Hi,

Can 'normal' 512MB DDR400 RAM (DDR PC3200, CL=3, Unbuffered, Non-parity, DDR400, 2.6V, 64Meg x 64) be overclocked(i.e. modify the timing settings in BIOS) to perform as well as 'high performance' RAM (DDR PC3200, 2-3-2-6, Non-parity, DDR400, 2.8V, 64Meg x 64)of the same type? The RAM specs are from www.crucial.com.

I have not purchased RAM in a while, and it seems there are different performance levels now on both Crucial's and Corsair's sites.

And, if overclocking is not an option, or not that great, is it worth the extra money to get the 'high performance' RAM?

'Normal' RAM = $99 and 'high performance' RAM = $139, from Crucial's website.

I'm trying to build a cost-effective gaming system to get me through the next batch of games.

Thanks ahead of time,
Carl

Any discussion of the topic beyond my questions is more than welcome.

Hi
"it worth the extra money to get the 'high performance' RAM? "

not on its own, motherboard and cpu performance ,& OC'd, should be taken into account stability is required for games.
imo
having the better or best graphics card will always improve your game (play and enjoyment (& 'skillz') than oced pc, others may disagree here lets see.
Frames fps,( bandwidth for online gaming )are paramount so the difference between ram prices i would put against a serious graphics card for the next crop of games.

check here far cry and doom3 popular next gen games, http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/index.html
clearly the top cards are bottlenecked by anything less than best cpu so id aim about 30% down the list to be cost effective at the same time.

having come up against uber players online eg:ut03/4 (SEK}Predator, ty for the drubbing m8
i know its not just about fastest pc at all lol.

Thanks for responding 1stepbeyond,

I've been doing a little reading and found that the performance difference (1 or 2%) is probably not worth the money.

I'll consider using the money when I get around to looking at graphics cards. Another option I'm looking at is using that extra money toward another stick of 512MB, giving me 1 GB to play around with.

As far as graphics cards go, I have read a little about ATI's X700 series and Nvidia's 6600 series, but I'll have to wait and see what the prices are like.

Which reminds me, do you know anything about when these cards will be available for purchase? I need an AGP version (the X700 looks to be PCI Express right now).

Thanks again,
Carl

Hi Carl
i dont think theyre making an agp equivalent aswell, as its probably being phased out (slowly for pci/e) the pcie cards are supposedly faster but thats a new mobo for me, so saving for a 6800gt 128 asus v9999 xmas prezzy, last up/g till next time.
(lol dont need a 2nd mortgage quote)

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=739

http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q3/radeon-x700xt/index.x?pg=1

http://uk.asus.com/products/vga/vgaindex.htm
what im looking at 5900+ depends on price.

& give time for halflife2 to appear so there will be plenty of reviews which graphics ati or nvidea is best again tomshardware site best for info.

prices are good on xt5900's and ati9800 now,

regards