DDR2 800 vs 1066

B

BronxBartoni

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
410
Im finally deciding to build a quad system, I have everything planned out but the memory. Is it worth it to go with the 1066 DDR2 over the 800? Keep in mind I dont plan on overclocking anything until I absolutely need to, so would it be better for me to go with the 1066?
These are the 2 sets im going with, ya I know im a fanboy :p

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227198
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181

These will be paired with a A1 eVGA 680i board, so any comments are appreciated.
 
Umm, I think there was a thread not a week ago with this EXACT title.......maybe you should do a search first?
 
Heh, right there on the second page. Didnt really answer my question, but I found what I needed.
 
A lot of 4-4-4-12 @ 800MHz memory will also do 5-5-5-15 @ 1066MHz.

For example, my PC8500 Ballistix:

1065MHz @ 5-5-5-15:

memory.JPG



vs.

856MHz @ 4-4-4-12:

memory_856_4_4_4_12.JPG



But real-world performance? I think that I would benefit more from the lower latency than an extra few hundred MB/sec memory bandwidth.

I haven't had time to do any real-world tests on the different settings yet...
 
Memory bandwidth will always yield more real world performance than lower latencies.
 
SoCalDJ said:
Memory bandwidth will always yield more real world performance than lower latencies.
Click to expand...

Well... if you look at AMD systems, they have 50% more memory bandwidth than an equivalent C2D system (12GB/sec+), yet their superpi performance is 40%+ slower...

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but from those results, it is clear that memory bandwidth isn't everything.
 
calebb said:
Well... if you look at AMD systems, they have 50% more memory bandwidth than an equivalent C2D system (12GB/sec+), yet their superpi performance is 40%+ slower...

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but from those results, it is clear that memory bandwidth isn't everything.
Click to expand...

You're attempting to compare two different architectures, much like comparing an apple to an orange. It is true that 90% of the time more bandwidth equals better performance. I just went from running DDR2 800 @ 3-3-3-10 to DDR2 950 @ 4-4-4-12. and noticed an increase in bot time along with an increase of a few fps in some games.
 
Most benchmark's I've run on my system show that more bandwidth = more performance than tighter timings.

I'm not 100% sure about this on AMD systems, but I'm pretty sure it's close to the same. Have you tried running different benchmarks with tighter timings and higher bandwidth on the AMD system?

Trying to compare AMD to Intel cores is also going to make things harder conclude too, best to compare it to benches on the same system or like systems.
 
Ok, another stupid question. I dont plan on OC'ing until I need to, which would prolly be later in the year when and if crysis and tf2 are complete system hogs. Would I see any difference running the less expensive 680 SLI board instead of the full featured 68A1?
 
Couldn't tell ya about that, lol my experience has only been with the 965P chipset boards :D
 
i have 667 ddr2 memory what percentage do you gain by having 800 or 1066mhz memory?
 
SoCalDJ said:
Most benchmark's I've run on my system show that more bandwidth = more performance than tighter timings.

I'm not 100% sure about this on AMD systems, but I'm pretty sure it's close to the same. Have you tried running different benchmarks with tighter timings and higher bandwidth on the AMD system?

Trying to compare AMD to Intel cores is also going to make things harder conclude too, best to compare it to benches on the same system or like systems.
Click to expand...

Same here; w/ C2D's, it seems to run faster w/ bandwidth, not timings.
 
So I bought 2gigs of OCZ @ 800, timings are 4-4-4-15. Ram is the component I know the least about, how big is the difference between 12 and 15? I'll be overclocking the 6600 to 400fsb (3.6ghz) on stock ram but should I ever want to overclock further, how would I tweak the ram?
 
oneil said:
So I bought 2gigs of OCZ @ 800, timings are 4-4-4-15. Ram is the component I know the least about, how big is the difference between 12 and 15? I'll be overclocking the 6600 to 400fsb (3.6ghz) on stock ram but should I ever want to overclock further, how would I tweak the ram?
Click to expand...

I assume by 12 to 15 you're talking about the ram timing. To answer that question you would hardly EVER see a difference, even in something as critical as a synthetic benchmark like mbench or sisoft sandra.

Second question is if you'll need to tweak the memory @ a 400 fsb and an e6600? Well to answer, you shouldn't need to change anything with the ram you should be able to run it 1:1 with the cpu and keep it at 4-4-4-15 (or 4-4-4-12 if your ram can do it as you mentioned earlier). Now if you wanted to tweak your memory, you could see how far it overclocks by running a fsb:memory divider, say 4:5, and your memory would be running at DDR1000 (again if you memory could handle those speeds. I'd first check to see how well the memory overclocks before trying to overclock the CPU), or if you do decide to keep it at DDR800, you may be able to tighten up the timings on there some, again dependant on the mrmoy you've got there.

Good Luck! :D
 
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