Which Memory is Better?

yamadatroy · TweakNOOB Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

I am contemplating using one of the following 2gb sets in a new PC I am setting up. Please let me know what you guys think or if you have other recommendations.

1. Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2 2GB Kit DDR400 XMS3200 Memory
2. Corsair TWINX2048-4000PT 2GB Kit DDR500 XMS4000 Memory

Proposed components of new system
Mobo: ASUS nForce4 SLI X16 (939) A8N32-SLI Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 4400+
Video: eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB
Case: Lian Li PC-6077B Aluminum
PS: Enermax EG701AX-VE-SFMA Noisetaker 600W

Thanks in advance.

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HoseB · SirTweaksabit Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 260

mojo1340 · UberTweaker Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1022

First of all, welcome to TweakNews!

That's a nice board you've got there!
If latency is not an issue, and you want to overclock, I'd go with the DDR500 kit for a little more headroom.

You may want to look at some Corsair XMS-3500LL PRO. A bit more expensive, but lower latency and Asus claims to have optomized the board for this memory. (whatever that means.)

Good luck!

yamadatroy · TweakNOOB Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks for the good advice. Do you think the extra $80 for the XMS-3500LL PRO is worth it? The other two that I listed are going for around $220 right now, while the XMS-3500LL PRO is currently listed around $305. Thanks.

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Corsair says "Asus Certified", because they test it in an Asus AN8-SLi Premium mobo, then immediately package the set, if it runs solid at 218mhz at 2-3-2-6 T1 timings. Like Mojo said, the tighter timings will give you a bit more room for overclocking.......you can loosen them up to 3-3-3-6 or whatever for better stability, without really sacrificing any speed. Otherwise, you're paying a bit more for the LED-lit heatspreaders.

I agree with Mojo, if you're not overly concerned about latency, then the DDR500 would be my choice. If you're really wanting to OC, then the 3500LL stuff would be a better choice.
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Xal · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:45 am Post subject:

I agree, it all depends on how you want to use the machine

I love corsair ram. I have a 1gb kit of XMS 3200XLpro and it looks and works awesome. The LED lit heatspreaders look great in a windowed case. I would go for the 3500LL, but thats just because I live to OC

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4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 667 @ 800
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JayDubya · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:49 pm Post subject:

It depends on if you want to overclock or not. If you plan on overclocking, I'd get the 4000. If you plan on running stock speeds, I would suggest saving some $$ and going with the 3200
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EaZy · Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:55 am Post subject:

I have a gig of OCZ 533 platinum. Before that I had a gig of 333 and I never noticed a difference in performanceat all .Of course i never benched it.....Curses....lol
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

well were you overclocking Eazy?

If not, then your ram ran at the same speed as it normally would......getting faster ram only allows you to keep your ram and cpu at a 1:1 ratio while you push up your FSB......

...if your settings were stock....you would see little to no change
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EaZy · Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:27 am Post subject:

Yes, I think I was using stock settings on both ddr and ddr 2 modules.
I think it was cas latency of 3,2,2 and 2,2,2 on the ddr2 if i remember correctly.
The bus on the old board ws 333 fsb and the new board is 800 i think but I cant recall the specs off hand.
But overall price v.s performance - I didnt really notice a lot of difference..should have bought a redundant pwr supply lol.

Cheers.
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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:15 am Post subject:

EaZy · Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:14 am Post subject:

Yeah maybe, I am finding it had to keep up these days lol.
I cant wait to see the drop in prices soon so we can all afford faster rigs for half the price.
Of course as the saying goes. "hardware giveth, and Gates taketh away."

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_4200_gold_gx_xtc_dual_channel
http://www.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=3872&CATEGORY_TYPE=LP&SITE=US

-Cheers-
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EaZy · Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:28 am Post subject:

My bad it wasnt ddr2 it was ddr 533 pc4200.
The ddr2 is on the gfx card.

-Cheers-
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