Need advice PLZ - DDR2-800 RAM upgrade (EPP compatibility)

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dontpanic42

1574 posts

Uber Geek
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#40460 28-Aug-2009 18:42

Hi Everyone,

I just have a few questions about upgrading RAM.

I currently have a Gigabyte GA-965G-DS4 motherboard with 2GB of this
- Transcend TS128MLQ64V8J, 1x1GB, DDR2-800, PC2-6400, CL5, DIMM -
RAM installed on bank 0 and 3 to provide the Dual Channel. (This mobo has 4 banks)

I want to upgrade to 4GB.
I am looking at getting either one or two of the following RAM kits (depending on if I can use my current sticks)
- Corsair XMS2, TWIN2X2048-6400C4, 2x1GB, DDR2-800, PC2-6400, CL4, DIMM, EPP -

Can I run one pair of the new 2x1GB sticks alongside my current RAM?
Will that force my new RAM to run at CL5 if I still have my old CL5 RAM in?
Or is it better to buy 4 sticks of the new Corsair RAM just to be safe?

I notice that this RAM specifies that it is EPP RAM. Is this "EPP" RAM even compatible with my mobo, or does EPP work on any mobo?

Does it make much difference having both Channels working (i.e. Channel 0 and Channel 1..... so Dual-Dual channel)?

And last question. Is this proposed Corsair RAM any good? Can anyone recommend anything better for around the same price or slightly higher.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

dontpanic42

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+1 received by user: 11

#251426 28-Aug-2009 21:05

*bump*

Can anyone please help me....... please?

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#251593 29-Aug-2009 18:32

Yeah, the faster ram will be forced to run at the speed of the slower ram, feel free to mismatch brands etc as much as you want too, but ideally you want them to at least be the same size and speed in each slot if possible.
As far as i can tell epp are just some overclocking presets, so if you're that way inclined and want to overclock your ram, instead of adjusting timings etc just choose a preset.
Corsair is a very reputable brand, though their prices are sometimes a tad high, with ram you'd probably want to go cheaper even. the extra speeds you won't notice, a drop in latency you might but generally your hard earned is better spent elsewhere, just make sure it's a good brand name and has a good warranty(usually lifetime)

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dontpanic42

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#251596 29-Aug-2009 18:41

Thanks samwooff. Much appreciated.
I am thinking I will go with the corsair 2x ddr2-1066 2x1gb kit and take out the current 2gb I have.
Will that ddr2-1066 run at 4-4-4-12 timings when the mobo under-runs them at 800MHz? Or will it still run at 5-5-5-15 at 800MHz?

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#251635 29-Aug-2009 22:15

I'd keep both kits in, depending on what you're doing 4gb of ram is more useful than being able to keep your faster ram fast (the sweet spot seems to be around 3gb atm for gaming and general stuff)
The motherboard is going to want to keep it at 800mhz and the rams default timings are cl5 so you're gunna be 800mhz 555 but if that bothers you just overclock it to a faster setting.

dontpanic42

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#251641 29-Aug-2009 23:34

Sorry, I meant that I would probably buy 4 new sticks to give a total of 4GB of 1066 RAM only. So two 2x1GB DDR2-1066 matched kits.
Would this give me the 4-4-4 timings when using only the 1066 RAM at 800 speeds?
This 1066 RAM that I am looking at buying has the better heat sinks. I want a bit of headroom to overclock.
I am planning on overclocking my CPU (FSB) and bringing the RAM up to the 1066 speed (maybe a bit over), so in this case I guess the timings will already have to stay at 5-5-5.
But is it possible to run the 1066 RAM at 800 with the 4-4-4 timings?
If this is possible, which will give the best performance increase: 800 @ 4-4-4 -or- 1066 @ 5-5-5?

On my current RAM (which is 2x1GB of 800 5-5-5-21) it reports the following on PC Wizard:

CAS Latency (tCL) :    3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz, 5 clocks @400 MHz
RAS to CAS (tRCD) :    3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz, 5 clocks @400 MHz
RAS Precharge (tRP) :    3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz, 5 clocks @400 MHz
Cycle Time (tRAS) :    8 clocks @200 MHz, 11 clocks @266 MHz, 16 clocks @400 MHz
Min TRC :    11 clocks @200 MHz, 14 clocks @266 MHz, 21 clocks @400 MHz

Would this not mean that if I ran this RAM at a lower speed, it would give lower timings?
Would this not also apply to the 1066 corsair RAM as well?

Sorry if I am repeating myself, I am just trying to understand the whole RAM situation.

Thanks for your advice.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#251647 30-Aug-2009 01:09

if you run ram at 'slower speed' your timings will be 'faster'. but apart from having 2 extra gig of ram, i doubt you'd notice anything apart from perhaps less hard drive activity (pagefile). RAM speed is not the bottleneck in nearly every computer system but go satisfy yourself :) it's your cash (and only a 'few' dollars anyway)!

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samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#251648 30-Aug-2009 01:46

Theres no sure fire way of knowing what speed and timings your ram could get to, it's just like a cpu, someones might get to 4ghz on 1.2V and yours might never get past 3 no matter what you do.
If you do go for the dominator which is corsair's top line, they're meant to be selected because they're "good" chips you possibly could get 1066 at 444 timings or maybe 454 or whatever, it's very dependent on your situation.

Given the choice though I'd go for 1066 and cl5, based of course on no scientific data at all, it's just cool to say my rams faster than yours.