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Does RAM make a difference in overclocking.

S

SportyGuy220

Gawd
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
556
Ive built my own machine and i was just wondering when somone brought it up, but:
1) how exactly does ram affect overclocking a cpu
2) is the affect big or small?
3) why try to overclock pc3200 ram? just buy pc3500 and have it run stock. that seems to be better for life-keeping of the ram.
 
1) you overclock your FSB which is what your ram has to handle. The higher rated ram can do more then the lower rated ram,any live a longer life doing it.

2)could be big depending on the ratings of which your ram your talking about, pc3200 to pc3500...no... from pc2700 to pc3500.... yes.... pc3200 to pc4000... yes.. =200mhzFSB verse 250mhz FSB. just because your ram can do 250mhz FSB "pc4000" doesn't mean your cpu will, they need to be matched "well" to perform "well" for a overclocker

3)yes I agree with this statement, Pushing pc3200 to lets say pc3700 or pc4000 which isn't easier... will most likley cause you to open up the timings a bit, as where the higher rated ram might be able to do better timings at 1 to 1 ratio. I'm running ram that my cpu can't keep up with.... heats a factor since i'm on air, but my ram is running just under it's rated speed :( which isn't bad @ 600 to 700mhz overclock on air, but if I'd go bigger on the ram it'd be a waste, don't over buy your ram.
 
Im in the same boat about to buy ram. Crucial Ballistix. The PC3200 CL2 is $138.99 and the PC4000 CL=2.5 is $144.99. Is it better to get the pc4000 for 6$ more knowing im ganna overclock?

But if that was the case, why doesn't places like anand recommend the pc4000 over the pc3200? They said they were able to keep the 1:1 all the way up and past ddr500. Confusing >.< That #3 question still confuses me lol.
 
If you planning on overclcoking get the pc4000, If not going to overclock and plan to run stock speeds get the pc3200, it'll have tighter timings. The pc4000 might be 3-8-4-4... but will crank out into the upper 250's at 1 to 1. The pc3200 might be 2-5-2-2 but will only do whatever you can get out of it since it's only rated at 200mhz, I'd say maybe 220's at 1 to 1 with some looser timings. pc4000 is really good ram for the overclocker, it gives you some space over the pc3200 "50mhz" and really keeps things in grasp on what your processor can do. PC4000 "250mhz" can do into the mid 260's in dual channel and most likely the 270's in single channel. let me try and break it down,

lets say you hve a 3.2 ghz, it would like this

16 (multiplier) x 200mhz (pc3200) = 3.2ghz

and with pc4000

16 x 250mhz = 4.0ghz Which is closing in on or over what your processor can most likely do

now lets say your processor can only handle 3.808mhz, the ram would look like this

16 (multiplier) x 238mhz, pc3200 couldn't do 238mhz... but pc4000 can in it's sleep, it's rated at 250mhz. here you can see why the higher rated ram will give you better hopes of higher overclocks, if your processor can handle it. At these sort of overclocks you'll be looking at a vcore above 1.6volts to be rock solid. watch that heat :eek: you might need better cooling if you go above 1.65volts... overclocking is balance of high-end performance parts and good old fashion luck! it's a art! ;)
 
SportyGuy220 said:
Ive built my own machine and i was just wondering when somone brought it up, but:
1) how exactly does ram affect overclocking a cpu
2) is the affect big or small?
3) why try to overclock pc3200 ram? just buy pc3500 and have it run stock. that seems to be better for life-keeping of the ram.
Click to expand...

1. it depends on which style of system you are running... either amd or intel. with amd it is advised that you run your FSB in sync with your Memory bus. if you run it in async it performes very poorly. so basically your FSB is going to be held back by the max clockspeed that your ram can handle. (this does not include the newer a64 which can run async)

with an intel setup you can run async with minimal performance loss... afaik

2. the effect varies... depending on clock speeds and latencies..

3. there are many different types of ram... first off 3200 is the highest 'official' spec. anything above that is essintially overclocked pc3200. the main difference between the types of ram being sold is the latency they are capable of running at. 2-2-2 being the fastest and the most costly.
 
after reading my post i wanna make clear, the pc4000 will be set to 200mhz to produce the 3.2ghz, Now it's rated at 250mhz which gives you alot of room to play and have alot fun. you'll have to crank it up on your own, don't think pc4000 is going to make you go 4.0ghz, it just assures that if your processor can do it, it can to. :D
 
again, lol... I'm speaking from a intel stand point... I don't know jack about amd systems and wanna keep it that way.. but lets not go there in this thread :D
 
Relo@d said:
again, lol... I'm speaking from a intel stand point... I don't know jack about amd systems and wanna keep it that way.. but lets not go there in this thread :D
Click to expand...

well.. if you want to throttle your knowledge.. that is up to you.
 
I'm getting an fx-53 939 system and ganna throw it on water cooling. You think the 4000 would be the better buy than the 3200 then? I keep getting pointed to the Anandtech article about memory. Heres the link to the AMD part (you can read teh earlier pages from there) LINK However that review they used the PC3200 memory...

However here is a review from Sysopt.com ( LINK ) that reviews the pc4000. They said they ran at 2-2-2-5 at even up to pc3500 speeds.

So looks like both perform well?
 
one thing to keep in mind, if it's not rated for the speed, there is no saying it's going to do that speed,ocz is some awesome ram and even though theirs did those speeds, your build might not perform the same. it looks like you'll get close, but if pc3700 or 4000 isn't that much more, I'd stick with the pc3700 or pc4000. I slightly over bought in the ram department, but it's smokin fast and rock solid, and I credit some of that to not being at the rams rated speed. The rest of the credit goes to the ic7-max3
 
ok, that being the case then here is the new question

1) what is the difference between buying corsair valueram and buying corsair xms besides the timings?
2) are the tighter timings actually worth the extra 40-50$
3) how does the timings of the ram affect overclocking your cpu?
 
the last time I checked, corsair had some nice videos on their site about how ram works, and it helped me to understand the process.

1)its built better, has heat spreaders, will overclock better because of these things.

2)your just not payin for better times, your payin for all around better ram, need to watch the above mentioned videos.

3) the higher the fsb... the more you'll get away from tight timings. when overclocking you'll most likely need to relax the ram timings. if you notice, the higher rated ram doesn't have as tight has times as lets say the pc3200. but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try and tighten them down a bit
 
here is the basic question also

1) if i bought corair valueram pc3500 and i wanted to overclock my cpu i.e amd 2500 barton, and i bought the same exact speed ram corsair xms pc3500. would i achieve a higher overclock with the xms, and why?
 
SportyGuy220 said:
here is the basic question also

1) if i bought corair valueram pc3500 and i wanted to overclock my cpu i.e amd 2500 barton, and i bought the same exact speed ram corsair xms pc3500. would i achieve a higher overclock with the xms, and why?
Click to expand...

Here is a thred about those 2 (value vs. xms) that was over on the anandtech forums. There are some compare tests done between them as well. Clickey

I would say that unless you plan on doing a heavy OC, the value should do a light oc fine. If you plan to really crank-up the juice, Id go XMS.
 
dammit, i coulda saved myself 90$ on my ram and upgraded my vid card to a 9800 XT

1gb of my ram, 122x2=244$
1gb of corsair value select 77x2=154$
savings=90$
spent 170 on my 9800 pro
170+90=260=9800xt.
well, lessons to be learned about computers are never easy, somtimes costly, but in the end its worth it.
 
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