timings for DDR2 800 .... what the?

[grieve]

Can anyone shed some light on RAM timings for me?

example:
pc6400 DDR2 800 mhz (4-4-4-12)
or
pc6400 DDR2 800 mhz (5-5-5-15)

I relise some run 'tighter' then others but How does a person know what timings are better for them... or better in general.

any info would be much appreciated.

 

[wilcoxon]

It's really all about tradeoffs. Lower timings are better. However, many lower timing DDR2-800 run at higher voltage (so they'll use more power and run hotter). Also, i've read some cases where lower timing modules ended up being worse than higher timing modules when overclocked.