DDR3 1600MHz vs 2000MHz - Overclock.net

The_0ctogon · 06-08-09

I'm buying my i7 parts this week and was set on getting this 1600MHz RAM kit, when I saw this 2000MHz kit for only $36 more ($16 more if you count the MiR). Notice that the 1600MHz kit has 8-8-8-21 timings while the 2000MHz one has 9-9-9-30. Is it worth the extra money to go with the 2000MHz? Or do the loosened timings kill any extra performance?

kaxel · 06-09-09

Speed is more important than timings. I would get the cheaper memory personally, but I am a broke ass fool. If you can afford it the faster might be worth it.

**Juggalo23451** · 06-09-09

timing is what matters to me you get minimal performance gains with 2000mhz vs 1600mhz

NewAtOCing · 06-09-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaxel

Speed is more important than timings. I would get the cheaper memory personally, but I am a broke ass fool. If you can afford it the faster might be worth it.

I believe that is entirely untrue, but I may be uninformed. I know DDR3 is only ~10% faster than DDR2 though. I would get slower memory with better latencys personally. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

I found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227381
Not sure how reliable it is, but it does have a bit better timings for a bit cheaper.

Unknownm · 06-09-09

Well I notice in DDR2, going from 800 to 1,000 I saw some improvement. Same timings though

**Juggalo23451** · 06-09-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewAtOCing

I believe that is entirely untrue, but I may be uninformed. I know DDR3 is only ~10% faster than DDR2 though. I would get slower memory with better latencys personally. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

I found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227381
Not sure how reliable it is, but it does have a bit better timings for a bit cheaper.

the ram you work great. I am using the 8-8-8-24 though. ram is easy to overclock to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknownm

Well I notice in DDR2, going from 800 to 1,000 I saw some improvement. Same timings though

not for the i7 and memory. I remember there was an article here how it showed little performance gain with memory higher then 1600mhz

kaxel · 06-09-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewAtOCing

I believe that is entirely untrue, but I may be uninformed. I know DDR3 is only ~10% faster than DDR2 though. I would get slower memory with better latencys personally. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

I found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227381
Not sure how reliable it is, but it does have a bit better timings for a bit cheaper.

If it was entirely untrue then ddr2 and ddr3 wouldn't exist. DDR2 is faster than ddr and it has looser timings, same with ddr3. DDR2 has much tighter timings than DDR3, if timings was more important than speed, why bother with DDR3?

Kamikaze127 · 06-09-09

For me, DDR2 1066 5-5-5-15 was faster than DDR2 800 4-4-4-12.

I think that the speed matters more than the timings, but no one wants crappy timings.

MintMouse · 06-09-09

Yeah, any review of the topic will show speed increase improves performance more than tightening timings.
The rule should be, find your max speed, then tighten your timings as much as possible.

The_0ctogon · 06-09-09

I went with the 2000MHz kit. Maybe after I get them I'll benchmark them at their rated frequency and timings, then drop them down to what the G.skill kit runs at and benchmark them at that to see if the loosened timings are worth it.
Thanks for your advice! +rep

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DDR3 1600MHz vs 2000MHz

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