pc3200 vs pc3500

[LordTerrin]

Okay, so, in another post I asked about buying pc3500 if the "offical" spec is limited to 3200. I got an answer that stated it was for overclockability. Does this mean that if I buy 3500, and leave it at spec, I won't see any difference vs. the 3200? Do I have to overclock it to achieve the 3500 speeds? I suppose it's rated at 3500 because you can overclock it to get speeds of 3500 without any problem, vs. a 3200 chip which would overheat if you clocked it to 3500. I'm trying to understand which one I should buy, because newegg has a really good deal on ocz pc 3500 right now..

ty,

LT

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

"(6) Do I need to run 1:1 memory to achieve peak performance on the Athlon 64?

Not really, given the Athlon 64 architecture and the integrated memory controller, there is no statistically significant advantage to running memory at a 200 setting versus a 166 setting at, for example, around DDR400 speeds. Even at the 200 setting the memory in an Athlon 64 system is running async. The memory speed is arrived at by using a divisor off the Athlon 64 CPU speed (i.e. a /12 divisor.) Also, unlike the Pentium 4, the Athlon 64 is not bandwidth starved; thus, the difference in memory speeds between DDR400 and DDR 500 is at most 1-2%. In other words, don't go crazy and throw away perfectly good PC3200 RAM thinking you'll see a significant boost using DDR500 for example; you won't, and your wallet will hurt."

 

[LordTerrin]

what does "even at the 200 setting" mean? I'm not sure how memory achieves its speed... Does it use a multiplier like cpus do?

 

[robcy]

If you do not plan on overclocking your system, then DDR3200 is all that you will need. Now, if the DDR3500 allows for better CAS timings while running at DDR3200 speeds that would be a good reason to go with the DDR3500. Or if your DDR3200 will not run at DDR3500 speeds, and you have the ability to run CPU/RAM at 433FSB speeds then go with the DDR3500. I personally would not get rid of perfectly good DDR3200 for DDR3500 since most CAS2/CAS2.5 DDR3200 is capable of running the extra 16.5mhz that is needed for DDR3500. Now if the deal was with DDR4000 or higher then I will consider.