PC3200 DDR Question

[Cannibal Corpse]

Hi All,

Can I use PC3200 (or faster 3700) on my system? Here is my system specs:

CPU: Pentium®4 2.4'b'
MoBo: Abit IT7-MAX2 (rev 1.0, using i845 chipset)
RAM: Mushkin DDR 2700 [1GB Total]
Graphics: ATi RADEON™ 9800XT [256MB]
OS: Microsoft® Windows XP® Professional OS


If so, how much 'real world' benefit would I gain (gaming, etc.), and is it even worht it?

I am playing FAR CRY and playing on 1024x768x32 (everything MAX, no AA though) it plays realy good (40~45 FPS)

 

[djnes]

Memory runs at the speed you set it. So if you pop PC3200 in and leave it at 1:1, you won't see a difference at all.

 

[BillLeeLee]

Exactly. PC3200 is rated for 200 Mhz x 2, but with the Northwood B and a synchronous DRAM:CPU divider, it'll still operate only at 133 Mhz x 2 (PC2100 speeds).

If you overclock though, faster RAM allows you more headroom to overclock while still staying at a 1:1 ratio. I think you're not even using that PC2700 at its full speed either anyways (PC2700 is 166 Mhz x 2, and unless you used a divider or OCed, it's also running at 133 Mhz x 2).