Corsair, dual-ddr or not?

ok, alot of the bits for my new rig are in transit, but i still have yet to decide on the RAM. I've got no problems with the cash side of it, so basically i can have whatever will give me the best performance. I know the corsair sticks are s*** hot, but just, im not sure which ones to go for. whether it be;-
1*512mb pc3200LL, 2*256mb pc3200LL, 1*512mb pc3500LL, 2*256mb pc3500LL, 2*512mb pc3200LL or 2*512mb pc3500LL.
I just dunno which one to go for. i apoligise if any of those dont actually exist, i was just giving you an idea of the choice. Also, is it better to go for the 'LL' types?
Btw, this will be going in Epox 8RDA+ with 2100+ and probably slk-900 & big 85cfm delta fans etc, most likely followed by vapochill in a month or two.
Anyways, help.
thanks.

As far as I know Corsair hasn't introduced PC3500LL. The PC3200LL is basically their XMS PC3500 run at slightly lower speeds and tighter timings. They say they test the sticks together but I don't know their methodology for testing and what they qualify as working properly together.

Wangster said:

As far as I know Corsair hasn't introduced PC3500LL. The PC3200LL is basically their XMS PC3500 run at slightly lower speeds and tighter timings. They say the test the sticks together but I don't know their methodology for testing and what they qualify as working properly together.

Click to expand...

But if one want to spend for the last % of perfrmance regardless of price / performance, then the argument may not apply here.

hitechjb1 said:

They charge a premium (~ 10-20% over the regular for the service) for the twin. I think is a way to make money. IMHO, It is not worth for the few MHz (or 2-5 % of performance), if there is any at all. For overclockers, we play with the FSB and memory timing anyway and can easily get back the loss due to the mismatch (if there is any) by tweaking the FSB and timing. The twin is mainly for ppl who want to plug and play, without doing any tweaking.

OCZ EL 3500C2 512MB regular $169
OCZ EL 3500C2 512MBx2 TWIN $400
Corsair 3200C2 512MB regular $150
Corsair 3500C2 512MB regular $166
Corsair 3200 LL 512MBx2 TWIN $350
(price from googlegear)

Hand pick matching does not mean they will find two modules that match up to within certain % of clock cycle and RAS/CAS timing. Unless you do it in the lab yourself with a large sample of modules and with special set up and time, then you can pick up to within certain % of a ns.

Corsair 3500C2 and 3200 LL TWIN are based on the same DRAM chips. I think this is what they do: from the 3500C2 modules which is spec at 217 MHz 7-3-3-2 timing, pick those that can run at 200 MHz 6-2-2-2 timing and claim them as 3200 LL (low latency, tighter timing). And 3200 LL TWIN is just a pair that passes on a test bed using A7N8X dual channel MB. I doubt the TWIN will be tested by running 3D Mark 2001 for stability, lol !!!

I read in the Corsair forum, some ppl bought a TWIN pair, it turned out that one module is bad. This is not common, but still is a gamble. How can you explain that one of the hand picked twin is bad??? In case one stick is bad, would they change both for you?


-----------------------------------------

THIS IS FROM CORSAIR:

Testing parameters for XMS3200LL:

Motherboard make and model: Asus A7N8X, and/or Abit KD7
All settings by MB default resulting in:
Resulting Frequency: 200MHz
SDRAM CAS Latency: 2T
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 2T
SDRAM RAS Precharge (tRP): 2T
SDRAM Active to Precharg Delay (tRAS): 6T
SDRAM Bank Interleave: 4 Bank
Memory Voltage: motherboard default*

Testing parameters for TWINX3200:

Motherboard make and model: Asus A7N8X
Each set is tested together in an A7N8X with default settings resulting in:
Resulting Frequency: 200MHz
SDRAM CAS Latency: 2T
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 2T
SDRAM RAS Precharge (tRP): 2T
SDRAM Active to Precharg Delay (tRAS): 6T
SDRAM Bank Interleave: 4 Bank
Memory Voltage: motherboard default*

Click to expand...

so, would i be better off going for, say, 1*512mb/2*256mb pc3200(normal/LL)/pc3500???

Really about the same, people say you can increase your chances of a good FSB OC by using 1 stick versus 2 but if both sticks are rated to run at a certain speed/timing, I don't see why having two of those same sticks wouldn't run well together. I would personally go for 2 sticks of 256mb pc3500 and try them at PC3200 with 2-2-2-5 timings and PC3500 with 2-3-3-7 to see which one worked better for me.

cheers dude, much appreciated. That helps because its true that they can run at whatever speed you like, you just have the choice to also run them that much quicker.
~~XJ
btw, what if i wanted 2*512mb, would that be just as efficient? ;x

Personally, since I never have other apps working in the background when I game, I think 1GB is a little overkill but if you have the cash go for it. It should work just fine because all the principles we talked about still apply. I was considering 1GB myself, but I need the money more than I need the ability to have 7 apps open while gaming.

rofl
yea, my dilemma is just the 1*512mb or 2*265mb.
i think i'll go for the 1*512mb, it means i have room to ram another in (pun intended) when i have a bit of spare cash lieing around.
Thanks again dude.
~XJ

I've been told that Battlefield 1942 can use up to 700M RAM!
If it's true, the new add-on RTR might require even more (slightly slower on my XP2000+ and Ti4200 128Mo after RTR installation).
75% of PC have 512M now. Should we understand that 1G will be the next move to make?
It hurts though to spend the price of a 9700 Pro for 2 modules of DDR.