Latency and Overclocking DDR ??

[Fitz1980]

Ok, I am putting a computer together. I am going to be using Aopen's new AX45H-8X Max motherboard. The spec page says that it does support DDR400[PC3200] RAM due to specially developed circuit. However, SIS only claim the support of DDR266/333 on 648 platform. But they are saying that with the special circuitry and overclocking the RAM by changing the voltage levels, it can work. My question is what company should I buy the RAM from and what does the latency have to do with overclocking? I want a 512 DIMM but I keep seeing either 3 or 2.5 latency levels. Is one better in general and/or better for overclocking...thank you and if you want to spec page on the mobo its...

http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/AX45H-8XMax.htm

 

[LumberJack]

Woah.. a lot of questions to answer in one shot... you should browse some of the other posts to get an idea of the answers... anyway... I'll give you a breif answer.

You can overclock the FSB of your mobo to run in sych with DDR400 ram if you choose to use it. Remember faster ram than your mobo supports will not give you an increase in speed unless you are interested in overclocking.

As for which company to get... it depends .. if your looking for value something like samsung or micron should be fine... if you want quality and wiling to spend money then it's gotta be corsair. It depends on your priorities.

You want to get 2.5 latency over 3.0 as it is faster ram. IF you want to overclock ram quality is important...

That should do you for know If there is anything else drop a line...

To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[Fitz1980]

Ok, now I understand what I want. Only thing is this Corsair 512 DDR PC3200 RAM...it is going to cost me up around $200 to get that kind of RAM. I read a lot about the RAM and I know it is worth the price, but has anyone had any experiences with the same RAM from a different company, or does anyone have any advice on another company that is cheaper but nearly as good? Also, remember I plan to overclock this RAM to actually get it to 400MHz. Read my original post if you don't understand. Thanks all.

 

[LumberJack]

Well if you will be doing any serious overclocking corsair is the only one that can take that abuse... but I understand it's expensive. Personally I'm using crucial modules in my mobo which are made by micron. They are pretty good and stable. I've overclocked the latencies and FSB slightly and it still runs stable... so no probs... If you get standard OEM ram like Kingmax(they are no good), samsung(ok), infeneon etc... you should be fine running the system, but your overclocking abilities are limited... you just gotta decide exactly how much overclocking you are gonna be doing...





To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[lwj81]

Twinmos3200 512mb for $120.

 

[bum_jcrules]

Corsair XMS will handle the overclock. You will have to set the latency settings higher.

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28752#28752" target="_new">THGC meeting? Would you go if there was one?</A>

 

[bum_jcrules]

Let me just preface what I stated above. If you are looking for PC2100, PC2700, or PC3200. If you are overclocking the memory CL or CAS Latency is not much of a factor. The tRDC or the RAS-to-CAS delay is a more important latency setting to look at. MS over at <A HREF="http://www.lostcircuits.com/memory/ddr2/3.shtml" target="_new">Lost Circuits</A> did a good good article explaining the timing issues reguarding tRDC and overclocking. Granted it is from July of 2001 but the information is still relevant to today.

Also, be aware that Muskin, Corsair and AFAIK (Kingston) use the 250MHz Winbond DDR-5 chips.

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28752#28752" target="_new">THGC meeting? Would you go if there was one?</A>