Hey,
I've never overclocked and havent ordered my new rig yet, and am looking for some advice. I was wondering what RAM would be the best to OC. I also have no idea what those numbers mean, such as 5-5-5-15.

Newegg.com - OCZ 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Desktop Memory - Retail I would buy 2 of these.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Newegg.com - mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin with EPP Profile Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

I dont really know if theres a big diffrence of what RAM you buy, but I'm really just asking if you have this ram / had this RAM and if it OC's nicely, and is efficient (worth the money?).

Thanks,

David

I would suggest you get a 2GB kit, especially if you are a gamer, and plan on going to Vista at some point...1GB will be very sluggish!

The timings are basically how many clock cycles it takes to complete an operation (Read, write, store...etc) so the lower the number, the faster the performance..at a given speed of course!

The first number is the most important...it is called CAS (Case adress Strobe)


So if the ram is rated at 5-5-5-15 at 1066, that is pretty decent for DDR-2.


If it was using those same timings at only DDR-2 800 speeds, then it would be kinda slow! For DDR800, they should be more like 4-4-4-12.


Typically the higher the DDR speed, the "Looser" the timings will need to be, increasing voltages allows you to extend the range you can keep the timings "Tight" in most cases.

The tightest DDR-2 timings I have seen are in the 3-3-3-9 range, usually at DDR800 speeds or less.

Back in the days of DDR 1, the fastest timings you could have run would have been 2-2-2-5 at DDR 400 (Factory rated..my old BH-5 based memory for Kingston could run at DDR540 using 2-2-2-7 timings when overclocking using 3.6v instead of the default 2.6v!)

Todays DDR-2 has a base voltage of 1.8v and it is common for them to have a recomended 2-2.2v for them to even run with the factory timings with "Performance" memory..though the better modules will use low voltage to get the "Tight" timings, something to key in on when coparing modules of the same speeds and timings, wich ever one does it with the lowest volts will tend to have more headroom to OC>

The highest voltages I have seen that can still be under warranty are in the 2.4v range (Geil I think) and should have a fan blowing on them to keep the temps reasonable...crazy OC'ers have gone wellpast 2.5v, but that is not very safe for daily use!

Here is a quote about Corsairs latest and greatest ram (But very expensive!)

Quote: Where the Corsair PC2-8888 is rated at 4-4-4 timings at DDR2-1111, Dominator 1250 is rated at a higher 5-5-5 latency at its specified 1250 speed.

Quote: In addition, Corsair was very clear that this PC2-10000 performed best on the NVIDIA 680i chipset. Boards based on the 680i, like the EVGA 680i SLI and the ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus, certainly have the headroom to support DDR2-1250, but they are also very expensive motherboards. Corsair also told us, just before publishing the review, that new P965 boards designed for massive overclocking, like the ASUS Commando, have been reported to support PC2-10000 at the rated speed.

AnandTech: Corsair Dominator PC2-10000: Fastest DDR2

You can read other similar reviews of some of the more current ram below.

AnandTech: Memory Section

EDIT: FYI, often ram will run at much higher speeds than they are rated for by relaxing timings (looser) most DDR-2 800 (4-4-4-12) will run at DDR2-1000 (5-5-5-15) speeds or so by doing this..sometimes voltage needs to be bumped a bit to do that though.

And the oppsoite is also true, ram rated for DDR2-1066 at 5-5-5-15 will run at DDR-2 800 with 4-4-4-12, and maybe at DDR-2 667 at 3-3-3-9..there is always a trade off and a blance needs to be found (Both in your budget, and the hardware you choose..buying ram that can run at DDR2 1250 is a waste on anything but motherboards that can reach those insane speeds!)

Hey,

Towards the first post, I was looking to get a Core 2 Duo E6600 or Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor - Retail but really looking towards the E6600 because it seems like a better deal for the money, and the Core 2 Extreme seems to expensive right now and needs some time to cool down. Towards the GSkill RAM, for some reason I'm really trying to get the DDR2 1066 RAM, I'm not sure why but I'm just dead set towards it and I really like the Corsair Dominator Series.

