Ram information please

[hyenolie]

guys can someone explain this to me,

400MHz DDR ECC CL3,

400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL3,

400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL2.5

(3-3-3),


whats the difference, what does cl3 and cl2.5 mean, and what are those dases and numbesr, i see them often but dont know crap about ram,

YES, im asking you to explain Random acces mem to me.

 

[Asus]

400mhz is the effective speed.
It is really 200mhz but because it is DDR you double it.
ECC is error checking and correction.
The rest is all timings.
How long it takes for your RAM to perform or reset.
Lower is better.

Tommy article on "How to speed up your RAM"
Talks about timings etc.

 

[SidewinderX]

the CL3 is the timings of the RAM. Unless you are overclocking it really doesn't matter that much.

 

[Asus]

Timings help a lot and to me CL2.5 is average to slow since I'm used to running cl2. I think i'm running 2-2-2-5, id have to check.

 

[crabcakes66]

ECC is for servers....if your not running an important server you dont want it.

 

[theGreenBunny]

So we can basically conclude (for your situation):

400MHz DDR ECC CL3, <-- You don't want this

400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL3, <-- This is (slightly) slower than the next one

400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL2.5 <-- This one is the fastest.

 

[SidewinderX]

however, ram timings, unless you're overcloking hardcore, the RAM timing do not affect your performance.

 

[Asus]

They affect performance...
Run 3dmark 2001 with normal or high timings and then lower them as low as you can go.
You get a few hundred points difference just for timing changes.
If you change 1 timing setting it alone can change your score a 100 or more points. I've done this type of benchmarking on my older system (when I had DDR PC2100).
Reason I say 3dmark2001 is because it is best at testing your overall system and sure a few hundred isnt that much (between memory,gfx card or cpu models) but for a small setting that is a good performance gain at no extra cost.