Different Quality RAM
- Thread starter dannyd123
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At the risk of getting flamed here I don't think so. I think that fast (high FSB) RAM lets you overclock more easily and with the Intel memory controllers you can run very fast RAM asynchronously to further improve performance. As for spending money to reduce latency and otherwise tighten timings, I don't think it makes any difference at all in games. It makes an enormous difference in memory reliant benchmarks like SuperPi, but for games and office applications I don't think you'll see much additional benefit.
In fact I've just bought some PC6400 OcUK Value RAM on the basis that it's £27 cheaper than the cheapest 'branded' kit and £30 less than the Geil PC6400 RAM that everyone recommends.
Why? Because I'm spending the difference on getting an E6400 rather than an E6300. Both chips will do 400MHz FSB no problem. But the x8 multiplier means that my DS4 with cheap RAM will be doing 3.2GHz at FSB400 whereas the E6300 is only doing 2.8GHz. That's why. Same money, faster. To go beyond FSB400 most Geil users have to loosen the timings off to 5-5-5-15 anyway so by the time the Geil/E6300 combination have stretched themselves up to 457FSB (3.2GHz) my choice of value RAM and a higher multiplier will still be running quicker. That's the theory. And, if by some miracle, the Eilixir chips on the OcUK value RAM turn out to be in any way overclockable, I'm well up.
In fact I've just bought some PC6400 OcUK Value RAM on the basis that it's £27 cheaper than the cheapest 'branded' kit and £30 less than the Geil PC6400 RAM that everyone recommends.
Why? Because I'm spending the difference on getting an E6400 rather than an E6300. Both chips will do 400MHz FSB no problem. But the x8 multiplier means that my DS4 with cheap RAM will be doing 3.2GHz at FSB400 whereas the E6300 is only doing 2.8GHz. That's why. Same money, faster. To go beyond FSB400 most Geil users have to loosen the timings off to 5-5-5-15 anyway so by the time the Geil/E6300 combination have stretched themselves up to 457FSB (3.2GHz) my choice of value RAM and a higher multiplier will still be running quicker. That's the theory. And, if by some miracle, the Eilixir chips on the OcUK value RAM turn out to be in any way overclockable, I'm well up.
Soldato
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depends
quantity over quality every time, so long as it has a warranty
what is the main use ?
if its use over overclocking, then get cheap
if its overclocking (ie benching) then get quality ram
quantity over quality every time, so long as it has a warranty
what is the main use ?
if its use over overclocking, then get cheap
if its overclocking (ie benching) then get quality ram
the first question shoudl have been do you intend to overclock.
Personally I never overclock anything, but that is my personal preference (im a bit old school, back in the day overclocking was a sure fire way to burn out your gear)
Personally I never overclock anything, but that is my personal preference (im a bit old school, back in the day overclocking was a sure fire way to burn out your gear)
Bolerus said:
Actually, and I find this quite a pleasant surprise, everyone has replied to this post on a very similar basis;
If you overclock... and they give their opinion
If you don't overclock... and they give their opinion
If you just want to play games... and they give their opinion.
So, I disagree that anyone needs to be asking supplementary questions as everyone has covered the question asked from several angles, detailing the pros and cons of each as they see fit.
p4radox said:
The overclocking system I have uses a Gigabyte DS4 motherboard. On that you cannot run a divider less than 2 memory cycles per processor cycle eg. at 266MHz processor FSB, the memory will run at 533MHz. This is why PC6400 RAM is so popular as it is guaranteed to run at 400MHz FSB/800MHz RAM speed which on an E6300 system is 2.8GHz or 3.2GHz on an E6400 system.
hai said:
I wouldn't overclock new RAM. Things tend to break when new...
But I have got the system running at 3.2GHz - all at stock volts too. Unbelieveable. It's just staggering what performance £290 buys these days.
Well the chip im getting will most probably be the E6600 and i will be gaming and overclocking..is there any specific brands of ram that are recognized for being high quality..? and i no il most probably get flamed but what does lossening the ram do like what are the numbers for..e.g. 5-5-5-15 kinda noobish i know..but thanks
dannyd123 said:
It's not Noobish at all. I'd say that 85% of the people posting on here couldn't tell you what those numbers mean, and of the remaining 15%, 14% wouldn't be 100% clear about them (including me).
I found this link http://articles.networktechs.com/1-p1.php and I think it explains most of what it's all about.
As for Brands, I can honestly put mu hand on my heart and say that anything you buy from OcUK will be excellent. OcUK don't tend to supply AData or TEam (also good brands) but Crucial aka. Micron, Geil, Kingston, Patriot, OCZ are all well established brands. What you are usually buying with a brand is an extended warranty - most offer lifetime replacement. You are also buying the possibility to overclock, not a guarantee. Generic or Value RAM is usually sold as being not for overclocking, but most of the chips are made in a few plants so you might get lucky.