kec789 Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 Hey dudes... I recently ordered some TwinX1024 3200c2pt for an upcoming A64 build. One of the sticks was defective however and now I'm being issued a refund. In the time while waiting for the credit to take place I've been doing some more reading. I now know that low latency ram for these A64's is a must. I made sure not to skimp on what I ordered, but now have some questions about going with some lower latency sticks.I don't have plans on over clocking it a bunch....just a little tweakin will take place. Will that TwinX above suit my needs? Or should I opt for the Pro Twinx XL 1024 PC3200? Obviously there is a significant price jump to the Pro TwinX. So will going from 6-3-3-2 to 5-2-2-2 be worth the dough since I don't plan on tweaking the crap out of it? I like things to be quick but also very stable. IMO this new set up at stock will be plenty fast for me, but your opinions are valued. Here's what's going in... A64 3200 939 winchesterMSI K8N Neo2 PlatinumBFG 6800 GT OCAudigy2 ZS w/ Logitech Z-640 5.1Antec Neo480 psuetc, etc.... (the important stuff is listed...) I don't have any experience with these A64's and want to do things proper the first time through. My budget allows me to put the above together if I stick with the TwinX1024 3200c2pt. Otherwise I would need to hold off a little to go with the Pro XL. Opinions???? Thanking you in advance.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCool Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 i've done pretty extensive testing in reguards to the s754 platform.. in my tests, your better off with memory that can scale to higher frequencies then run at ultra low latencies.. example: a)512MB stick that can do 2-2-2-5 @ 215MHzvsb)512MB stick that can do 2.5-3-3-7 @ 235MHz b will outperform every time, and it also allows you to run at lower cpu:ram ratio (1:9 instead of 1:11) the corsair pc4400 samsung tccd modules are a great value, as they are rated stock for 275MHz operation @ 2.5/4/4/8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kec789 Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 Thanks Cool..... Anyone else have an opinion here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceware Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Because the A64 CPUs have the memory controller built into the CPU, memory timings do NOT produce significant changes in system performance. Overclocking the CPU/Memory can deliver small system performance increases. If that is your goal I can recommend the PC4400C25. This A64 overclocking article may be of interest: http://www.insanetek.com/index.php?page=overclocka64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kec789 Posted January 29, 2005 Author Share Posted January 29, 2005 Wow....from what I've read at Extremeoc.com the memory timings make a pretty big difference when over clocking these A64's....i.e...sure you really loosened up the timings to hit 2.5 (or whatever) but now that your timings have so much of a delay you gained nothing over having it 2.3 with tight timings...Aparently on Intel rigs the timing doesn't make much difference but on the A64's it's something to pay attention to. (I'm seriously paraphrasing here...) Thanks for the link raceware...I'll go have a look. Either way I decided to go with TwinX1024 3200XL (5-2-2-2). Might as well do it right the first time through than later on wishing I had gotten some lower latency modules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceware Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 The only memory timing that is significant on an A64 system is 1T vs. 2T You wanna run 1T unless you can O/C at least 40 MHz above the 1T settings, when running 2T. When you look at benchmarks make sure you are comparing the percentage change not the integer change. A 30 point integer change on a 6,000 integer benchmark = .005 %, which is usually within the error of the benchmark itself. There is a lot of mis-information online. Don't take everything you read as gospel... Compare the percentage change in system performance to determine any real or imaginary gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kec789 Posted January 30, 2005 Author Share Posted January 30, 2005 Race....nice article man, thanks for the linkage. Tweaking these A64's is such a different nut to crack, isn't it? I've read article after article yet still get myself a tad confused if I think about things too hard...lol. Luckily for me I don't have plans or the time to OC things as much as possible. I'll stick with the TwinX1024 3200XL's, tweak my 3200 to 3500 specs and call it good probably...The overall performance gain I'm going to get over my tired, but faithful, XP2500+ will be quite noticeable even at stock and finally give this new 6800GT OC of mine room to breathe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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