Ram question

[htoonthura]

Hello

I would like to know more about ram timmings. does anyone know websites i can visit to study.

In the meantime, i have a few questions about ram.

I have value select ram (667mgz) which i overclock it to 740 Mgz at this time. According to cpu z , it has 5-5-5-15 (2st) timing. Interestingly , the rams are stable and i can see a noticeable performance gain.

I can find premium rams selling over 100 $ for 1 gb which is running from 675 Mgz to 800 mgz range. The only big difference is the timing. I want to know how much percentage the performance ram with low timing can go faster than mine. i am thinking to add 2gb to my current one. If i upgrade it to premium rams, i would rather not use my old rams as the system will run at the lower rate. My question is .... Just buy another 2 gb of value ram and overclock it to higher clock rate or buy another 2 gb of preminum ram with lower timings.

i would appreciate your responses.

Thura.

 

[endyen]

First off, do you know if it's your ram that is holding your OC back?
If you are at the OC you want to stay with, stick with the value ram.
Running your ram at the same speed as the fsb is generally good for a few % of perf.
Have you tried to force your timings to 1T? Add a little voltage, 1 /10th or 2/10s of a volt, if it isn't stable.
Intel systems do ram calls enough in advance that tight timings make almost no difference in performance.
On the other hand, if your ram is keeping your OC down, you could use a divider, or spring for the better ram.
Final option (and my personal choice) would be to go with DDR2-800 value ram. That way you can OC more, with your ram in sync, and it's slightly more future proof, while still being at a reasonable price point.

 

[Kholonar]

Going from 740->667 MHz in your ram is only a 10% increase so I'm suprised you notice that much of a difference but if you do, well done, that's some good overclocking.

Ok, ram timings, generally, what I consider to be really good timings are 2-2-2-5 1t but you have DDR2 ram which runs faster than DDR1 but doesn't go near those timings. The most important timings are the first 2-2-2 and the 1t command rate.

Depending on your motherboard, your ram overclock and number of modules you should be able to get 1t command rate on ram. 1t is better than 2t but you shouldn't notice too much of a difference. So the overclock you've performed may well be better than going for the 1t command rate.

THWG actually has an article on tight timings and overclocking:

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/03/31/tight_timings_vs_high_clock_frequencies_uk/

At the moment, 2gb ram is all that's really need for games but if you are a heavy video encoder/picture editor/music whatever 4gb can be useful.
Is premium ram worth it? It certainly command a price premium, that's all I know.