Some thoughts about memory clock speed (800, 1066, 1333, 1600, ..) and latency timing (CL7, CL9..).
About a year ago, in 2008, many people were saying that DDR2 was giving a bettera "bang for buck": http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-speed-tests,1807.html On the last ("Conclusion") page, they said: "Our conclusion is very simple: you get the best bang for the buck if you stick to the mainstream of the memory market, which currently is still DDR2-800 or 1066, preferably at low latencies. DDR3-1066 and -1333 memory do not yet result in better performance, and so should only be considered by hardcore enthusiasts, who aim for maximum overclocking performance knowing that they will get little benefit for spending a fortune." But this was prior to I7. I read that the recent trend has changed, and many recommend going with DDR3 for a performance system. (And DDR3 prices came down, at least until this July's price surge.) In this recent review they compare memory latencies to memory clock speed: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-memory-scaling,2342-10.html they conclude: "It is interesting to see that low latencies typically are more important than clock speed bumps. This is not always the case on the AMD Phenom II X4 or Intel's Core i7 platform. Both come with memory controllers integrated into the CPU core, while the CPU controller is part of the (X48) chipset in the case of the Core 2 Quad on Socket 775. Apparently, latency seems to be much more of an issue on non-integrated memory controllers." And they recommend: "Enthusiasts should go for DDR3-1600 and low latencies, while others will get the best bang for the buck at DDR3-1333 speeds and low latencies. CL7 timings can be considered ideal, but refrain from paying a significant premium over CL8 or CL9 memory." See also charts comparing faster processor vs. faster memory performance: http://www.tomshardware.com/gallery/RAM-Core2-scaling,0201--6464----jpg-.html However, personally I still won't go for the fastests CPUs. HTH, Igor -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
