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When buying ram, what should I look for?

ViviTheMage

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Im quit the extreme gamer, Im looking for it to run half life 2 and everquest 2 well. In comparasion...what would work best, I need a (2x512) set of ram. Should I be more worried about the CAS or the actual speed of the ram? (333, 400, etc) ? I know I will need at less 333 for my 3000 barton, which i will soon upgrade to a 64bit 3200 eventually. what would run the best, in a matter of brands (mushkin, kingston, corsair). I also saw this 'patriot' branded one on newegg with great cas numbers, I am wondering if it is, what it says it is. Also if DUAL channel (2x512) would be better then just one stick of 1gigabyte of ram. If you could choose out of these , which would it be and why?

Patriot memory @ cas 2-2-2-5 timing (333/PC2700)

Mushkin memory @ cas 2.5-3-3 timing (400/PC3200)

Mushkin memory @ cas 2.5-3-3 timing (400/PC3200)

Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)

Mushkin @ cas 2-2-2 timing (333/PC2700)

What I am really looking for is straight down to the actual hardware itself, price isn't a factor. I didn't include any plain 1 gig sticks because I have heard dual channel runs better in comparision, please let me know if this is still correct. Thank you for your input, its uberly appreciated ^_^
 
You want the lowest CAS and the highest PC speeds (PC4000 > PC4000). But some of the other numbers are more important than CAS... the 3rd number will have a bigger effect on performance than CAS will.

I forgot which is what but GOOGLE will help you out.

Now run along, you noob, and post in the right forum.
 
Get this Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)
And overclock it to 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-11. See which one performs better.
 
EH gads , woops. I did post in the wrong section 😛. sorry!


Originally posted by: simms
Get this Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)
And overclock it to 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-11. See which one performs better.
Click to expand...


so, you are saying this one is probably the best choice though? considering speeds, cs latency's , etc? As well as chip brands? mushkin...I know im not even considering the chips themselves , ie infineon, samsung....
 
I think there's too much focus on video card performance when the value of latency comes up. If you play single player games, and seldom play heavy-action multiplayer online, you'll problably be very happy with something like 2.5-3-3-8 value grade (NewEgg has Mushkin on sale today for $129 for 2 X 512). If you play fast-paced shooter games online with a lot of players, you'll want the fastest of everything, IF you want to be very competitive. I've tried it both ways, and I can see a difference when several players are fighting in the same spot. The fastest machine/connection will come out on top, provided that all have reasonably smooth video. I do question my own judgement regarding whether the "feel" is actually any better with lower latency in games, but I'm inclined to believe that it does feel sharper when there's a lot going on. It's hard for most people to justify the extra 100 to 150 dollars for the really good stuff, but if you can spare the cash, and feel the need for every little edge you can get, then it MIGHT be worth it to you.
 
Dual channel will not make a difference on your Barton, but it will if you move to a S939 A64. Getting two 512MB sticks is also the more cost-effective option anyway. I recommend just two 512MB sticks of value PC3200 RAM (CL 2.5). Latencies don't really make much of a difference.

When you overclock on a Barton, it's optimal to run synchronous FSB/RAM, so don't go far above 210 FSB with this stuff. However, on an A64, as is illustrated by the stickied 939 Memory Matrix in the CPU/OC forum, it makes little difference whether or not you use a divider and run the RAM asynchronously, so you don't need fancy PC4400 TCCD to have great performance with your overclock.
 
Originally posted by: simms
Get this Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)
And overclock it to 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-11. See which one performs better.
Click to expand...

are you on crack? or did you just make that up to be funny?
 
Originally posted by: Gothgar
Originally posted by: simms
Get this Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)
And overclock it to 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-11. See which one performs better.
Click to expand...

are you on crack? or did you just make that up to be funny?
Click to expand...

yah, i know that would run like this...

and i think ill actually get that mushkin one for 125$ on newegg...do you think that would be good assuming i get a A64 soon ?
 
Originally posted by: Gothgar
Originally posted by: simms
Get this Corsair XMS memory @ cas 2-3-3-6 timing (400/PC3200)
And overclock it to 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-11. See which one performs better.
Click to expand...

are you on crack? or did you just make that up to be funny?
Click to expand...

My Buffalo was from 2-3-3-6 to 2-2-2-11. Ran from PC3200 to PC3500 OC'd Just fine.
That's not made up, I have SS if you'd really like...

All I'm saying is to get the highest speed available (PC4000 if possible) and get some nice timings if money isn't a problem. And you can overclock it if you'd like.
 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
When buying ram, what should I look for?
Click to expand...
* Compatibility with your MB... Example - DDR2 won't work in a DDR MB, PC-133 won't work in DDR MBs.
* FSB rating to at least match your CPU... Most popular CPU's out now require PC3200.
* Fast timings... All else being equal, CAS2 is faster than CAS2.5, and that is faster than CAS3.
* Low voltage... Many brands of "high performance" memory require the voltage to be jacked up pretty high. The lower the "high performance" DIMM's voltage specification is, the better.
* Price - Getting the biggest bang for the buck depends on how YOU will be using your PC.

If you are the phantomracoon type...
* Looks... How cool the memory module looks and what kind of "Bling" it has.
* Cool sounding name... The more "cool" the memory name sounds, the better.

 
Only way a memory will look different is if it has heat spreaders or not. 😛 Unless you want to count the number of banks... lol 😀
 
Speed of the RAM (DDR 500, DDR400, etc) is the most important after quantity. This is especially true for the Netburst based CPUs (Pentium 4s).

Latency, the worst and best latency will be about a 3-6% difference, maximum, don't worry about it.

For A64s, just get a gig of value RAM.
 
Originally posted by: Rapsven
Speed of the RAM (DDR 500, DDR400, etc) is the most important after quantity. This is especially true for the Netburst based CPUs (Pentium 4s).

Latency, the worst and best latency will be about a 3-6% difference, maximum, don't worry about it.

For A64s, just get a gig of value RAM.
Click to expand...

whats the lowest req. for A64 pcs though?
 
Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
Originally posted by: Rapsven
Speed of the RAM (DDR 500, DDR400, etc) is the most important after quantity. This is especially true for the Netburst based CPUs (Pentium 4s).

Latency, the worst and best latency will be about a 3-6% difference, maximum, don't worry about it.

For A64s, just get a gig of value RAM.
Click to expand...

whats the lowest req. for A64 pcs though?
Click to expand...

PC3200 AKA. DDR-400
 
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