4-4-4-12 vs 5-5-5-12

[FrankCastle]

i am trying to decide which memory to get for my new system build...

i will be using either a core2duo/core2quad with a gigabye ds4 rev3.3 mainboard and plan to do some moderate overclocking

i have decided on corsair ram PC6400 but need some opinions on whether or not to spend the extra $30AU to get the ones with lower timings...

I dont exactly understand timings %100 so if someone is willing to teach a newb i would appreciate it also

i plan to use the system for gaming, and multimedia editting/creation

thanks

 

[prong]

Most often 5 CAS Latency rated RAM requires less voltage to run than 4 CAS latency. I'm not familiar with your MB, but if the BIOS allows you to adjust above 2.2 to 2.3 volts to your DRAM frequency, you can run the higher voltage required CAS 4 modules. Basically the lower or 'tighter' the timings, the faster response time your DIMMS have with your CPU. By increasing the voltage many high performance DIMMS like Corsair rated at 5 CAS LAT can achieve 4 CAS latency timings.

 

[Mondoman]

The performance difference is unlikely to be major. Here's an article with some data: http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=1962&articID=472

 

[VoRogue]

Be REAL careful with your choice of Motherboard.

Gigabyte will not support you. If (and almost certainly when) the thing won't boot with flakey implimentation they will simply fob you off - no investigation, no support, no bios update just a "get stuffed" response.

Seriously, every day of my life I have to drop into the "Setup" menu on a Gigabyte Motherboard, let it warm up while makeing a cup of coffee and then boot on exactly the same settings that run day after day never a failure.

Gigabyte support really really is non-existant and I am not the only one with these sorts of issues with their boards.