Corsair vs Corsair (4GB vs 8GB) & ((timings))

[teknomedic]

Hi all... just looking for some simple answers to this choice I'm trying to make.

I'm currenty running 4GB of the following @ 4-4-4-12 & 800mhz...

TWIN2X2048-6400C4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034


...and I'm wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade to 8GB of the following @ 5-5-5-18 & 800mhz...

TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176

?????

Maybe even leaving out the fact that there's a 4GB size difference... would I notice the change at 4GB vs 4GB with those timings?... also... how easy would it be for me to get 4-4-4-12 timings out of the CAS 5 stuff? I may do a slight overclock... or try that 1T vs 2T I've heard a bit about.

Here's my system...

P5N32-E SLI (680i)
E8400
Vista Ultimate 64bit

I'd consider faster RAM... but I'm cheap... and I might be able to get the 8GB of RAM for $170 (plus there might be an option of using one $40 MIR per kit... bringing the price to about $90 for 8GB)... and that's the whole reason for me thinking about this today. ... plus I need to do this to two computers so the idea of getting 16GB of RAM for about $180 after rebates is pretty tempting... but I like performance AND to see a difference in my upgrades.... cause if I don't see an improvement... what's the point right?

Thanks for any tips,
TK.

 

[beurling]

Apparently vista 64 loves 8GB of memory because your system doesn't need to access the hard drive nearly as often. It can be very difficult to overclock 4 sticks though, and I wouldn't count on getting tighter timings.

I'm just not convinced you'll see THAT huge of a difference from what you have now.... if you were going from 2gb to 8gb, it might be worth it. (plus your current memory is slightly faster).

 

[teknomedic]

Thanks for the reply...

to be honest I'm not much of an overclocker so I'm not sure how much I'd really be doing.

The timings are what's holding me back right now too... I know my current stuff is a small bit faster... but by how much is what I don't understand.

I'm already using 4 sticks so any upgrade I do will need to do 4 sticks again as 2 sticks and keeping 4GB won't be worth it.... and that only leaves 8GB as the only place for me to go. I won't be moving to DDR3 or even changing my mobo for a bit (as long as I don't fry it in some way).

Oh, if only tomsH had shown some benchmarks in their Vista & 8GB story I think this would be a ton easier to figure out.

I guess the big question is would moving from CAS 4 to CAS 5 show a big difference... or if I waited for 8GB of 4-4-4-12 timings to be this cheap... would I even be able to run at 4-4-4-12 or would my mobo need to relax to 5-5-5-18 anyway due to the amount of RAM.

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

If you run 2 modules or 4, you should be able to still run the same latencies. Just keep in mind that you are buying a kit rated at CAS5 so, CAS4 is not guaranteed. We do have a CAS4 4096 kit available now but, it will cost a bit more than the CAS5 version.

 

[beurling]

There was a noticeable difference during my boot sequence when I set mine to CAS4.... they defaulted to CAS5 when they were first installed. Other than that I dont know that I see much of a difference. My recommendation would be to hold out until your next build... unless that is like 2-3 years away....

 

[tommmm111]

mr. XMSYellowbeard, sir. hi, & good day 2 u. pls, i have xms 2x1024twin ddr2 6400c4, and use ga-p35-ds3r gigabyte mobo. me & my friend want 2 learn the sub-settings/timings listed below cas & ras first 4 timings in ram section of award bios. it seems i have 7 such items, but i wish 2 mention graysky guide on to oc a q4 or c2d cpu/ Tom's has it. graysky lists his ballistix ddr2-800 @ 4-4-4-12-4-20-10-10-10-11 (sub-timings). he shows a pic/ however bad it is, but...cool. ok, he mentions: dram write recovery time (4), dram TRPC (20), dram TRXD (or TRRD?) (10), rank write to read delay (10), read to precharge delay (10), write to precharge delay (11), plus there is from him, static read control (faster). my gigabyte board has names along his lines, but not the same. i would bring 2 your attn:, one of my settings is at 42, and all his are well below that. so, mr. XMSYellowbeard, sir, could u comment on the advantage a guy would get, if he became qualified in to set these sub-timings? i sure would like 2 know, cuz those are bios Auto set, and the bios is rather generous w/ it's allocations. could be a hot-rod awaits me (and whoever), by 2 set these timings aggressively. i'd love 2 hear on it. tom L.