Value RAM vs. "OCing RAM"

K

KoolDrew

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 17, 2004
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This will be for a rig that will be overclocked. I have heard a lot of people say just get Value RAM and use a divider, but what exactly is a divider? Also from what I have seen the Corsair Value Select reaches around 210MHz (on average). Would this affect my CPU's overclock at all? I don;t exactly understand the divider business.

I could buy RAM that does ~250 @ 2-2-2-5 for a little over $100, but I don't really feel comfortable using that much voltage for my memory. Especially with all the problems I have heard with the DFI board and UTT RAM.

The reason I am asking this is I want to save as much money as possible when builing my rig.

Also does the 10x multiplier really help with the 3200+? If not I may just get a 3000+ if it doesn't affect my max overclock.

I am trying to buy the cheapest componenets without losing performance or limit my max overclock.

Also when I say Value RAM I mean stuff like Corsair Value Select not Value VX. From my understanding there would be little real world performance gain from going with more expensive RAM and I could just use a divider with cheaper RAM and it wouldn't effect my max CPU overclock at all.

I am not looking to get high scores in benchmarks ro anything. I am just looking to build a good gaming rig for a cheap price since I am on a budget that I can overclock.

So again I am trying to just buy the cheapest components possible without losing overclockability or real world performance. There will be basically no difference between expensive low latency RAM and cheap Corsair CAS 2.5 RAM in gaming, but I have never overclocked before so I don't know if it will effect my overclock.

Also this will be my very first rig I have ever built and that is with I am a little worried about using so much voltage with my RAM. UTT RAM does look great considering the price and doing ~265 @ 2-2-2-5.

Could you guys help me out?

Also it seems there may be some problems with the Corsair Value RAM with the DFI?
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1569910&STARTPAGE=1

Can anybody else confirm this?
 
I was thinking about the Crucial RAM, but are you positive it works well with the DFI board? After seeing that thread at anandtech I just want to make sure.

Also I know this isn't a memory question, but would it be worth thwe extra $50 for the 3200+ over the 3000+. I am on a tight budget and from whatt I have seen the they both oc to about the same. Also when using a divider I wouldn't think the 10x multiplier would help much. What do you think?
 
I edited my above post. Can you answer my quedstion about the 3200+ and 3000+?
 
i'd personally go for the 3200+ over the 3000+.. there are a lot of times when the 10x multi can be very handy
 
How about my unlocked Barton 3000+? I can run at any multi I please. :D Of course that's socket A and isn't that great...
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
i have some myself
edit2: DO NOT! confuse corsair (evil) and crucial (awesome) or i will smite you :p
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why do you always say this? I'm curious to your reasons/reasoning.
 
because, corsair often rates things differently for amd than intel, then proceeds to advertise the (tighter) intel ratings, and leaves many of us unhappy when the ram can't do advertised settings.. until you go into the fine print.

also, you wouldn't believe how often someone posts here with trouble because of their corsair value select (and XMS quite often too :(). the VS may be cheap.. but that's about all it has going for it.
 
If you get sticks that overclock better and do 2-2-2-5... specificly 4x512 sticks in a row... how hot will it get with all of those loaded up? Is active cooling needed then, or can you get away with just leaving them.
 
Heh, chances are you will need active cooling. Unless they're like TCCD or something and they run at 2.6v. Then I suppose it would be fine. But for voltage-happy ram I would recommend some active cooling.
 
I was lookin at the TwinMOS which is voltage hungry :/

Rest of setup is going to be watercooled, so that pulls some heat out of the equation
 
how much voltage is too much on passive cooling, but with heatspreader? 2.9 is safe? or wut? since my board maxes out @ 2.9 anyways, I dont care to go any higher since my cpu can only pull a few more mhz.
 
aZn_plyR said:
but with heatspreader?
Click to expand...

It has recently come to my attention that heatspreaders jsut make things hotter **stares at aftermarket heatspreaders on his Kingston Value Ram**
 
aZn_plyR said:
how much voltage is too much on passive cooling, but with heatspreader? 2.9 is safe? or wut? since my board maxes out @ 2.9 anyways, I dont care to go any higher since my cpu can only pull a few more mhz.
Click to expand...

I think that you'd be fine up until around 3.2v, oh, and heatspreaders trap heat in between the chip and spreader, because the thermal tape is grossly inefficient.
 
I always use Corsair XMS. I personally feel that it does a great job, and is very stable.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
because, corsair often rates things differently for amd than intel, then proceeds to advertise the (tighter) intel ratings, and leaves many of us unhappy when the ram can't do advertised settings.. until you go into the fine print.
Click to expand...
So wait, let me get this straight:
You don't read the full specs, try to run settings that the memory isn't rated for on a given platform, and then proceed to bash the brand every chance you get?
Sounds like you are a bitter individual

Corsair ValueRAM is great for it's intended audience: People who don't OC their FSB at all and are looking for a good deal
 
Well, in his defense, Corsair just about only publically advertises the Intel timings, and in most cases it's a pia to get the AMD ones.
 
