PC-3200 v.s. PC-4000 - Which should I keep?

In the near future I will be finishing my watercooling on my Opteron 165 in my Asrock Dual. Currently I have 4 Sticks of THESE which are rated at PC-3200. I had purchased 4 sticks of PC-4000 memory in a woot-off. The timings for those sticks were Latency 2.5-4-4-7 at 500 MHz. Should I sell the PC3200 and use the pc4000?

I didn't know if the timings become more flexible as you lower the frequency (i.e. 250fsb, 225, 200, etc.)

The PC 4000 would be better if you plan to OC.

4000's for OCing.

The PC Rating doesn't matter it's all about the IC. With PC3200s using TCCD or TCCC then you can have PC3200 with Low latency or PC4000 with crap latency.

Tebore said:

The PC Rating doesn't matter it's all about the IC. With PC3200s using TCCD or TCCC then you can have PC3200 with Low latency or PC4000 with crap latency.

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I believe I was thinking the same thing and thus the confusion. Are you suggesting using the 3200? Or use the 4000 but that the PC rating is merely independent of the timings?

CreePinG_DeatH said:

I believe I was thinking the same thing and thus the confusion. Are you suggesting using the 3200? Or use the 4000 but that the PC rating is merely independent of the timings?

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You can usually tell the IC by the Timings. To Give an example of PC rating not mattering at all.

I have PC3200 based on TCCD that's Passing memtest at 250 at 2.5,3,2,11. 2.7V. That's PC4000 with better timings.

Tebore said:

You can usually tell the IC by the Timings. To Give an example of PC rating not mattering at all.

I have PC3200 based on TCCD that's Passing memtest at 250 at 2.5,3,2,11. 2.7V. That's PC4000 with better timings.

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Hmmmm....my PC4000 passes memtest at 250 with 2.5, 3, 3, 7. Not sure what you're trying to tell this guy.

He should keep the PC4000 ram for future overclocking quests. If he lowered the speed to 200 he could reach timings that may equal or even better standard PC3200 ram.

Seven7Thirty30 said:

Hmmmm....my PC4000 passes memtest at 250 with 2.5, 3, 3, 7. Not sure what you're trying to tell this guy.

He should keep the PC4000 ram for future overclocking quests. If he lowered the speed to 200 he could reach timings that may equal or even better standard PC3200 ram.

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Do you have anything constructive to say?

My point was the "PCxxxx" rating means nothing. It's all about the ICs. BH5,CH5, TCCC/TCCD they are usually called PC3200 but they can scale way beyond PC3200 when set to the right conditions. BT-D43 was another example. Crappy as PC3200 with timings of 2.5,3,3,7 but set to 3,4,4,8 it was PC4000. In the past PC4000 might not be able to do Low Latency, for example the BT-D43. There's a lot of PC4000 that can't do PC3200 with tight timings.

Tebore said:

Do you have anything constructive to say?

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Don't act like a child when confronted with another opinion. I did not attack you in any way.

Tebore said:

My point was the "PCxxxx" rating means nothing. It's all about the ICs. BH5,CH5, TCCC/TCCD they are usually called PC3200 but they can scale way beyond PC3200 when set to the right conditions. BT-D43 was another example. Crappy as PC3200 with timings of 2.5,3,3,7 but set to 3,4,4,8 it was PC4000. In the past PC4000 might not be able to do Low Latency, for example the BT-D43. There's a lot of PC4000 that can't do PC3200 with tight timings.

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It's called overclocking. Change the timings, the FSB, and juice up the voltage and you can reach most of the speeds you desire. Some PC3200 can't run at PC4000 speeds. The "PCxxxx" rating is derived from the FSB speed, so I have to disagree with you when you say "it means nothing". I do agree that the IC's are a large determining factor. But you're assuming that he knows what chips he has, and you're not giving a thorough explanation to help him understand enough. But, I'm not here to talk to you, I'm offering my advice to creeping_death.



Creeping_Death:

PC4000 is designed to successfully operate at a FSB of 250 and below. PC3200 is designed to operate at a FSB of 200. If you ever plan on overclocking in the future, the PC3200 may prevent you from getting great results since it was not designed to operate far past a FSB of 200. If that's the case, you should keep the PC4000 ram. Even if you don't decide to overclock the CPU later, you can atleast underclock the PC4000 and tighten the timings to run at a FSB of 200 (PC3200). It's almost a toss up. Maybe the PC3200 can run at PC4000 speeds with no problems, maybe it can't. You won't know until you try. The PC4000 ram has a sure guarantee to operate at a FSB of 250 and below. If it was my decision to make...

PC4000 @ 2.5-4-4-7 -vs- PC3200 @ 2-3-3-6...I'd keep the PC4000. The timings difference is very small, but the speeds are very different.

Hope that makes sense, good luck.

Yes it does make sense and help. I know that my ASrock's FSB can only go so far anyway with my opteron before I have to use a 3rd party bios and/or do a volt mod. I was just debating whether the ram I picked up was cheap for a reason of if i can actually use it. I think I'll switch in the PC-4000 and sell the pc-3200 as never overclocked. It should sell better perhaps. THanks!

CreePinG_DeatH said:

Yes it does make sense and help. I know that my ASrock's FSB can only go so far anyway with my opteron before I have to use a 3rd party bios and/or do a volt mod. I was just debating whether the ram I picked up was cheap for a reason of if i can actually use it. I think I'll switch in the PC-4000 and sell the pc-3200 as never overclocked. It should sell better perhaps. THanks!

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The fact that the PC3200 is Corsair should bring you more cash on the market. People love brand name merchandise.