measurable.

 

[xtreme2k]

actually
a lot of the cas3 out there will also do cas2 🙂

 

[lupin]

Leo V,
where's a good place to buy memory?

 

[Kogan]

Some recent benchmarks i've ran -
p3-866, geforce2, cas2 pc100 ram (oc'd to 133)

quake3 bench 640x480
133mhz, cas2 - 147fps
133mhz, cas3 - 138fps

It's a big enough difference for a quaker to notice 🙂

 

[Quickfingerz]

Yes, yes and yes. The faster CPU you have it is more critical that you have more memory bandwith.

 

[Leo V]

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like I'll invest the extra money elsewhere (hmmmm....512MB PC133 $200 shipped 😎 )

lupin, I used Pricewatch.com and found the cheapest PC133 sticks w/lifetime warranty. Then I checked the vendor on ResellerRatings.com to verify their integrity (very important, many cheap vendors are scam artists, thank god we can learn from others' experiences).