question about ram latency

[betterkarma4519]

I just purchased the following kit from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=20-146-299&DEPA=0

I bought it because I was marginally interested in overclocking but didn't have the funds to afford say, a top of the line ocz dimm. Anyhow, newegg advertises this pc3200 ram at cl 2.5-3-3, but when I run cpu-z, it says the ram can only achieve cl2.5-4-4 at 333 mhz and that it's actually cl3-4-4 at 400 mhz. Is this standard? Or false advertising?...or can I change the latency in the bios without harming the ram? I guess, all in all...I just want to know if this is acceptable performance for the price I paid ($134), and if I can overclock at all with it. Thanks guys.

 

[betterkarma4519]

bump for the kids?

 

[CheesePoofs]

You should be able to change the timings in the bios, and it won't harm anything. The worst it will do is make your computer unstable.

Whats your motherboard?

 

[Matthias99]

It's also possible that Newegg was wrong... did you check Mushkin's website? They should have a spec sheet for the RAM or something like that.

Alternatively, the SPD values in the RAM might be wrong, or getting read incorrectly by your motherboard (it's been known to happen occasionally). Mushkin should have documentation that will tell you what the timings are supposed to be for whatever model RAM you have.

 

[superkdogg]

As a general rule, you can increase voltage to the RAM and lower the timings at the same speed. You could also leave the timings loose and overclock the memory. Just remember that running memory out of spec does void your warranty and present risks. Are you sure that the ram timings are set to "By SPD" in your bios? Mushkin ram is generally pretty good, even the cheap stuff.