Some questions about RAM-Please Help

[UltimaSlayerVII]

Hi, I have a few questions concerning DDR2 RAM.

1) Does the number of sticks you have make a difference? I ask because I saw a 8gb kit with 4 sticks that was much cheaper than one with 2 sticks, and the same for 4gb of ddr2. Does this mean anything, like more cards=worse performance? Should I buy an 8GB kit or buy sticks individually?

2) Is there any performance difference between DDR2-800 and the higher ones like 1066?

3) What exactly are timings? For example, I see RAM with 5-4-4-18, and one with 6-6-6-19. What do these mean, and what should I shoot for?

Thanks!

 

[Shadow703793]

1. Generally with out a good motherboard it may be hard to run 4 DIMMs.

2. In benchmarks yes, in real world no.

3. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/26

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/200599-30-memory-nooob-aarrggghh-timings#t1249881

 

[knotknut]

#1 over 4gb ram you need 64bit operating system.
#2 the motherboard has to support or limits the amount of ram
#3 in most cases stick with DDR2-800. For best results the fewer sticks the better like 2 x 2gb sticks vs. 4 x 1gb sticks. Also for best results choose ram that defaults at 1.8v and has a lower Column Address Strobe (CAS)
like 4-4-4-12

 

[eklipz330]

1-usually kits with less sticks perform/overclock better and are more stable
2-no, not worth it unless you overclock... like a crackhead
3-for ddr2 800, shoot for 4-4-4-12 or something really similar... or less maybe
ddr2 1066 5-5-5-15... those are normals

 

[UltimaSlayerVII]

I see, the mobo is 780i btw.

Well, since you guys say DDR2-1066/DDR2-1200 doesent give better performance than DDR2-800 (which I find weird, why would it cost more?), hows this kit? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227291 It has 4 sticks, but its very cheap, which is why I like it.

But money isnt a huge problem. Any 8GB DDR2 you guys can recommend?

 

[UltimaSlayerVII]

Whoa, the lower the timings the better?

Then why does RAM with higher timings cost more?

 

[UltimaSlayerVII]

By the way, this site http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/02/14/ocz-ddr2-800-gamer-memory-has--nice-timing also shows that DDR2-1066 gets more fps than DDR2-800... so I guess it does apply to real world..

 

[Kraynor]

A whole 1 fps isn't worth the extra cash for DDR2-1066 over 800. Better off doing what the guys in the review you posted did, and oerclock the 800 RAM, that is... if 1 fps is that massively important.

If not, DDR2-800 is perfectly adequate. Personally, I like to underclock my RAM to run at a 1:1 ratio with my CPU's FSB (my 800 is underclocked to 667 at the moment).

 

[UltimaSlayerVII]

A whole 1 fps isn't worth the extra cash for DDR2-1066 over 800. Better off doing what the guys in the review you posted did, and oerclock the 800 RAM, that is... if 1 fps is that massively important.

If not, DDR2-800 is perfectly adequate. Personally, I like to underclock my RAM to run at a 1:1 ratio with my CPU's FSB (my 800 is underclocked to 667 at the moment).

Alright, well can you recommend some good 8GB DDR2-800 or up sticks then? Those OCZ 8GB for $150 seems way too good to be true... so can you recommend any really good ones?

 

[Kraynor]

I'm using 4 x 2GB sticks of OCZ Platinum RAM. It does the job nicely in my opinion