how much do timings matter in terms of oc?

still learning about overclocking...in particular ram..

I'm looking to get Corsair i'm focussed on getting corsair ram.

Percentage wise, how much of an increase in my overclock would i get between one set of ram with 2-2-2-6 timings and another set with slower timings say 2.5-3-3-6...or something slow...

the reason is i dont want something like a 5% increase in overclocking i just want ram that will overclock well for the best price...

You might consider reading through some of the threads that already exist which touch on these topics, in order to fine tune your question just a little more. The impact of timings on your performance will vary between platforms (P4 vs XP, for example), so for a more meaningful response to your question, add the type of system you plan on putting together. Include things like processor and motherboard that you are leaning towards, otherwise your question is just too vague and not likely to get you very many helpful responses.

sorry about that ...

it's a mobile xp 2600+

abit nf7-s

80gb hdd

radeon 9800

how much would 'good' ram timings like 2-2-2-6 be better over 2.5.-3-3-11....only 5% as someone told me?

or a lot more than that?

i was told that ram timings dont really matter a significant amount as long as you have good speed ram (i plan on pc3200) and a reputable brand (corsair)

if ur looking at high fsb with looser timings then look at some of the OCZ stuff, on the other hand if you want tight timings and high fsb try find some Corsair Platinum xms ll with the bh-5 chips that does 2-5-2-2

Michael_antoi said:

sorry about that ...

Click to expand...

Hey, sorry if that came across as a slap because that was not the intent...my intent was to save you the fustration of having a bunch of responses that really had no bearing on your specific needs. Most people here try to offer help, its just that if your doing an AMD system, the guy telling you what he does with his P4 2.4 @ 3.6 has so little benefit to you. My suggestion to read the other threads was, again, so that you could fine tune your questions and get the most benefit from the responses.

The impact of timings on real world performance becomes a little harder to measure. It is probably a given, that in bechmarks, and many are derived from games or game like conditions, faster timings will result in better (measureable) performance, and in theory, these should translate to a better gaming experience. Now, does that mean that if you go sit on two different PCs, but built exactly the same except the ram timings are set to 2-2-2 on one and 2.5-3-3 on the other, are you going to be able to tell the difference between the two? Maybe. Now take that same set up, and because one of the rigs has ram that will run at slower timings but at faster MHz, it is setup to run at 10-15 faster fsb, will you be able to tell the difference? It becomes harder and the differences in fps may not be so great, or at least to the naked eye.

The point of all that is to state, that in my opinion, you have to weight the cost vs the benefits when it comes to ram (and lots of other life's choices) and decide for yourself whether to spend the extra money or not. It will seldom, if ever, be a linear thing, 20% more cost therefore 20% increased performance. There is the law of diminishing returns that plays into this. You will get improved performance, all other things being equal, how much, will mostly depend on your system. I don't think that you have to have $400 a gig ram to have a very fine system, good quality ram today will perform very well in most cases.