Memory timings question?

[Yardstick]

I have to fess up that I have never really got to grips with memory timings and my knowledge doesn't go much beyond an understanding that the lower the CAS latency the better.

I've got a two year old rig (spec below) that I have just given a new lease of life to with an X1950 Pro. However I want to wring as much out of the old girl to make the most of the new GPU. I'm going to try a modest overclock but want to make sure I am also getting the best out of the memory - Corsair Platinum XMS 3200 C2PT CL2. I'm running a couple of 0.5 gig sticks in dual channel but have no idea what the optimal timings might be - can anyone help? I'm not looking to push it right to the limit but do want to ensure that I am maximising its potential at the very least.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

XP3500 Winchester
Asus AV8 Deluxe
2 x 0.5 gig Corsair Platinum XMS3200 CL2
X1950 Pro AGP
SB Audigy 2

 

[steve258]

If memory serves me right the C2PT has default timings of 2-3-3-6 (2.5-3-3-6 SPD default on AMD platform for some reason).

My mate has the same sticks which he managed to clock at DDR600!! Whether that's true or not I'll never know but these sticks should be fairly ocable.

Just make sure you loose all timings to 3-4-4-8 and run 166/133 divider if possible so you know your RAM is not limiting your CPU OC. Also remember to turn HTT down to *4 or *3 (800Mhz / 600Mhz).

 

[Yardstick]

Interesting what say about the CAS timing as the only non 'auto' setting I run for the memory is the CAS latency at 2 - run it like that for 2 years. Thanks for the info - it gives me a nice base to start from.