What is harder on Your Rig, Higher CPU Speed or...

[bushwickbill]

I am trying to figure out what is more taxing on my Rig's memory. I am worried about My Memory controller being pushed too hard for long periods of time while Gaming. With my CPU at 2.6Ghz I can Run my Ram at 650Mhz 4,4,4,12. Or my CPU at 2.8 Ghz Ram is 700Mhz 5,6,6,18. So which will stress the Memory system more or cause component Failure faster. I only Overclock While Gaming, And am worried that running my Ram so close to its max at 700Mhz, Is going to risk problems sooner than running it at slower speeds but tighter timings. Does any body have thoughts on this. 3DMark06 scores are very close regarding those two speeds, 2.6Ghz VS 2.8Ghz. At 2.6Ghz I get 10290. At 2.8Ghz I get 10611. So I gain a whole 300 points with the extra 200Mhz on the CPU, Whats the Risk if any? I don't have to increase the CPU volts or the Ram volts to achieve the added CPU speed. I am just concerned with the North bridge Heat sink on this board and it getting too hot when stressed with that extra speed. Can someone explain to me how to use Sandra RAM benchmark to see which Ram speed has more Bandwidth. 650Mhz at 4,4,4,12 OR 700Mhz at 5,6,6,18?? Does more Memory Bandwidth or Tighter timings have better Gaming performance? Thanx

 

[Sled]

More bandwidth and tighter timings will give you better gaming performance. Do you overclock by BIOS or by software ?

 

[bushwickbill]

I use the BIOS for Overclocking. And can someone help me get started on tightening my Ram timings manually. With my CPU at 2.8Ghz my Ram is running at 700Mhz 5,6,6,18. I think I could tighten them a little bit, but I have no idea how to get started on which ones to start lowering first and so forth. As I stated, The Added 200Mhz on my CPU speed drops the Ram timings a lot. And the 3DMark06 scores are very similar. If I tighten the Ram timings at 700Mhz I would see a nice increase in Scores and performance. But I also need to know which is harder on my system, the higher Ram speed(700Mhz)with looser timings or the Tighter timings with lower speed(650Mhz)?

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: bushwickbill
I use the BIOS for Overclocking. And can someone help me get started on tightening my Ram timings manually. With my CPU at 2.8Ghz my Ram is running at 700Mhz 5,6,6,18. I think I could tighten them a little bit, but I have no idea how to get started on which ones to start lowering first and so forth. As I stated, The Added 200Mhz on my CPU speed drops the Ram timings a lot. And the 3DMark06 scores are very similar. If I tighten the Ram timings at 700Mhz I would see a nice increase in Scores and performance. But I also need to know which is harder on my system, the higher Ram speed(700Mhz)with looser timings or the Tighter timings with lower speed(650Mhz)?

I'd just run the CPU at 2.66Ghz (667Mhz FSB) so you don't have to overclock your RAM. Also, stick with the 4,4,4,12 timings.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I wouldn't worry if I was you - I'm running 4x1GB at 1050MHz 5-5-4-10 with 2.05V, though I do use a ghetto mounted 70mm to cool them because 4GB does get hot without active cooling. No problems here, and hopefully it will stay that way.

At 700MHz and CAS5 you aren't stressing your system at all. At CAS4 you might start to if you stay at 1.8V, which is fine.