Faster RAM or Lower CAS, which gives more performance?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Harry Muscle
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H

Harry Muscle

I'm trying to figure out which RAM to get. I can't afford the best Corsair
PC3200 CAS 2 stuff, so I need to compromise somewhere. I can afford a nice
brand name PC2700 C2 stick of RAM (example Corsair CMX512-2700C2 - $98) or a
not so big brand name PC3200 CAS 3 (example Kingston Value RAM
KVR400X64C3/512 - $98). So I'm wondering which would give me the bigger
performance boost. Would increasing the Mhz of the RAM (and FSB) be better
or would having a lower CAS latency be better? I'm gonna be running this in
a Asus A7N8X Deluxe board, and will not be overcloacking anything more than
a few percent (ie: 3%).

Thanks for the input,
Harry

P.S. I'm open to other RAM suggestions, I just can't spend more than $100US
and would prefer if it was on the Asus Recommend List.
 
Harry Muscle said:
I'm trying to figure out which RAM to get. I can't afford the best Corsair
PC3200 CAS 2 stuff, so I need to compromise somewhere. I can afford a nice
brand name PC2700 C2 stick of RAM (example Corsair CMX512-2700C2 - $98) or a
not so big brand name PC3200 CAS 3 (example Kingston Value RAM
KVR400X64C3/512 - $98). So I'm wondering which would give me the bigger
performance boost. Would increasing the Mhz of the RAM (and FSB) be better
or would having a lower CAS latency be better? I'm gonna be running this in
a Asus A7N8X Deluxe board, and will not be overcloacking anything more than
a few percent (ie: 3%).

Thanks for the input,
Harry

P.S. I'm open to other RAM suggestions, I just can't spend more than $100US
and would prefer if it was on the Asus Recommend List.
Click to expand...

If you're looking at PC3200, I'm going to assume you're planning to run an
fsb of at or above 200. Though some high-end PC2700 will go that high, you
can get more overhead for no more money with name-brand PC3200. PC3500, or
3700 or 4000, is a waste on an AMD/NForce2 system, IMHO, and generally only
gets you the same chips overclocked with lower timings for a higher
pricetag.

Get two 256-meg sticks instead of one 512 for best performance with
Dual-Channel DDR.

Timings make a difference, but not as much as you might think. If you skip
the fancy but inefficient heatspreaders and CAS2, you can get good sticks
that will go as far as your board can take them.

My votes for best low-cost memory go to Crucial PC3200, which uses Micron's
own JDEC-certified DDR400 ram; or Buffalo Technology PC3200,which uses the
same Winbond 5ns modules as some much higher-priced brands. You can get
2x256 of either for about $100.
 
SNIP
If you're looking at PC3200, I'm going to assume you're planning to run an
fsb of at or above 200. Though some high-end PC2700 will go that high, you
can get more overhead for no more money with name-brand PC3200. PC3500, or
3700 or 4000, is a waste on an AMD/NForce2 system, IMHO, and generally only
gets you the same chips overclocked with lower timings for a higher
pricetag.

Get two 256-meg sticks instead of one 512 for best performance with
Dual-Channel DDR.

Timings make a difference, but not as much as you might think. If you skip
the fancy but inefficient heatspreaders and CAS2, you can get good sticks
that will go as far as your board can take them.

My votes for best low-cost memory go to Crucial PC3200, which uses Micron's
own JDEC-certified DDR400 ram; or Buffalo Technology PC3200,which uses the
same Winbond 5ns modules as some much higher-priced brands. You can get
2x256 of either for about $100.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would be running at 200Mhz, I would simply reduce the multiplier to
achieve only about 3% overclocking on the CPU (I know I can go higher, but
right now I'm settling for max stability). The only thing that I would have
against Crucial or Buffalo Tech is that they aren't on the Asus List for
memory that works with the A7N8X board, however, that doesn't mean it won't
work, it simply means that Asus probably didn't test it.

I was wondering though if anyone has any experiences with TwinMOS memory. I
read a good review of their PC3200 modules (and they're on the Asus List).
Apparently they're rated at C2.5, but they have no problem running C2 upto
212MHz, which is plenty for me. However, one review doesn't mean too much
since it could have been just a chance that they got a good sample. So I'm
wondering what others (general users) think of TwinMOS modules. Any
experiences specifically with the A7N8X?

Thanks,
Harry
 
Harry Muscle said:
SNIP
Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding like a Crucial salesman, they guarantee their PC3200
DDR for life at 200 fsb on the Asus A7N8X. You can buy it from their website
using this link for a discount:
http://www.crucial.com/promo/index.asp?prog=share
On the next page choose Asus as the system manufacturer and plug in the
model number of your board. $54 each for two 256-meg sticks of PC3200 with
free 2-day shipping, less a 5% discount = $102 and change.

Wes already gave you the specs on Buffalo Tech, also an excellent choice.

You can pay more if it makes you feel better, but be careful when comparing
specs and claims. If you don't plan to OC the fsb, there is no benefit in
buying anything above PC3200, IMHO.
 
Skid said:
At the risk of sounding like a Crucial salesman, they guarantee their
PC3200 DDR for life at 200 fsb on the Asus A7N8X. You can buy it from
Click to expand...
I like Crucial, but it is CL3. It is rock solid, but others might be
better. I would vote for saving your pennies for another month and getting
the Corsair TWINX512-3200C2PT $144 shipped from googlegear or newegg.
 
I like Crucial, but it is CL3. It is rock solid, but others might be
better. I would vote for saving your pennies for another month and getting
the Corsair TWINX512-3200C2PT $144 shipped from googlegear or newegg.
Click to expand...

Have it your way. But if you'd stop for a second to read the reviews I
linked, you'll find that most of them had no problem running the Crucial at
CAS2 or CAS2.5, needing CAS3 only when the fsb got above 220 or so. In case
you didn't know, the JDEC standard for PC3200 class C is 3.4.4.8, and
Crucial adheres to the standard for maximum stability across a variety of
systems. As I've said before, you can tweak it a lot, depending on your
mobo.

I also pointed out that Corsair's PC4000 runs at those same timings of
3.4.4.8, but somehow you seem to think it's a better brand because it costs
twice as much. OK, fine.

Here's just one review comparing these two with OCZ, TwinMos and Kingston
Hyper-X.
http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1828
The Crucial ran fine at 2.5,3,2,5 and all of the benchmarks were so close
you'd never be able to tell the difference in real life.

Your money, your choice. But you can save bucks by doing a little homework
and not paying for more performance than you need or will actually get.
 
The thing is, the A7N8X deluxe is VERY picky about memory. There are quite a
few postings on these boards where a person was having a large amount of
problems and it turned out to be the memory. I spent the extra $$$ on
Corsair TwinX CAS2 because it's tested and matched using the A7N8X Deluxe
board! I mean how much more do you want for off the shelf compatibility. I
say cut back on something else, but spend the money to get the TwinX memory!
 
Harry said:
I was wondering though if anyone has any experiences with TwinMOS
memory.
Click to expand...

I think the ones to get are TwinMos with Winbond BH5 - they're the best as
far as I know.

Ben
 
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