Higher frequency and higher CAS vs Lower Frequency and Lower CAS

[paulgreen43]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased an MSI Z97 Gaming 7 mobo, although gaming isn't my primary purpose. I do run some VMs for development, and am looking to upgrade to 32GB now. I've always liked GSkill, and looking at the compatible memory section on MSI's website, am torn between F3-2666C11Q-32GTXD at 2666MHz but CL11-13-13-35 at 1.65V or F3-1600C9Q-32GXM at 1600 MHz but CL 9-9-9 at 1.5V.

So which is better for me? I haven't overclocked anything ever (the mobo does some automatic overclocking through OC Genie if I enable it) but do fancy giving it a go if anyone can make any recommendations.

Lastly there's about £30 difference (£350 vs £320 respectively), although I'd happily take any other recommendation, though do want to stick with some RAM published on the compatibility list.

Many thanks,
Paul.

 

[Syntax42]

Memory latency timings are in numbers of clock cycles. To get the latency in nanoseconds, you take the latency timing and divide by the clock speed (Hz = 1/s), and then multiply by 2 to compensate for the DDR doubling.

 

[Shaun o]

Its very simple the higher in memory speed, the higher the latency values.

Higher latency values negate the speed of ram because the latency values are the time per cycle the memory is scanned and refreshed.

You could have memory at 5000Mhz But if the latency was high it impacts the speed, because the memory is slower at refreshing data. per clock cycle. waiting around longer.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Simply put, performance of RAM=MHz/CL where higher is better.
For 2666MHz and CL11 this ratio is ~242 reports.
For 1600 MHz and CL9-9-9 this ratio is ~177 reports.

Clearly, the 1st one is better, ideally. But that would only make a difference if the CPU can utilize such high speeds without issues. If you're planning to buy 32 odd GBs of RAM, I assume you have the processor to handle it well, but I never approve 30 Pounds for this upgrade in performance.

No need to spend 30 bucks, go for the 1600 MHz, but you don't really mind spending those, the 2666MHz is a good one too.

Btw, this RAM has 1600 MHz with CL7 (meaning ~228 reports) at 1.5V: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231629
Price shall be around 200 Pounds, but do check if its compatible with your MoBo. Its the best value for money G.Skill I can find.

 

[Tradesman1]

For what you show, I'd look to 2133/9 or 2400/10 for 32GB, I'd look at the GSkill Tridents or GSkill Snipers...If going 2400 or above, it will generally require an OC of the CPU, i"ve got 32GB of the ri 2400's in my IB and run 32 of their 2666 sticks in my Haswell - the Tridents are great sticks (as are the Snipers

 

[Pinhedd]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased an MSI Z97 Gaming 7 mobo, although gaming isn't my primary purpose. I do run some VMs for development, and am looking to upgrade to 32GB now. I've always liked GSkill, and looking at the compatible memory section on MSI's website, am torn between F3-2666C11Q-32GTXD at 2666MHz but CL11-13-13-35 at 1.65V or F3-1600C9Q-32GXM at 1600 MHz but CL 9-9-9 at 1.5V.

So which is better for me? I haven't overclocked anything ever (the mobo does some automatic overclocking through OC Genie if I enable it) but do fancy giving it a go if anyone can make any recommendations.

Lastly there's about £30 difference (£350 vs £320 respectively), although I'd happily take any other recommendation, though do want to stick with some RAM published on the compatibility list.

Many thanks,
Paul.

High speed memory is almost always better regardless of latency but high data rates can cause problems for memory controllers. If you're running a production/development machine you should constrain your purchase to memory that is natively supported by the microprocessor.