RAM Questions

[NotQuiteAPCGuru]

It's been a long time since I've even considered buying RAM. I currently have 1.5GB in PC2100 DDR and I've significantly upgraded my system board, processor and video card. I'm wondering if my performance would see much of an improvement if I used the newer, faster RAM.

On with the questions:
Would I see much of a performance increase going from 2100 to 3200 or even 4400? (This board currently supports 2GB max in 3 slots. Up to the 4400 speed.)

I only plan on buying two MMs, probably Corsair. Would you recommend buying the 3200 or the 4400?

What are latency times and what does the manufacturer mean when they say the following:

TWINX1024-3200C2PRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-3-6
TWINX1024-4400C25 / DDR-550 (XMS-4400) / 2.5-4-4-8

or...what I mean to say is; what do the numbers 2-3-3-6 and 2.5-4-4-8 mean? How does latency work on DDR memory?

I am considering Corsair or Crucial memory. Would you recommend another brand?

Thanks for any information you have for me. I've done some searches on Google, Tom's Hardware Guide and Techreport.com. Haven't found exactly what I'm looking for yet.

J.

 

[Leonidas]

latency while touted by most as a major performance factor is truly in the air as far as im concerned, read this post...

http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32689

if that is all correct then go for the cheaper...

 

[Nubius]

The numbers 2-3-3-6 mean in this order:

Cas# Latency: 2
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 3
RAS# Precharge: 3
Cycle Time (Tras): 6

The difference in numbers is in nanoseconds so when it comes to the timings of the RAM there's only tiny tiny differences that aren't even noticeable by a human. Going from PC2100 to PC3200 or even 4400 yeah you'll notice a huge difference in speed. Especially if you can run it in Dual Channel it'll give it a little bit more of an edge unless you just want to fill the slots up with it's max amount of Memory.

When it comes to PC3200 vs PC4400 and the latency differences it's kind of a judgement. If your processor isn't running with a 1:1 ratio with the RAM then the 4400 will be kind of useless in that you'll have a bottleneck in your system from the processor and will almost defeat the purpose of having much faster RAM when the PC3200 ran at a 1:1 with the CPU with obtain optimum results for speed. Since PC4400 is DDR550 then to get a 1:1 ratio you'd need to put your CPU's FSB or Frequency at 275 and if your CPU and motherboard allows it, lower the multiplier to obtain the same CPU speed, but using a different combination of numbers to optimize speed for the RAM.

 

[NotQuiteAPCGuru]

I was planning on getting only a 1 gig. I figure that will meet most of my current needs pretty well. Thanks for all the information so far...

Prob going around $300 or so for the pair.

 

[Nubius]

Prob going around $300 or so for the pair.

Whew! You don't even need to spend that much really. Here's a couple links to really good RAM, high performance, tight timings and both at $230-$240

OCZ Brand - Enhanced Latency:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-896&depa=1


Corsair XMS:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80097-17

Ahh prices changed cause that Corsair XMS is only $205 now, plus zipzoomfly has free 2nd day