Mushkin vs OCZ Platinum 6GB kits for i7

[uspbacchus]

Hey gang, I posted my computer build on the homebuilt systems site, but now I have a RAM question for you all. I'm stuck between:

mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998679 - Retail
Model #:998679
Item #:N82E16820226030

or

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227381

Is there any real difference here, or am I just splitting hairs at this point? I plan on using my rig for gaming and more for video editing. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[scrumhalf]

The OCZ has slightly lower timings and is $100 cheaper. Both are great brands with great support so you really can't go wrong. You are going to love video editing with a Core i7!

 

[AtaliaA1]

This article will have all overclockers and ram tweakers talking for months, New ifo. on
Memory timing, Cas latancy, very interesting.

http://www.techspot.com/article/131-intel-corei7-memory-performance/page15.html

 

[scrumhalf]

Disclaimer: My opinions stated are regarding the article, not a personal attack. Not really impressed with that article, they seem to have missed the plot a bit. From the article:

"The memory frequency appeared to have had little impact on the SuperPI calculation time, which is not something we were expecting. Perhaps the higher timings of the faster memory offset the frequency boost, though this wasn't the case when comparing the DDR3-800 and 1066 results."

They expected memory timings to have a large impact on a CPU based test? They run benchmarks on Far Cry 2, UT3, and Quake Wars. Far Cry 2 is relevant, but the other two, not so much.

The real benefit from triple channel memory is multi-tasking performance. The architecture of this platform was to remove memory bandwidth as a potential bottleneck, which it does quite well. You won't see much in the way of gains when encoding video or performing image manipulation, because you aren't using all the memory bandwidth available. Encode video while performing image manipulation and you will notice the benefits. Have a look at this article on Bit-Tech.net. Additionally, future performance needs to be considered. Triple Channel and higher clocks will provide more gains in the future as applications demand more memory bandwidth, and as multi-threaded code becomes more mainstream.