DDR2 Ram types

pedro32 · 13 Sep 2008 at 10:50

im looking to get 4gb of ddr2 memory for my new pc build but i don't really know a lot about ram so hoping some people off of this forum can give me some advice..

at the moment, this is the ram im looking towards:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-114-OC&tool=3

what i'd like to know, is that will 1066MHz work significantly better than 800MHz, or am i better off getting a cheaper set of 800MHz ram.

also, could anyone briefly explain what CAS timings are as i have absolutely no clue

cheers all

VFR_KID · 13 Sep 2008 at 14:30

You would need to be a bit more cleared with this Ie the rest of your system spec. as you could have great ram but the most baisic CPU and this would have a difference over all, so obviously you need to look at everything as a whole and see if its evenly compaired. as theres no point runing 8Gb of ram and having a baisic compatible CPU

You will have a noticeable difference between the to imo, but it all depends on whether you mean would it be better with 2x4gb @1066mhz or 4x2gb @800mhz ?

pedro32 · 14 Sep 2008 at 14:18

sorry if i wasn't clear enough, im lookin gto get 4gb of ram (2x2) and need some help picking some out

(the link for the ram im thinking of is in my last post)

my specs will be:

q6600
4850 or 4870 (still undecided)
i think its a p45 motherboard
windows vista 64bit
and a 650w psu

hope that helps

Tetras · 14 Sep 2008 at 14:35

my specs will be:

q6600

The Q6600 has a FSB of 266 Mhz (Intel quotes the Quad-pumped effective figure), so what you need to run in sync (no overclocking) is 533 Mhz DDR2 (which has an actual of 266, cos it is DDR and effective is double actual).

PC2-6400 gives you a maximum 400 Mhz FSB before you overclock the memory (400 FSB x Q6600 multi of 9 is 3.6 Ghz) while PC2-8500 gives you 533 Mhz (9 x 533 = 4.8 Ghz).

If you keep the CPU at stock (266 Mhz FSB) you could also use PC2-8500 at a 1:2 ratio (FSB:Memory clock).

also, could anyone briefly explain what CAS timings are as i have absolutely no clue

Lower latencies make the RAM perform faster but the difference in games is pretty small (few frames tops).