Which RAM config is better?

[blackpool9]

I've read a lot of reviews that indicate the Socket 754 AMD 64 chips can't run two double-sided sticks of RAM at 400Mhz. I'm leaning towards an Athlon 64 3200+ and MSI Neo system, but I'm not sure which direction to go with my RAM.

Which of these would be likely to give me the best performance?

1. A single 1GB stick or two single-sided 512MB sticks running at 400Mhz with a high latency (@ 3-3-3-7)?
2. Two double sided 512MB sticks running at 333Mhz with a low latency (@ 2-3-2-6)?

I'm planning on taking the $200 or so I save by going S754 instead of S939 and use it towards an X800 video card in another month or two. Would I be better off going with the S939 and the dual-channel RAM and foregoing a GPU upgrade until late fall? I'm currently running an ATI 9800 Pro).

I've been trolling these forums for weeks looking for ideas, reviews and feedback on the latest hardware, and I've found the anandtech users very knowledgeable. I've finally gotten the nerve to try asking a few questions myself, so any feedback at all would be much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[sisooktom]

I think a lot of boards can do the 2 double sided DDR400 thing, but it's not required. I'd check with people who have the same board as you, someone will know. Crucial makes a single sided 512MB DIMM, that's what I have (I plan on adding another soon). It's CL3, but it's really not worth it to pay big $$ for low timings on an A64, IMHO.

 

[Wahsapa]

corsair just released 512 and 1gb sized dimms at pc3200(ddr400) with latencys of 2-2-2-5(almost too fast). i think a s754 with a single(or double if youd prefer) 1gb dimm would be the way to go and is actually a purchase im looking at. as for your 9800pro its fine until x800 has gotten older(and cheaper) or if a 6800u proves to be a better purchase you might want to go that way too.

also check out the new asus kv8 pro

 

[blackpool9]

Thanks for the feedback.

Anyone out there with the MSI Neo running two double-sided RAM modules at 400Mhz? I thought since the memory controller was on the CPU with the A64's that the bandwidth issue would be present regardless of board or chipset, but I could be mistaken about that.

As for the Corsair, I just checked out the website, and the 1GB low-latency modules are all pairs of 512MB sticks. The only solo 1GB sticks I could find listed were all high-latency.

And if anyone else agrees that latency is not that big an issue with the A64s, then it looks like my options would be these:

1GB single OCZ Performance (3-3-3-7) - $262
2 X 512 Crucial CT6464Z40B.8T (3-3-3-8) - $174 (2x$87)

The Crucial memory is the only 512 stick that I have confirmed is single-sided that is available on newegg. Can anyone confirm/recommend any other single-sided 512Mb sticks?

And here's another question: Since the A64 can run 3 banks of memory at 400Mhz but not 4, would there be any advantage to running one double-sided low-latency chip in the first slot and one single-sided high-latency stick in the second slot at 400Mhz over the two double-sided high-latency option?

Again, thanks for the feedback. Cheers!

 

[sisooktom]

Check out this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html IMHO, anyone that would pay almost $100 extra for low latency RAM is out of their mind. Put that money into your video card, or just pocket it. And Crucial is quality stuff, they test EVERY DIMM they ship. Also, I think that the A64 can only run 2 DIMMS at DDR400 speeds, not 3. Not 100% positive though.

 

[blackpool9]

Thanks for the link to the Tom's article. Very thorough.

The A64 specs allow for only three banks of memory to run at DDR400, though from that article on Tom's it looks like some of the mobo manufacturers are able to circumvent this restriction.

I intended to pick up the MSI Neo because of the hardware firewall on the Nforce3 250Gb chipset, but now I'm wondering if I should go with the Asus, as it seems to handle the memory issue better than any of the other boards. While the Neo does well in the testing listed, the article does mention that Gigabyte and MSI provided Tom's with BIOS revisions that weren't available to the general public. I'm not into overclocking, so the PCI/AGP lock isn't that big a deal for me, and I've always used VIA chipsets in the past, so I've got no problem with the VIA chip on the Asus board.

So now I'm thinking I should get a pair of 512MB sticks regardless of single or double sided, along with either the Asus or MSI Neo boards to go with my A64 3200+. I think it's time to start a new thread looking for additional opinions on the latency question. Looks like I've got two votes already for the "latency isn't that important with the A64". If I can go with some higher latency modules without affecting performance, then I can use the money saved toward that X800 or 6800 card in July or August. Or...maybe go with a pair of Raptors in a Raid0 config?

Cheers!