4-4-4-12 versus 5-5-5-15

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums, been watching and reading from the shadows for quite some time. Usually I find the answer to my questions without the need to open a new thread, but this time it's different apparently. Or maybe I just need a new pair of glasses...

Anyway... currently I have 2 x 512 Mb Geil Ultra PC6400 4-4-4-12 which OC very well, up to 900 MHz with the same timings.

I want to go for 2 x 1 Gb of cheap memory since I am on a very tight budget. Since cheaper memory works at relaxed timings, will I see a major difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-15 at DDR2 800?

Also, which value RAM do you recommend? I need something cheap that OC's at least 10% since I want to keep my X2 3800+ at 2700 MHz.

Thanks.

It really depends on what you're overclocking for. But of course, if you can pull off the lower latencies without risk of stability go for it. You should notice some difference as lower latiencies are harder to pull off than higher MHz. IMO.

Cheap RAM for no overclocking = ValueRAM.

Cheap RAM for overclocking = G.Skill DDR2-800 @ 5-5-5-15 (the red heat spreader ones).

No doubt with Memory at low speeds 533, you won't see a difference. But I thought the question was their a noticeable difference at 800 MHz, which is a yes at that speed. Maybe marginal, but noticeable.

Like SkyGuy pointed out there is a difference between cheap ram and cheap ram for overclocking.

If you phrase it that way you're right. I misunderstood the question.

Geil is quite cheap here in the UK.... some geil ultra like you already have would probably be your best bet, depending on the price there. This company should ship to your country I think.... what about this GSkill? It is supposedly a good overclocker:

http://www.memory-configurator.com [...] index.html

Thanks, mate.

I've already read this article, but unfortunately brands such as Mushkin, Patriot, Wintec, Crucial Ballistix or Buffalo are impossible to get here. What I can get is Corsair, Geil, A-Data, OCZ, Kingston and some low end brands.

I think I will go for a pair of A-Data Vitesta Extreme 4-4-4-12. They are good overclockers and can be found here for 125 Euro (160 USD). This a good price considering that here you can almost always apply the formula:

PC component price = Newegg price + 40-50%

Cheers!

Why don't you run your own tests by setting the timings of your current ram manually (to either 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-15) and running some benchmarks. It'll probably make the biggest difference in super-pi, and almost no difference in games.