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pls help: quick easy x2 question...

xsnv

xsnv

xsnv

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could someone pls help me out. I'ts a simple question. which is better for gaming and general everyday use?

Amd x2 4400 @ 2.8ghz = ram at 254mhz 3-4-4-8 1:1

or

Amd x2 4400 @ 2.8ghz = ram at 211mhz 2-2-2-5 on a divider


Cheers
 
xsnv said:
could someone pls help me out. I'ts a simple question. which is better for gaming and general everyday use?

Amd x2 4400 @ 2.8ghz = ram at 254mhz 3-4-4-8 1:1

or

Amd x2 4400 @ 2.8ghz = ram at 211mhz 2-2-2-5 on a divider


Cheers
Click to expand...

As has been said... run some benchmarks and find out. 3DMARk2001 is a good test of system performance.
 
I would if i could...Im asking so i know which ram to purchase (g.skill hz or zx)

Cheers
 
how much RAM are you getting?
If this is for 1GB dont bother, get a 2GB value kit! What are you going to use the RAM for? :)
 
I did some extensive testing of RAM speeds using my Ballistix and found that in Doom3 my framerate was slightly higher at around 250mhz compared to 200mhz with tighter timings. This is at odds with what most people say but it's what I found.
 
Hades said:
I did some extensive testing of RAM speeds using my Ballistix and found that in Doom3 my framerate was slightly higher at around 250mhz compared to 200mhz with tighter timings. This is at odds with what most people say but it's what I found.
Click to expand...

No I'd agree 50Mhz extra memory speed is a lot to gain (25%) whereas tight timings aren't going to earn you anywhere near that much.
 
Cheers guys. Yeah memory prices are getting a bit extortionate.

I decided in the end to go with 1Gb pc4400 for the mean time and upgrade to a decent 2gb kit when prices come down or when i've got a bit more money.

I'm mainly gonna be playing catch up anyway (havn't played far cry, half-life 2, doom3 etc) so that shoud be fine for now.

I'm a bit more confused now though. So running the ram much higher is better than tight timings on a divider?
 
A64's love low latency. But given the option of running a lot higher bandwidth at 1:1 with the CPU or on a divider with lower latency then personally I'd go for the bandwidth.

Unfortunately I wouldn't think RAM prices for DDR will drop very quickly. As more people move to DDR2 then the cost per unit for producing DDR increases. I'd also not recommend 1gb at this time. If you want to upgrade to 2gb in the future then it could be expensive: either adding a further 2x512mb (and therefore running at a much slower 2T timing) or selling the old memory and buying 2x1gb.

Right now there are bargains to be had second hand as people move to Core Duo ("Conroe"). Personally I'd recommend buying some good quality used 2gb (2x1gb).
 
xsnv said:
I'm a bit more confused now though. So running the ram much higher is better than tight timings on a divider?
Click to expand...

Basically it doesn't make a huge amount of difference, tight timings at near 200FSB are good, as are slacker timings at 240+, at the end of the day both give good performance.
 
Hades said:
Unfortunately I wouldn't think RAM prices for DDR will drop very quickly. As more people move to DDR2 then the cost per unit for producing DDR increases. I'd also not recommend 1gb at this time. If you want to upgrade to 2gb in the future then it could be expensive: either adding a further 2x512mb (and therefore running at a much slower 2T timing) or selling the old memory and buying 2x1gb.

Right now there are bargains to be had second hand as people move to Core Duo ("Conroe"). Personally I'd recommend buying some good quality used 2gb (2x1gb).
Click to expand...

I don't think DDR prices will drop full stop, production is being wound down all the time.

2nd hand is definately the way to go, a decent set of GSkill ZX or similar is around the £100 mark which is good value :)
 
well i tested this last night...

gained 100 points in 01 from having 200 2-2-2-5 (instead of 250 3-4-4-8) also a difference of 0.1s in super pi.

That was with a single core 3ghz opteron

the only real differences came in sandra
250 3-4-4-8 =
7200int Buff'd
7123float Buff's
4444int
4478float

200 2-2-2-5

5996int buff'd
5907fload Buff'd
4104 int
4105 float


all settings exactly the same, just simply changed timings and moved divider from 166 (250mhz ram) to 133 (200mhz ram)

so it just shows apart form sandra, hardly any difference for me.
 
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