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Why the heck are there so many types of PC3200 memory?

M

merrimackjay

Member
So I go to newegg to compare memory prices of Crucial, Kingston HyperX, Buffalo, and Corsair XMS Memory. Well Buffalo and Crucial were no problems - Buffalo was $89 for a stick of 512MB, Crucial was $54 for 256MB and $94 for 512MB.

Corsair XMS though - there was a million different kinds!

For 256MB sticks, there was PC3200C2 ($66), PC3200LL ($85), PC3200LLPT ($85)
For 512MB sticks, there was PC3200C2 ($115), PC3200C2PT ($115), PC3200LL ($153), PC3200LLPT ($153)

Kingston HyperX was even more confusing!

For 256MB sticks, there was 2-2-2-6-1T ($60), 2-3-2-6-1T ($56), CL2.5 ($54), CL3 ($52)
For 512MB sticks, there was 2-2-2-6-1T ($125), 2-3-2-6-1T ($99), CL2.5 ($94), CL3 ($87)

What the heck is the difference between all these types of memory?

What memory should I get for a Barton 2500+ CPU on a ASUS A7N8X Deluxe motherboard that I plan on overclocking? (I've never overclocked before so I won't be pushing it hard, I'd prefer more stability over extreme overclockability).

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

-Jay
 
Yeah, there are a lot of sticks out there, but that's what the community wants: choice. Get two of the Corsair 3200C2 sticks for $115 apiece. They'll be plenty good for a modest overclock. Kingston's good too, but Corsair's the best.
 
The differences are memory timings. For hardcore over clockers and hardware enthusiasts mostly. Most people do not notice a performance change with lower memory settings.

Essentially the lower the timings, like how 2-2-2-6 is the lowest, the faster and less latent the RAM is. The numbers mean how many steps the ram needs to take to finish a given task.

Corsair, OCZ, and HyperX are good brands for overclockers that want the low memory timings with a super charged front side bus.
 
Hmmm, OK thanks guys.

Question though.

I thought overclocking just involved speeding up the processor? Do you have to mess around with the memory too, or is that just an additional thing you can do?

I wasn't planning on messing with my FSB either.

Thanks again,

-Jay
 
when overclocking via front side bus, most AMD systems like a 1:1 synched ratio so lets say you want to OC a CPU to 220*10, and since you are synched, the ram would be running at 220mhz (440 ddr). so if you get good overclocking ram, you can acheive 220 mhz even with ram that is rated to 200 mhz
 
I would definitely recommend overclocking the FSB some. There's no reason not to. Actually, it's the easiest and safest overclocking you can do (if there are such things).

If you're wanting to do just modest overclocking, then start by increasing the FSB and lowering the CPU multiplier (in other words, increase the MHz of your FSB, but keep the MHz of your CPU roughly the same). When you become slightly unstable, back off 5 or 10 MHz (again, this is for the easy overclock, not the best), and make sure it's stable. Then, increase your multiplier until you become unstable again. If you're really wanting a simple overclock, just increase the voltage to about 1.7 or 1.75 and move the multi up until you hit instability and then knock it back down one. Assuming your temps don't go over 50C load, you'll be fine.
 
Why ? Because there is demand for it so every Tom Dick and Harry memory company is anctious to take some crappy cheap pc2700 memory, bolt on a heat shield and label it pc3200 and make some money.


 
OK Cool, I guess I need to learn a lot more about overclocking... I'll have to find some guides somewhere.

OK, so I was just browsing newegg's site, and the CorsairXMS PC3200C2's have already gone down from $115 to $112!

Do memory prices usually change daily? How do you know when to purchase? (When it stays the same for a long period of time?)

Oh yea, and what's the difference between PC3200C2 and PC3200C2PT?

Thanks again for helping me out

-Jay
 
just the color of the heatspreader... pt stands for platinum, aka it has a silver heatspreader and not the standard black.

i just picked up 2x512mb sticks of buffalo PC3700.... i'll see how they perform on thursday, and compare them to my 2x512mb corsair PC3200C2.
 
E-Phex, its interesting you mentioned that.... I was doing some more searching at newegg.com and noticed that they charge $89 for a 512MB stick of PC3200 Buffalo memory, but $99 for a 512MB stick of PC3700 Buffalo memory.... both of which is cheaper than the $112 they charge for the 512MB stick of PC3200C2 Corsair memory......

saving ~$30 (2 sticks) AND stepping up to PC3700 at the same time is really temping.... I'm really curious to hear your results E-Phex.

Anybody else have any opinions on Buffalo vs CorsairXMS memory, especially in regards to overclocking AMD CPUs?

-Jay
 
Bump...

E-Phex, did you compare the PC2700 buffalo to the PC3200CS Corsair yet?

Anybody else have any opinions on those 2 types of memory?

-Jay
 
I wouldn't recommend using Kingston HyperX if you are planning to do intense overclocking. I got a pair 512mb HyperX PC3200 (400mhz) and when i OC my 2.4C the ram will not go any higher than 400mhz. It's actually funny. if i pushed the ram speed to 401mhz my system will crash after booting. But at exact 400 it runs great.

What's my point? Kingston HyperX will not run beyond what is made for. 400mhz means 400 mhz.

If anyone disagrees with me please PM me.
 
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