pure fsb or fast timings on a p4 system

[alvinlee8984]

I've been confused lately about what type of memory to get for my Asus p4p800 deluxe with a p4 2.8C. I've read articles that show that tight timings do alot to improve performance, and sometimes better than a system with high FSB setting but with lax timings. Should i get a lower frequency memory that is capable of tight timings such as ( 2-2-3-5) or get memory that is capable of high frequency but at really lax timings like (3-4-4-8)? Which one takes precedence on a p4 system: Fast timings or just cranking up the FSB speeds?

thanks

 

[User1001]

I don't have any experience but you could use a divider.

 

[ntrights]

Originally posted by: User1001
I don't have any experience but you could use a divider.

Thats right. Fast timings + high FSB +divider takes precedence. Im running 301FSB 3:2 divider sometimes i go down to 290fsb and a 5:4 divider

 

[Duvie]

I take high fsb and clockspeed anyday.....

Check this out!!!


Go to the bottom and look at the section I ran same clock speed but different ratios and cas timings...see waht the actual real world difference is behind the crap the sythentic benchmarks tell you...

I run 292fsb and 3:2 now but with cas 2,3,3,8 timings...

If I coul run 5:4 but I had to have say 2.5,3,3,8 it would be a posible toss-up in many of the multimeida apps I run....

If I could run 5:4 but needed cas 3 timings then the slower ddr at cas 2 would win....

If I could run 5:4 at 284 (about 100mhz slower) but would need cas 2.5 on my current ram or run what I run now, I would take what I run now.....100mhz easily would trump 70mhz in ddr speed and the cas 2.5 hurt the performance...

basically since I run cas 2.0 now I would basically have to run 5:4 with cas 2.0 no lower then 50mhz or 4fsb less to beat my situation now....

CPU speed is first (P4's that is fsb) ---- then timings (latencies) --- then DDR speed...

 

[computerpro3]

how bout both...go with mushkin high performance lvl2 black? pricey, but the best ram out now.

 

[alvinlee8984]

Yea i would like that ram but all the good RAM is no longer available or is extremely high priced. On mushkins website it said the level2 pc3500 was sold out indefinitely and the OCZ gold pc3700 is discontinued, now replaced by pc3700 revision 2, which are not as good. I think i'll be going for the OCZ EL pc4000 Gold.. i've heard good things about it. Anyone recommend a hsf? I think i'm getting a thermalright sp-94 with a 90mm panaflo.

 

[myocardia]

Alvin, you can't go wrong with a Thermalright, and the SP-94 is supposed to be the best that they make. It's more expensive than the 947-U, but probably worth it. As for the ram, I would get the Mushkin level 2, and use a divider, but since you're building it, use whatever ram you want!

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: alvinlee8984
Yea i would like that ram but all the good RAM is no longer available or is extremely high priced. On mushkins website it said the level2 pc3500 was sold out indefinitely and the OCZ gold pc3700 is discontinued, now replaced by pc3700 revision 2, which are not as good. I think i'll be going for the OCZ EL pc4000 Gold.. i've heard good things about it. Anyone recommend a hsf? I think i'm getting a thermalright sp-94 with a 90mm panaflo.

if you wanna go the pc4000 route, go with pc4000EL copper.... even AT tests show that this stick has o/c-ed the highest 1:1

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: alvinlee8984
Yea i would like that ram but all the good RAM is no longer available or is extremely high priced. On mushkins website it said the level2 pc3500 was sold out indefinitely and the OCZ gold pc3700 is discontinued, now replaced by pc3700 revision 2, which are not as good. I think i'll be going for the OCZ EL pc4000 Gold.. i've heard good things about it. Anyone recommend a hsf? I think i'm getting a thermalright sp-94 with a 90mm panaflo.

1. OCZ Platinum 3500 is just as good as the muskin level 2 ram. Anandtech showed in their article -- OCZ 3700 r. 1 is worse than revision 2 because it cant run at tigther timings like revision 2 can at slower speeds. (yes rev. 1 is a better overclocker, but you already know lower latency > faster DDR speed even with 1:1 ratio since slower timings diminish any gains so dont even worry about that). And the ram isnt all sold out yet.

Mushkin Level II 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3500 $78
Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3500 Black Hi Perf Level II 2-2-2-5 $139
They even have the 2x256 dual channel kit
OCZ Enhanced Latency Platinum Edition Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3500 $84.25
Now this will become available By January 19th it says and it has been proved to run at 400mhz DDR @ 2-2-2-5 also

I am sure if you search on www.pricegrabber.com or www.pricewatch.com you can still find either of these memories without a problem. On top of the fact that AMD 64 loves low latency so you can reuse these later if you ever decide to switch to socket 939.

OCZ el is good memory nontheless it works at low timings at 400mhz DDR 2-2-2-6 can be probably be squeezed also it will give you some room for overclocking but again Duvie proved high DDR speed is worthless unless run at low latency

2. Zalman 7000 series do outperform any slk series heatink + panaflo fan. So that amazing SP-94 is not as good as you think unless you have a smart fan or a high CFM fan (of course that means noise) and remember with time SLK heatsinks get clogged with dust and many users have complained that they have to cleaned every 2-3 months or you can kiss the performance goodbye. On top of the fact that Zalman 7000AlCu costs only $30 and performs better at 25db only.

 

[alvinlee8984]

Thanks alot russiansensation, maybe i might get those. But i've heard ppl on other forums say that changing timings on thier memory does not produce differences in benchmarks like 3dmark2k1 and 2k3. Are these benchmarks somehow insensetive to memory timings? They say that only when they up the fsb speed they see noticable differences. i was thinking about getting that zalman cnps 7000 alcu in the first place but i absolutely know it cannot fit in my case because the power supply would be blocking it.

What's the overclockability of the mushkin level2 pc3500 or the OCZ platinum pc3500? whats the max fsb these guys can reach?

 

[Duvie]

Exactly why the 3dmock crap is such a farce...Does not react like most real world apps...Do not bogg yourself down with this trivial benchmark...Timings are big in most apps and very powerful on the P4 even so much it often is more importnat then ddr speed alone...