Will RAM hold me back?

aschmidt

aschmidt

New Member
Hello everyone, just wondering something. I just got a bunch of new parts in and was considering OC'ing my system this time around. I'm pretty new to it, and was wondering if my RAM is going to hold me back. My system is as follows:

- (Video card) ATI X1900XT
- (CPU) AMD x2 4200+
- (Case) Antec P180
- (Motherboard) DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 EXPERT
- (RAM) 2GB Kingston Value RAM (DDR 400)
- (PSU) Antec TruePowerII 550w PSU
- (Fan) Zalman VGA fan
- (Fan) Zalman CPU fan
 
Thank you, but from what I got...lower CAS latency is better. So why do some of the super expensive RAM pieces have CAS Latency of 4 clock rounds whereas mine is 2.5?
 
aschmidt said:
Thank you, but from what I got...lower CAS latency is better. So why do some of the super expensive RAM pieces have CAS Latency of 4 clock rounds whereas mine is 2.5?
Click to expand...

a lower CAS Latency is better. i have never seen a CAS Latency of four- the worst I've seen this three and that's really crappy RAM. most value RAM has a CAS Latency of about 2.5 and most higher end RAM has a CAS Latency of two.
 
aschmidt said:
This ram right here has CAS4...does it being DDR2 have anything to do with it?
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ah, yes. although i dont know much about DDR2 memory, it obviously does have to do with it because the CAS Latency on that RAM is too high to be that are brand DDR memory (eg. higher-end).
 
Okay cool. Well I'll be selling my old parts soon, so I'll have money for RAM. Which would you recommend for a healthy and stable OC? I'd like for it to be 2GB btw.
 
i don't think your RAM will hold you back with CAS Latency of 2.5...from what i have just learned about CAS Latency i think you are going to be fine ahahah
 
LITHIUM said:
i don't think your RAM will hold you back with CAS Latency of 2.5...from what i have just learned about CAS Latency i think you are going to be fine ahahah
Click to expand...

Haha, it's neat when threads like this teach you useful information, huh? Sniperchang, thanks for the link to that RAM..it looks sweet. I'll probably be buying those if I can sell my old parts.
 
nahh it won't hold you back..
get 2 sticks, and the motherboard supports ddr dividers, raising vdimm, and loosening memory timings.
as long as you know how to do these, you should be fine.
i mean my memory will run fine at:
ddr433 2-3-2-5
ddr480 2.5-3-2-5
ddr520 3-3-2-5
loosening timings allows a lot more overclocking.
 
fade2green514 said:
nahh it won't hold you back..
get 2 sticks, and the motherboard supports ddr dividers, raising vdimm, and loosening memory timings.
as long as you know how to do these, you should be fine.
i mean my memory will run fine at:
ddr433 2-3-2-5
ddr480 2.5-3-2-5
ddr520 3-3-2-5
loosening timings allows a lot more overclocking.
Click to expand...

Is there a guide around here for those things in particular? I've mostly been reading on OC'ing CPU's..
 
Originally Posted by fade2green514
nahh it won't hold you back..
get 2 sticks, and the motherboard supports ddr dividers, raising vdimm, and loosening memory timings.
as long as you know how to do these, you should be fine.
i mean my memory will run fine at:
ddr433 2-3-2-5
ddr480 2.5-3-2-5
ddr520 3-3-2-5
loosening timings allows a lot more overclocking.
Click to expand...
well i have a question here
these are my timings and i have Kingston DDR 400
they are currently working as DDR 333 due to Processor bus of 533
anyway is there something wrong with my timing ?, i know that DDR 400 should run at 200 MHZ
K2P2qf.JPG
 
the only things that might hold you back are your timings and your CAS Latency.
Click to expand...
eh, how will that hold him back?

Thank you, but from what I got...lower CAS latency is better. So why do some of the super expensive RAM pieces have CAS Latency of 4 clock rounds whereas mine is 2.5?
Click to expand...
the ones with cas 4 are probably ddr2, and to be honest CAS is not that huge an issue.
Read
http://computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=11096

ah, yes. although i dont know much about DDR2 memory,
Click to expand...
shocking :eek:

i don't think your RAM will hold you back with CAS Latency of 2.5...from what i have just learned about CAS Latency i think you are going to be fine ahahah
Click to expand...
why are people harping on a CAS latency it not the issue here at all

Is there a guide around here for those things in particular? I've mostly been reading on OC'ing CPU's..
Click to expand...
read the ram101 link i posted

anyway is there something wrong with my timing ?,
Click to expand...
no they look fine


@aschmidt: Forget all this about cas for a while, it is not your issue yet. Your problem is when you overclock your system you will increase the base core clock speed, since both the cpu and ram use this clock to determine there respective speed when you increase the core you increase the ram and cpu speeds. Now the question is... which one will cause problems first as you slowly increase.
You need to read oc101 as well
http://computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=16346
 
basically, i just tested each timing until my system would boot.. and then ran memtest.

each memory stick is different (lucky you, if you buy BH-5 or some TCCD) but basically all memory is different. memory won't hold you back very much. as long as your motherboard lets you loosen timings and set ddr dividers... DFI board will let you.
yea, lower timings are better... its measured in nanoseconds (depending on the timing)..
the specs you posted (200mhz @ 3-3-3-8) seem just fine.. those are just the settings that the memory is warranted under. even overclocked though, they can't tell that you overclocked it though.. (that is, unless you overvolt it and burn it haha, not likely...)
APJ is right though.. cas latency makes about a 50mbps (not too big) difference between 2 and 3.
however... timings do matter nonetheless, and if you set them too high you could lose 500mbps...
haha at least i tested it once and i did between 3-3-2-5 and 3-7-7-15...
but who would leave it like that right? lol
3-3-3-8 seems like it would let you overclock plenty though.
oh, and apj... timings will hold him back if theyre set too low. my memory let me overclock by around 50mhz (ddr100) by changing from 2 to 3 lol
 
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oh, and apj... timings will hold him back if theyre set too low. my memory let me overclock by around 50mhz (ddr100) by changing from 2 to 3 lol
Click to expand...
sure but by far the most important factor is the net clock and this stage
 
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