Speed Vs Latency

[JofaMang]

Hello there, and thanks for any input you might be willing to give!

System Specs:
GA-MA780G-UD3H Mobo
OCZ Gold XTC 2x2gb 1066mhz
Phenom II 710 x3 @ 2.9 stable stock air
Sapphire 4870 512mb @ 815/1025
Seasonic 650w PSU
XP x64 Pro
22" BenQ @ 1920x1080

Its a simple question that I have a tough time getting a definitive answer for:
@800mhz 1.8v 5-6-6-18
VS
@1066mhz 2.0v 5-8-8-24

I guess to be fair, it is complicated by my situation, and my ignorance ;D

I have been running at 1066 for about 2 weeks now. My impression is that there is a slight increase in performance in general use (boot up, browsing, program start ups, opening media etc) but a unnoticable difference in benchmarking and gaming average FPS. To be fair, though, some titles that were giving me occasional stutter at my desired settings (Crysis, Fallout3, Bioshock, Ghostbusters) seem to be remedied of the stutters, but during this period, I also OC'd the video card very stable and haven't really played around at stock clocks.

I build a new computer every spring (Tax Return Season, Yay!) and I plan on hooking this rig (or parts of it) to my LCD (42" Sharp Aquos 60hz 1080p) next year. In the meantime, i am considering upgrading my CPU in next few months (to 940/955/965 perhaps), and have a 4870x2 arriving any day now.

Overall, I am happy with running 1066mhz now, but will the higher latency become an issue with a more powerful build? Is the higher voltage a concern with a much more power hungry system? Any input or suggestions would be awesome, as I would like to be prepared before I dive into tinkering with the next few stages of my build (Video card first, CPU second)

Thanks and have a great day

 

[badge]

Explanation.

 

[JofaMang]

Thank you very much for the link, I found it quite educational. I guess a follow up question would be what each Latency rating is relevant to (x1-x2-x3-x4) as comparing directly between the modes using the chart, on the first 3 ratings I am definitely in the plus @1066. But the final rating (18 vs 24) shows by my math to be superior @800mhz (albiet by a tiny margin).

I am still concerned about voltages (as system very unstable with 1066@1.8v) and its effect on my system as my power needs grow. Is this not a major concern?

 

[badge]

The first four latencies are the most important, ex 5-5-5-12. ALL latency adjustments available to you in BIOS fall under the principle of lower equals faster response time. 1066MHz. generally reqires 2.0-2.1v. 1.8v is the BIOS default value for PC2 6400 800MHz.