Buying RAM

[neilt]

This is the ram I am considering buying:
2GB Corsair TwinX XMS PC3200/400mhz dual channel kit

Then I found this ram:
2GB Corsair Value Select PC2-4200/533mhz DDR2, dual channel kit.

The second one is newer, but about $100 cheaper (good thing, since I'm slightly over budget!). I can't find too much info about these, but I think the timings for the first one is something like 2-3-3-6, and for the second one 4-4-4-12.

What would be the difference between the two? Would I be better off saving $100, and getting the DDR2 ram, as it is newer technology? Or, would the performance be considerably worse?

Thank-you

[poppy]

The PC3200 is 184 pin. The DDR2 is 240 pin. What does your motherboard take?

[neilt]

The motherboard I'll be getting will be the Asus P5LD2. I didn't realize that there was such a difference in the 2 types of ram. It looks as though the Value Select is the way I'll have to go, due to the motherboard.

[hockey man]

Crucial's (http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=ASUS%2B+Motherboar ds&mfr=ASUS&tabid=CR&model=P5LD2&submit=Go) web site shows you need 240 pin DDR2.

[poppy]

For that motherboard, then if you want 2 GB this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145527) is the ValueSelect. The latencies are 4-4-4-12.

If you must have the lowest latency, then you could get 1 GB kit of this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145564) . The latencies are 3-3-2-8. I don't know if there is a 2 GB kit available. As you can see with the 1 GB kit, the price is up there.

[neilt]

What difference would I see between the latencies? Is Corsair Value Select still a reputable brand to stick with?

[poppy]

Corsair is a good brand or it wouldn't be recommended by many here. I'm not the expert on latencies but you can find a good explanation here (http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38136) on Corsair's web site.

[pop pop]

Corsair is very good RAM. Why do you think you need those extreme latencies? What do you use the PC for?

[saphalline]

Because of the nature of DDR2 and the increased bandwidth, performance doesn't suffer because of higher latencies. Besides, these kits of DDR2 that are being listed are PC2-4200/4300 stuff. Unless you will be using one of the only two CPU's on the planet that have the 1066 FSB, you won't be running it at that speed anyway. PC2-4200/4300 operating at PC2-3200 speed will allow you to reduce the latencies by quite a bit. And perhaps the BIOS will auto-detect the best timings for your RAM at various speeds.

The other reason for the extreme difference in latencies is related to the age of DDR vs DDR2. DDR is a very mature RAM technology now, whereas DDR2 is new and still being developed. Latencies have already come down quite a bit for DDR2 and will only continue to do so. But we have to give it time.

Performance-wise in a real world environment, the P4 does very well with increased RAM bandwidth regardless of the latencies. And the beauty of DDR2 is that it can deliver more raw bandwidth per clock cycle than DDR (once it gets going). The A64, on the other hand, has an onboard memory controller and less of a reliance on raw bandwidth. As such, it performs better with the lower latencies that DDR can provide. In numerous tests of the K8 core that I've seen, the A64 actually does better with low-latency DDR400 than it does with higher latency DDR500. This disparity in performance with different supporting technologies has a lot to do with how Intel and AMD processors function in and of themselves. So right now, the basic rule of thumb is Intel = DDR2, and AMD = DDR.

[neilt]

Thanks! That answers my question. I was going to buy Corsair brand, anyway, but I was only concerned about "Value Select" with those latencies maybe being a bad thing.
Pop Pop, I'll be doing a bit of everything, but mainly live studio recordings. Looks like the 2GB Value Select will work perfectly for what I need, regardless of higher latencies.