Correct me if I am wrong

The increase in FPS you see going from 400x9 to 465x9 is nearly 100% due to increase in CPU frequency

The performance increase of a 465x9 RAM running at 2:1 memory divider would be less than 5% higher than a similar configuration of 465x9 with slower RAM running at lower divider ratios.

That would mean there is no sense to buy a premium DDR3 for $500 extra for what you can do with less than 5% performance sacrifice with the dirt cheap DDR2 RAM.

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This is one of the best, detailed overclocking guides I've ever seen. Excellent job! I'm especially glad to have the mystery of Transaction Booster, Skew, and Clock Twister in the Asus bios explained.

Now, if you guys could just prepare a guide for memory subtimings, the treatise would be complete. :)

Thanks very much for this.

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no everything you said is correct.

the thing that really gets me though, is that pc6400 ddr2 is commonly capable of reaching 485mhz at lower timings. so whats so great about ddr3?

on a p35 you can easily reach the same speed with cheap memory, at cas 5, sometimes even cas 4 with good overclockable ram.

so basically the only benefit that ddr3 has going for it is the lower voltage required, and of course lower temps, not worth the premium. period.

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Spending an extra $50-100 on a GPU is still way more effective than spending the $200-300 more for DDR3. The only games that struggle with framerate on a modern mid-high end system are mostly GPU and somewhat CPU dependent. You get about the least bang for your buck with memory, but at the bleeding edge of performance I guess money is not a barrier.

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Another way to look at it is, would you rather have 1 GB of DDR3 or 2 GB of DDR2? They cost roughly the same.

I'd rather have the 1 GB, since I can add more memory later. If you end up with DDR2, your system is forever degraded by inferior memory. You can't add it later unless you get a new motherboard. Besides, faster memory makes everything run faster, more memory only makes things run faster if you have to page (pretty much, I know Microsoft steals memory for caching, but that's a mixed bag anyway). Also, more memory wants more power.

I can already hear the argument from people saying that you can get 1 GB of DDR2 as well, and still realize a cost saving. It's a valid point, but at 1 GB the cost difference isn't that great, and I think the performance, and future upgradeability still make DDR3 attractive for some people.

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DDR2 is hardly "inferior". When comparing 4GB of DDR3 vs 4GB of DDR2, I can build a whole new computer with what I'd have spent on DDR3. It just doesn't make sense right now no matter how you cut it.. and only having 1GB of ram now?

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I run most of my machines with 512 MB, so 1 GB is hardly a problem.

There are some things you need more memory than 1 GB for.

When I see stuff like "It doesn't make sense no matter how you cut it", I instantly think you're an idiot. You're probably not, but that statement is absurd. There is always a group that the cost of the most expensive, and fastest parts, makes sense. The cost of memory is trivial compared to the cost of salaries, for example, and spending $500 to help someone work faster pays for itself very quickly.

I think the main problem is that most people do not understand that more memory does not always make things faster. I deal with this all the time.

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quote:

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Another way to look at it is, would you rather have 1 GB of DDR3 or 2 GB of DDR2? They cost roughly the same.

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Another way to look at it is, would you rather have 4GB of high-performance DDR2 for $150 (or cheaper, my 4GB of Crucial Ballistix cost me $140 this summer and is cheaper yet now), or 2GB of DDR3 for $200?

The industry must really love folks like you, who buy into the marketing hype. DDR2 is far from inferior, or Intel wouldn't have been using it all this time, and saying your system will be "forever degraded" is ridiculous tripe.

DDR3 has more bandwidth, but isn't necessarily "faster" as it is higher latency. That $150 DDR2 I mentioned has a CAS latency of 4; the $200 2GB DDR3 has a CAS latency of 7. DDR3 will only be attractive once it gains market share, lowering its price. What with enough P35 boards and some X38 boards still supporting DDR2, there is no reason to switch.

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DDR3 is faster, if you can't accept that much, you aren't worth arguing with. DDR2 is inferior, but it's cheaper.

DDR2 was not inferior until DDR3 came out. Inferior is a relative term, there has to be something better. Is English not your first language?

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Sheesh. Personal attack much?

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