Project_2501 said:
I think that you'd be fine up until around 3.2v, oh, and heatspreaders trap heat in between the chip and spreader, because the thermal tape is grossly inefficient.
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OO 3.2.... my mobo can't even do 3.0 without a 3.3rail mod..but anyways I dont plan on going that high anyways...so I guess I can keep it @ 2.8 or max it out @ 2.9 and be fine :) thnx guys
 
Well, of course your computer may not have good airflow, or your ram runs quite hot. But at any rate, I think that 2.9v won't do anything.
 
Vertigo Acid said:
proceed to bash the brand every chance you get?
Sounds like you are a bitter individual
Click to expand...
do i bash, or do i advise that people get a different brand? i'm probably treading a fine line, but i do hope that i'm not bashing without good reason.
 
Project_2501 said:
Well, in his defense, Corsair just about only publically advertises the Intel timings, and in most cases it's a pia to get the AMD ones.
Click to expand...
Retailers advertise how they like; that's not Corsair's fault.
http://corsair.com/corsair/xms.html
They clearly show that there are different latencies for different platforms, and that was page was one click from their homepage

edit:
confuse corsair (evil) and crucial (awesome) or i will smite you :p
Click to expand...
even with the :p afterwards indicating that you aren't fully serious, there is no reason to put down a brand like that. I don't prefer OCZ RAM, but you don't see me calling them evil, do you?
 
Vertigo Acid said:
Retailers advertise how they like; that's not Corsair's fault.
http://corsair.com/corsair/xms.html
They clearly show that there are different latencies for different platforms, and that was page was one click from their homepage
Click to expand...

I love how "TWINXP1024-3200C2" runs at a cas of 2.5 on AMD systems, where latency actually matters.

It's silly that Corsair still does this. OCZ used to do it, but they stopped because its just stupid marketing. Goes to show you how much effort they (Corsair) goes to make high performing ram for the majority of enthusiasts (A64 users.)

Corsair isnt a bad company. Sure they are really flashy, and their DDR1 products are relatively garbage, but their DDR2 is great, expecially the 5400UL.
 
Oh, that reminds me: I absolutely hate those XMS Xpert things, w/ the programmable LED's. Those are so annoying...
 
Project_2501 said:
Oh, that reminds me: I absolutely hate those XMS Xpert things, w/ the programmable LED's. Those are so annoying...
Click to expand...


PNY has LED's now. 512mb sticks rated at DDR500 with 2.5-4-4 timings. Such garbage. You can get them at CompUSA for about $160 too. Not for a dual pack, but for a singl 512mb stick.
 
LOL, what a waste of money. I just spent that on a dual pack of Mushkin Redline DDR433 2-2-2-5 guaranteed to 3.4v or soemthing like that.
 
I don't think memory speed/timings make a great deal of performance difference, compared to your video card performance and your CPU performance. I could be wrong, however. Game benchmarks that prove me wrong would be great. :confused:
 
yah and I ahve experienced it :)


more ram= better with slower speeds/timings hehe than les ram, as I ahve experience with BF2

1.5gig pc1600 @ 3-3-3-8 timings= smooth/great BF2 experience with a 1 frame loss in CS:S VST (probably margin of error)

1 gig pc3200 @ 440mhz 2-3-3-6= gay BF2 experience
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
they don't as i've stated like 32684652^23 times now :D :p
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2-2-2 and 3-4-4 have barely difference in performace you say?

I would REALLY like to have proof because 3-4-4 is the only speed my OCZ will work @ right now, and people are telling me that that is horrible.
 
The difference between 2-2-2-5 and 3-3-3-8 in HL2 at high resolutions is about 5fps, at the most. I saw something at Anand a while back that tested this.
 
Project_2501 said:
The difference between 2-2-2-5 and 3-3-3-8 in HL2 at high resolutions is about 5fps, at the most. I saw something at Anand a while back that tested this.
Click to expand...


5??? lol not really..that's WAY too much for some stupid timings :) @ high res. on my system 6800 ultra... 1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF max settings in CS:S VST which is pretty much ram/cpu dependent than the videocard... I lost a whopping 1fps going from 220mhz 2-3-3-5 1gb ram to 100mhz 3-3-3-8 pc1600? 1.5gb ram YES 1fps....and it coul've been a margin of error too...... but anyways.....don't worry about ur timings, people make such a big deal on WELL amd needs low latancies! or it will not perform as good with high latencies!! anyways more ram> latecies :)
 
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