Memory Settings, please explain

[Hog Wild Overclockin]

Okay everyone, being a newbie I need some help on clarifying some overclocking issues with memory. First off, the following is my sytem:

Gigabyte 8PE667 Ultra with 533 FSB
P4 2.4B  2.767
2x256 MB generic (or so I think) PC2100
Nvidia TI4400
Modded case with temp gauge and neon all over and in
Leadtek WinfastXP2000 video Capture Card

Okay, on to the question. I have my memory timings at 2,6,2,2. I was led to believe that these are very aggressive settings, and that the lower the number the better. However, after playing around with the timings, the scores I was getting in Sandra were actually getting LOWER as I lowered my mem settings. I thought this might be an anomaly. However, I just read a review on Overclcockers Café on the corsair PC3500 and these are the results they got:

2.5-6-3-3 max FSB of 432

2-5-3-3 max FSB of 430

2-5-2-2 max FSB 0f 408

So how is it that the lower the timings are supposed to give the best teat results, yet in this review, as the timings were lowered the max FSB actually was DECREASED?

So I don’t understand this. Please have mercy on this newbie. We were all a newbie at one point or another.

[Google]

[[TN] Burt]

Without getting too technical, the timings for memory you are using are aggressive. Memory timing, however, is is set independently of the FSB. Aggressive memory settings make the memory work harder and faster. When you crank up the FSB you are putting further demand on your memory. If you back off your memory timings you may be able to eke out a few more mhz on the FSB. In most cases a faster FSB will yield more improvement than the memory timings. Also, other components, like your vid card / network card may cause instability at a higher FSB. My recommendation is to use the default mem timings, crank up the FSB then tube up your mem settings to the most aggressive settings the system can run at. Remember, o'cing your system can and will void your warranties, so do so with caution.