1440 mhz CAS7 vs 1800 mhz CAS9

J

jjz-

Limp Gawd
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Nov 18, 2008
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I have 6 gb of DDR3 1600 mhz CAS8 memory. I run it, right now, at the 2:8 ratio with a 180 blck. This gives me 1440 mhz. I am able to use 7-7-7-19 timings.
I can also run it at a 2:10 ratio, giving me 1800 mhz. I am able to use 9-8-8-24 timings.

Any idea which one would be better? Or is it completely dependent on the application (lots of memory accesses vs. big block transfers)?
 
With the i7 you no longer have to worry about ratios - the memory controller is on the die so there's nothing really to keep 'in sync.'

Also, latency is less of an issue than with other chipsets, on the X58 platform.

Loose timings with a higher frequency will probably boost your scores a bit in benchmarks, but as Kantastic said - the real world difference will be slim if anything.
 
Well, I am not worried about my ratios. It is just that I was listing the two ratios I can use. I can either use 2:8 or 2:10 (obviously there are others available, but I have no reason to use them). It is what my bios gives me.

So you believe loose timings at a higher frequency would result in slightly higher performance? Even if it is not noticeable, I'd rather have it than not.
 
I understand what ya meant. I was just saying you can drop the "2:" part and just use 8x, 10x, etc.

But yes, the scales tend to tip in favor of frequency rather than timings with DDR3. And as always, stability rules over all.
 
I would run the tighter timings, serving the purpose for more real world snappier performance. Golden rule, clock the cpu as high as you can and then from there tighten the memory timings as low as you can.
 
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I would run the tighter timings, serving the purpose for more real world snappier performance. That's usually the rule, clock the cpu as high as you can and then from there tighten the memory timings as low as you can.
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I agree that used to be the norm, but DDR3 changed the game. Especially with the i7's integrated memory controller.

There are a lot of facts & figures on frequency vs. latency, but here's one that's relatively new. They cover a range of benchmarks and tests on the i7, all using various settings with the same sticks of RAM.

The margins may be slim, but in almost every case frequency wins.
 
Ah that's right my brain keeps going back to oldschool memory bus terms LOL. I like that Winrar benchmark 13% gains that's significant if you do a lot of raring. You should run some tests between the two setups just for kicks compressing 1GB worth of text files.

Damn. I going to have to try this on my database apps and see if this makes a difference. Nice :D
 
Yeah, if you're looking to squeeze every bit of performance you can it certainly helps.

Going from the x86 version of WinRAR to the latest x64 version will also help, if you're on a 64-bit system. I've been using the latest beta (3.9 b3) and it's great so far.
 
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