Dont know what to look for in ram please help.

[bechidow]

From reading posts in here and other places it seems the best value/performance ram out there right now is DDR2 800. Im making my first build and am trying to be very maticulous about what im buying. What i need to know is does lactency make that much of a difference? Is 4-4-4-12 that much better then 5-5-5-18? Should i be looking at stock voltage? Do i go buffered or umbuffered? What lactency should i be looking for? I really need the help if any of you have time. I would like to have all of my parts ordered by Monday.
Just seems like maybe thiers alot more to look for in the ram then just going and buying it. Thanks for the help.

 

[M3d]

First look at your motherboard's qualified memory to be sure it is compatible. There you should get the voltage requirements for your ram.
If its a C2D system you should not notice the difference in real world apps between 4-4-4 and 5-5-5. I went from 2x1GB 4-4-4- to 2x2GB 5-5-5- and can't tell the difference.
Take a look at the charts here:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/18/core_2_duo_memory_timings/1

If you have an AMD system I think I read a while back that that tighter timings are better. Someone here might be able to expand on this better.

The buffered ram is for servers and desktops normally make use of
unbuffered ram.

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

latency has very little impact on actual performance. of course tighter is better however if it came down to size vs latency, size wins hands down.

all standards desktops use unbuffered memory. Only workstation builds like those that use intel xeon chips use buffered memory.

 

[bechidow]

Ok ty for the input so far. m3d ty for the link to the charts. I did see some improvment with what they call the tighter timings but it was far from eye popping. I will look at ram in this order then. Size, price, then lactency.
One more question. Does brand matter all that much as long as its a name brand? Are thier any sub brands within the brand name products that are known for superb performance?

 

[ausch30]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

 

[M3d]

Ok ty for the input so far. m3d ty for the link to the charts. I did see some improvment with what they call the tighter timings but it was far from eye popping. I will look at ram in this order then. Size, price, then lactency.
One more question. Does brand matter all that much as long as its a name brand? Are thier any sub brands within the brand name products that are known for superb performance?

Every ram manufacturer has their top and value products.
For the most part the "super performance" comes by way of overclocking, if that is what you are going to do.

Take a look at this. The review is between 2 vs. 2.5 ram
It is by no means an exhaustive review but it I think it tells you something.
http://www.techspot.com/reviews/hardware/corsair_xms_vs_value_select/

If you plan on building a gaming pc then I guess it's always nice to get some good ram if the price is right and if getting that extra few fps are important.

But if you don't care about a few fps or if its just an office build then the value should be good for your needs.

 

[bechidow]

Well m3d thats the second set of charts that tells me to just go with a good name brand value ram. I do play games alot but most of my games are 2 to 5+ years old and ive never been much of a graphics/fps guy. As long as i can play them smooth at medium settings im fine.
This build is just a tide me over for a year or so until i make my Diablo 3 build. Then this build becomes the wifes comp for e-mail and solitare lol.
I thank all of you guys again for spending the time looking all of that up for me.
m3d one more quick Q. How is that Radeon 4850 treating you? My buddy just got one a month ago and said it rocks.

 

[M3d]

To be honest I don't really know. I gave away my 8800GTS 512 a couple of weeks ago and the only games I have played since have been San Andreas and Assassins Creed. Maybe its just me but at 1920x1600 the GTS felt smoother with San Andreas. Didn't get a chance to play AC with the GTS but with the hour or so I played AC the 4850 card handles it very well all maxed out at 1920x1600.

 

[dirtmountain]

Listen to Ausch30 that Mushkin has tight timings, good price, 1.8v stock