is ddr2 6400 worth the upgrade?

grumpyboy · Rated PG Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: London

Hello everyone thanks for taking the time to read my post.

My System has a Intel e6600 using 2 1gb ddr2 5400 running at 5 5 5 15 command rate 2

Im thinking of buying 2 1 gb 4-4-4-12 PC6400

Now I know this will seem a stupid question since the latter memory is better in everyway.

But would the upgrade really make that much difference in real world terms?

I use my machine a lot for games, and im using a 8800 gtx, would the increase in memory throughput increase my fps in games?

I don't fancy spending a hundred 150 bucks for no reason other than to be flashy.

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:23:29 Post Subject:

Hi... welcome!

I am not sure I would bother with such an upgrade without looking at some things...

Such an upgrade may throw you a few extra frames per second, but how are games running right now? Any problems?

What brand memory is in there? Anything good? Maybe a bit of overclocking would get you similar results.

acruxksa · Posted: Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:02:56 Post Subject:

I don't think it would be worth it unless you were planning to overclock. Also, since you didn't list your motherboard, this might not matter, but fyi some large vendor (cough....Dell) built pc's wouldn't take advantage of it anyway.

grumpyboy · Rated PG Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: London

thanks for the reply.

Well I can run bf 2142 at 1600 x 1200 at all max settings and get between 50 and 70 fps.
But I heard the 8800 can out perform many machines which means the CPU memory can lag behind causing FPS loss.

The reason I'm considering it is think? ive found a good deal.

Patriot 2GB Kit PC6400 800MHz & Free readyboost ready 2GB USB flash drive
800MHz and 4-4-4-12 timing.

Lifetime Warranty

72 pounds 140 (dollars) delivered

acruxksa · Posted: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 02:19:42 Post Subject:

What are your system specs?

Just because you buy faster memory doesn't always mean your system will use it at the faster speed. Your system may be able to move to a command rate of 1T and use faster timings, but without knowing anything about your system no one can really say.

It's like me asking you if I put different injectors in my truck will it go faster? Without knowing anything about my truck you could guess, but you really would never be able to give me a reasonable answer until I told you what make, model, year and engine it was.

Until then, My short answer would be it's not worth it. Grin

by the way, 50-70 fps in bf2142 @ 1600x1200 with max settings is right in the ball park for the 8800gtx. Tom's Hardware VGA comparison Chart shows 68fps average. Not sure what their reference system is though.

grumpyboy · Rated PG Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: London

Ok good point Grin

Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 6.0.6000 (Vista Retail)
Date 2007-06-04
Time 15:29

--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x86-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
OS Service Pack -
Internet Explorer 7.0.6000.16448
DirectX DirectX 10.0
Computer Name FR
User Name rich
Logon Domain fr
Date / Time 2007-06-04 / 15:29

Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2400 MHz (9 x 267)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 (2 PCI, 3 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Broadwater P965
System Memory 2048 MB (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Modular (01/08/07)

Display:
Video Adapter GeForce 8800 GTX (768 MB)
Video Adapter GeForce 8800 GTX (768 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Monitor Dell 2007FP (Digital) [20" LCD] (Y992368L0HJS)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative Audigy LS Audio Processor
Audio Adapter Realtek ALC888 @ Intel 82801HB ICH8 - High Definition Audio Controller [B-0]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH8 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 2825
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH8 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 2820
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Storage Controller SCSI/RAID Host Controller
Disk Drive Maxtor 6L300S0 ATA Device (300 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)
Disk Drive SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro USB Device (1953 MB, USB)
Disk Drive ST3120022A ATA Device (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive MT4420K STK481W SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro USB Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Problem Disk free space is only 3% on drive F:.

--------[ CPU ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU Properties:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2400 MHz (9 x 267)
CPU Alias Conroe
CPU Stepping B2
Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3
Original Clock 2400 MHz
Min / Max CPU Multiplier 6x / 9x
Engineering Sample No
L1 Code Cache 32 KB per core
L1 Data Cache 32 KB per core
L2 Cache 4 MB (On-Die, ASC, Full-Speed)

Multi CPU:
Motherboard ID OEM00000 PROD00000000
CPU #0 Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz, 2400 MHz
CPU #1 Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz, 2399 MHz

CPU Physical Info:
Package Type 775 Contact LGA
Package Size 3.75 cm x 3.75 cm
Transistors 291 million
Process Technology 65 nm, CMOS, Cu, Strained Si
Die Size 143 mm2
Core Voltage 1.325 V
I/O Voltage 1.325 V
Typical Power 65 W @ 2.40 GHz
Maximum Power 99.4 W @ 2.40 GHz

CPU Manufacturer:
Company Name Intel Corporation
Product Information http://www.intel.com/products/processor

CPU Utilization:
CPU #1 / Core #1 0 %
CPU #1 / Core #2 0 %

--------[ Motherboard ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 01/08/2007-P965-ICH8-6A79LG0EC-00
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel AGTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 267 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 1067 MHz
Bandwidth 8533 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type Dual DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
DRAM:FSB Ratio 10:8
Real Clock 333 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 667 MHz
Bandwidth 10667 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel Direct Media Interface

