PC3200 RAM for a 333 FSB CPU

[helmon1]

Hi,

I was wondering whether I should get some dual channel PC3200 DDR RAM for my PC or not. Currently I have 3 sticks of PC2700 256MB (therefore not running in dual channel mode). The FSB for the processor is 333 will this mean that the PC3200 (400 MHz) will also run at 333Mhz? If this was true, would it still be better to get the PC3200 for the dual channelling? Would it be much faster? I'm thinking of getting the Crucial Ballistix 1GB....

Edit: Oh yeah my processor is an Athlon XP2500+ slightly overclocked at 182 MHz. So it's 364 MHz.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by helmon1 on 11/24/04 07:28 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[fishmahn]

Usually your ram runs in synch with the fsb, so if you buy pc3200, you'll be running it at pc2700 speeds. (actually PC2912 because of your OC). However that means that maybe you can tighten the timings a bit and reduce latency, which would improve performance a little more. And, depending on what you're doing, the extra RAM may help.

Also, having pc3200 ram may allow you to upgrade cpu/mobo without having to buy new ram in the future, so if you do buy new RAM, get PC3200.

Mike.

 

[helmon1]

Thanks for clearing things up.

I'm curious....how much of a difference is there between dual channelling mode and not? e.g. Two identical PCs with same ram, one with dual channelling and one without.

 

[fishmahn]

Umm, not sure... I know for Pentiums, it makes a big difference. For Athlon 64's, not much (5%?). For Athlon XP's... Don't know.

Mike.