RAM Question: 12800 @ 8-8-8 vs 10666 @ 9-9-9

[Coroner]

So being a bit 'too' eager to upgrade my ram to 8 GB I ordered this:

Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3-1333 Ram Kit (2x4GB, PC3-10666, 9-9-9-24, CMX8GX3M2A1333C9)

to replace my 4 GB OCZ 2x2GB OCZ3G1600LV4GK.

After the excitement passed though, I started thinking and my question is, should I return the Corsair ram for a 1600mhz kit (in the same price range) or does the benefit of +4GB ram outweigh the loose timings and lower frequency of the new kit?

 

[jaquith]

Welcome to Tom's Forum!

12800/8 = 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9

Based upon above, clearly the 1600 MHz 8-8-8; faster frequency AND faster CAS {lower}.

Well it depends upon the CPU and MOBO; so what CPU and MOBO? You want to make certain that ANY RAM is compatible with both components. Both 8-8-8 AND 9-9-9 are considered 'tight' timings; whereas 8-9-8 are considered loose timings.

If the question is More Slower vs Less Faster:
4GB {2X2GB} 12800/8 = 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 8GB {2X4GB} 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9
... then the Answer is it DEPENDS. It depends upon what you're doing, if you're Rendering then More Slower - WINS! However, if you're Gaming/Normal Apps then Less Faster - WINS! Further, if your OS is 32-bit {4GB MAX} then Less Faster - WINS!

Speed alone 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9; the 1600 is about 2~4% faster. If you did not manually set your RAM then you've been loosing 4~8% performance depending upon what Auto picked-up from JEDEC SPD.

 

[Coroner]

Welcome to Tom's Forum!

12800/8 = 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9

Based upon above, clearly the 1600 MHz 8-8-8; faster frequency AND faster CAS {lower}.

Well it depends upon the CPU and MOBO; so what CPU and MOBO? You want to make certain that ANY RAM is compatible with both components. Both 8-8-8 AND 9-9-9 are considered 'tight' timings; whereas 8-9-8 are considered loose timings.

If the question is More Slower vs Less Faster:
4GB {2X2GB} 12800/8 = 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 8GB {2X4GB} 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9
... then the Answer is it DEPENDS. It depends upon what you're doing, if you're Rendering then More Slower - WINS! However, if you're Gaming/Normal Apps then Less Faster - WINS! Further, if your OS is 32-bit {4GB MAX} then Less Faster - WINS!

Speed alone 1600 MHz 8-8-8, or 10666/8 = 1333 MHz 9-9-9; the 1600 is about 2~4% faster. If you did not manually set your RAM then you've been loosing 4~8% performance depending upon what Auto picked-up from JEDEC SPD.

Thanks for the welcome and the detailed answer

I should have provided more info indeed.
CPU: i5 760
M/B: Asus P7P55D-E
O/S: Win 7 64bit
- No overclocking done -

I'm mostly using my pc for gaming and music apps (Nuendo, Cubase and various VST instruments that are quite memory demanding).

 

[mdsiu]

Depends on what you are doing with your PC... if you multi-task a lot you will see more of an improvement with higher capacity; if you are talking about gaming then you want to go for lower timings.

 

[jaquith]

If you running at or above ~75% Memory usage then you DO need more RAM, it not then it won't help too much and you might loose 'some' performance.

Options:
Matching Set of OCZ3G1600LV4GK $105 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002MOQNKI/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1300479031&sr=8-1&condition=new

Corsair Tested -> http://www2.corsair.com/configurator/product_results.aspx?id=1330513
Tested $99 CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 {2X4GB} http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

G.SKILL Tested -> http://gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&model=1325
Tested $99 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Tested $85 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Kingston Tested -> http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/hyperx_us/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=59792
Tested $99 Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Model KHX1600C9D3K2/8G http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104246

While the RAM you listed 'might' work, it's not guaranteed. 4GB sticks are 'picky' and I've had experience with CMP8GX3M2A1600C9 working with no problems. Anything else, I would start a Ticket with e.g. Corsair; the vanilla answer is 'it should' but I don't like guessing with compatibility to avoid issues like -> http://forum.corsair.com/v2/showthread.php?t=90944

 

[jaquith]

...BTW this is why I asked about your CPU + 1600 {DOCP}/yours is 2.8GHz:

 

[Coroner]

Great info, thanks.

From what I see, when going above 8GB it's not possible to find lower than 9-9-9 timings without paying almost double as much. So I suppose, I could actually keep both kits and play around with them to see if I can notice any difference.

 

[jaquith]

For most people the differences do not justify the price differences.

From the list I probably would choose either the Corsair Vengeance or Ripjaws; Ripjaws if you have a CPU Fan that covers the DIMM slots.

 

[Coroner]

I'll check out those solutions. Thanks for the pro info.