Timing and memory

[The Amish Kid]

what is a good timing for memory and does cas latency really matter?

EDIT: Do you think I should buy one gig of good memory like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145576

or 2 gigs of cheap memory like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144322

If I got 2 gigs it would put me up to 3 gigs of memory which I think is a little overkill but it would be nice

 

[the deceived]

Are you wanting to overclock your RAM? If you are, then you want to head towards brands like Mushkin etc, but if you're not too bothered, then go for OCZ or Corsair.

Personally I think 3Gb is overkill, and 2Gb will be fine for at least another 3-4 years (assuming there is no huge leap in gaming etc). Also remember that Windows only really likes 2Gb, and tends to screw up with anything over 2Gb.

You'd also be better off going for something like Dual Channel rather than two stand alone sticks of RAM (they perform much better in Dual Channel mode).

I've got CAS latency timings of 2-2-2-5 on my OCZ 2Gb (2 x 1Gb) Dual Channel Platinum Series DDR400 which is OK I think?? I'm not too good on timings, but I think the lower the numbers the better

If you can, avoid value RAM, it's not worth the money. I'd advise you to get either OCZ, Corsair or Geil if your not overclocking, but get Mushkin or G Skill if you are deciding to.

Hope any of this helps!

EDIT: I've seen my friend overclock his RAM, and it didn't really speed up his system, and all I could see it do was up his benchmark scores which aren't important at all. But it's up to you.

 

[The Amish Kid]

well what I could do is buy 3 more sticks of 512 to make 2 gigs. All 4 sticks would be the same so I think thats what I might do. I heard that 4 x 512 is actually faster then 2 x 1 gig anyways

So if I did that I would have 4 sticks of this memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145416

 

[Gamingfreak]

before u decide what ram to get u should know that the best latency for ram is 2-2-2-5 so try to find some ran with that latency

 

[alvino]

2-2-2-5 is good. I think GEIL had came out with RAM that had a CAS Latency of 1.5-2-2-5 (and yes, that 0.5 will help because that's fast).

 

[the deceived]

Wow, 1.5-2-2-5?? That's awesome!

The only thing that I would advise you about the 4 x 512Mb of RAM is that your taking up all the available slots on your motherboard, and well there is no room for expansion. Also you have to make sure you get two sets of the same kind, and make sure both of them are dual channel kits. It's a bit more of a headache, but it's up to you.

2 x 1Gb would be better for expansion, and the difference between 4 x 512 and 2 x 1 is not that much. You'd only see it on the benchmarks tests.