Motherboard Physical Info:
CPU Sockets/Slots 1 LGA775
Expansion Slots 2 PCI, 3 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16
RAM Slots 4 DDR2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394
Form Factor ATX
Motherboard Size 240 mm x 300 mm
Motherboard Chipset P965
Extra Features DualBIOS Plus, SATA-II, RAID

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Information http://tw.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Default.aspx
BIOS Download http://tw.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_List.aspx

--------[ Memory ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physical Memory:
Total 2045 MB
Used 1163 MB
Free 882 MB
Utilization 57 %

Swap Space:
Total 4315 MB
Used 1503 MB
Free 2812 MB
Utilization 35 %

Virtual Memory:
Total 6361 MB
Used 2666 MB
Free 3694 MB
Utilization 42 %

Physical Address Extension (PAE):
Supported by Operating System Yes
Supported by CPU Yes
Active Yes

--------[ SPD ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ DIMM1: Micron Tech. 16HTF12864AY-667D4 ]

Memory Module Properties:
Module Name Micron Tech. 16HTF12864AY-667D4
Serial Number DC04E0A9h (2850030812)
Manufacture Date Week 4 / 2007
Module Size 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered DIMM
Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed DDR2-667 (333 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 1.8
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings:
@ 333 MHz 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-35-3-5-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 266 MHz 4-4-4-12 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 16-28-2-4-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 200 MHz 3-3-3-9 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 12-21-2-3-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)

Memory Module Manufacturer:
Company Name Micron Technology, Inc.
Product Information http://www.micron.com/products/category.jsp?path=/DRAM

[ DIMM3: Micron Tech. 16HTF12864AY-667D4 ]

Memory Module Properties:
Module Name Micron Tech. 16HTF12864AY-667D4
Serial Number DC04E08Dh (2380268764)
Manufacture Date Week 4 / 2007
Module Size 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered DIMM
Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed DDR2-667 (333 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 1.8
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings:
@ 333 MHz 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-35-3-5-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 266 MHz 4-4-4-12 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 16-28-2-4-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 200 MHz 3-3-3-9 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 12-21-2-3-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)

Memory Module Manufacturer:
Company Name Micron Technology, Inc.
Product Information http://www.micron.com/products/category.jsp?path=/DRAM

--------[ Operating System ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Operating System Properties:
OS Name Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

acruxksa · Posted: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:22:48 Post Subject:

Skip the new memory and try to oc the cpu. Set it to 9x333 and set the memory to the 2x setting to get 667Mhz (1:1 w/ fsb). You may need to up the cpu voltage slightly, If you have a stock hsf, don't go beyond 1.35v. If you have a quality aftermarket hsf you will be fine going higher, but you shouldn't need more than 1.35v to run 9x333 (3.0Ghz). Monitor cpu temps with your program of choice and make sure they are below 60c loaded. Ideally for a long term OC you shoul shoot for mid to low 50's or below.

3Ghz should be conservative OC for the e6600 and it has the added benefit of running 1:1 with the memory so you should see a little bit of a boost. If that's not enough for you, get the faster memory, but you won't notice more than a couple fps increase with the lower timings. You might get a little better boost running the memory at 830Mhz (2.5x mem multi) and the cpu at 667Mhz, but ideally you would want the two equal. Problem is, to do this you need to run either 8x400 or 9x400 and I wouldn't recommend this unless you have a good cooling system. 3.2Ghz on air is done all the time with a quality hsf, but 3.6Ghz frequently requires water cooling.

grumpyboy · Rated PG Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: London

Great post thank you very much.

"Skip the new memory and try to oc the cpu. Set it to 9x333 and set the memory to the 2x setting to get 667Mhz (1:1 w/ fsb). ....... it has the added benefit of running 1:1 with the memory"

How can they be 1:1 when the memory is set to x 2?

"You might get a little better boost running the memory at 830Mhz (2.5x mem multi) and the cpu at 667Mhz"

667 mhz? you mean the bus speed/host clock speed ?

I thought the c2d didnt have a fsb? does fsb mean host clock speed now ?

acruxksa · Posted: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:28:10 Post Subject:

grumpyboy · Rated PG Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 19 Location: London

thanks for the great explanation

Its very confusing why people call the system clock "the fsb" I have no idea. As you just said the system clock is just the base which the other busses use to to set their speed using multipliers and dividers.

Also gigabyte for some reason call the system/memory ratio...System memory multiplier as you also said.

My DDR2 800mhz 4-4-4-12 is arriving today.
With my new found knowege im beginning to wonder if I would be better off with the ddr2 667 mhz.
Since ive already done a 3000 mhz overclock on the e6600 with stock cooling which is all i have the moment.

Is a 400 host clock x 7 @ 2800 mhz cpu @ 800 mhz memory bus speed better than a..

300 host clock x 9 @ 3000 mhz cpu @ 677 mhz memory speed ?