Now to the second post, Yeah I'm a gamer and really want 2GB of ram, and might try to get 3GB if I can get my hands on an another 1GB. Now I understand the numbers, and I guess close, low numbers are better like 3-4-3-9 is better than 4-4-4-12? Now if I understand correctly I believe I'd rather get Newegg.com - CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail , than Newegg.com - CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail even though I saw you mentioned the expensiveness later in the post. Also the ram I first mentioned is 2.4V so its almost like the GEIL RAM. Also I saw you mentioned the 680i EVGA motherboard, I was planning on getting one and I believe it sounds great but if anyone knows if any other boards are better to OC, and SLi with please link.


David

Edit: I also am wondering lets say I want to upgrade to more RAM can I use any brand and timing or must it be the same?

Example: To add Newegg.com - BUFFALO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail to lets say the Corsair series above. Btw that ram clocks 5-5-5 whichs seems very good .

Yes i feel you, But you gota understand unless you plan on overclocking BIG time you arent going to need DDR2 1066 Unless you ran your cpu @ 533x ? Once again, Runings you ram faster then your cpu dont do anything for you! Ill link you over to another thread ok so you can read a lil more



http://forums.pcapex.com/intel_cpu_m...tml#post624014

Matt

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro Back in the days of DDR 1, the fastest timings you could have run would have been 2-2-2-5 at DDR 400 (Factory rated..my old BH-5 based memory for Kingston could run at DDR540 using 2-2-2-7 timings when overclocking using 3.6v instead of the default 2.6v!).... .....Here is a quote about Corsairs latest and greatest ram (But very expensive!) AnandTech: Corsair Dominator PC2-10000: Fastest DDR2

By the way you DDR366 (PC3000) ran 2-2-2-2-7, you always seem to get that confused, and so you know it still does at 3.28v.... lol long live the BH-5, which you can still buy (expensive) but its 512 sticks, not the best of the bunch.

As for the dominator, i was putting together a budget OC system for a fellow (want to OC)er, and i had a $170 CPU, a $65 Motherboard, and a pair of dominators for $465 lol, i laughed and told him they were required. Pretty nice chips for CAS 3 DDR800

anyhow to stop my thread jacking

I would quote the dominators, but if you can afford them you might as well go all out. G.Skill, OCZ, Pariot, Corsair, anything that doesnt have the word VALUE, or has timings of over CAS6 should do well, specificaly look for higher speed + low timings, but necros summed it up about perfect for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by Anandtech Memory companies seem obsessed right now with higher and higher DDR2 memory speeds. There is definitely a market for these products, and Corsair, OCZ, Kingston, Patriot, Team, GeIL, Super Talent, and many other memory companies have delivered some remarkable and extremely innovative high-speed memory in recent months.

That is definately some good ram for the money Matt, I don't think anyone could go wrong with it!

For some more info related to ram and how it performs with different timings/Memiry ratio's and FSB speeds, I just covered this a bit in another thread....I think it will help open your eyes, and help you decide how to best spend your money!

http://forums.pcapex.com/intel_cpu_m...tml#post624107

Witch ram is faster and has more performance ddr1 with 2225 or the new ddr2 with the higher bandwith yet slower clocks. there is also a ram memory comapy making ddr 500mhz with 2225 clocks

some pepole tell me faster clocks is better others say band with i would think faster clocks oviously when the high bandwith memory can do 2225 then the ddr2 for sure would be better. But i am happy with my dual core processor speed i have raid and my pc is verry fast for what i use it for. I have no prob multitasking and if i get an 8800gtx card when i have time to game i can do that to right now i have a nv 7950 and its good for me.

Im getting ready to build another machine and i can get such great deals on socket 939 dual core cpu's and ive gots lots of extra corasair ram sticks at 2225 and kingston i also have an extra ati x8050xt video card, extra 36 gig raptors for raid hard drives, is it really worth it to jump up to am2 and have to get new ram modules all i really need is a to invest in a 939 socket mobo, a new cpu witch now the 939 are dirt cheap and pick out a box.

But i am curious as to witch memory out performs the other.

I need the newer sockets are faster and now there is quad core but just in the computer ram memory dept. witch one is better or should I say better performance.