Selecting memory

Real bonehead shit here, and I saw nothing on the front page, so here it is -


I'm looking to buy a gig, gig and a half of PC-3200 ddr. Corsair if I can get it, since I have had fantastic luck with them in the past.

Here's the question - I'm looking for low cas latency, the stuff I have now is cas 2. It shows as 2-2-2-2T. I'm looking around, and for the PC-3200 ddr stuff, not even the "low latency" stuff is even close - its all 3-4-8-2 and shit. So.... help me seperate the sheep from the goats.

2-2-2-2? where the hell do you see 2-2-2-2?

btw, the real world performance difference between cas 2.5 and cas 2 is very minor. the other numbers hardly even matter.

I'm working from memory here invar :D Its prolly not 2222, but its close enough that I cant remember it differently.


... and I want cas 2, so which of those numbers matters?

It'll have the word "CAS" right before it usually when you look at specs.

Like I said, those other numbers hardly make a noticeable difference. It didn't show up in Sandra's memory bandwidth test at least when I messed with it.

Don't go nuts trying to find CAS 2 memory, 2.5 will work just as well, and is a bit cheaper. :)

www.newegg.com has all sorts of CAS 2 memory from Geil, Corsiar XMS, Mushkin (Mushkin sells at their own site too), Kingston, etc.

I'm looking at newegg... they dont say CAS. Just the numbers

edit: crap, made a mistake -iNVAR

CAS is almost always the first number.

but newegg most definitely does list the timings. check again.

Yes, they list the timings. The point of the fucking thread was that I dont understand them - I dont know what the progression of numbers means.

I'm looking at newegg... they dont say CAS. Just the numbers
They say CAS.

Geil Ultra Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
(limit 10 per customer)

Specification
Manufacturer: Geil
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2 6-3-3
Support Voltage: 2.55V-2.95V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 32M x 64 -Bit
Special Features: Ultra Low Noise shielded PCB
Warranty: Lifetime

Kingston HyperX Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200
(limit 5 per customer)

Specification
Manufacturer: Kingston
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-2-6 1T
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime

Model#: KHX3200A/256
Item#: N82E16820144111


Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
(limit 5 per customer)

Specification
Manufacturer: Corsair
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-3-6-T1
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime

Model#: CMX256A-3200C2
Item#: N82E16820145415


Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200 Level One Dual Pack - Retail
(limit 3 per customer)

Specification
Manufacturer: Mushkin
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-2
Support Voltage: 2.5V-2.75V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: two 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime

Mmmm hmmmm. So what do those numbers mean, and why doesnt it just say CAS 2 or CAS 2.5?

CAS is one number. It's always the first number. Notice how in some (actually, just one... but there were many others on newegg) instances there's a space between the first number and the last 3 instead of a dash.


The other numbers are things like RAS and tRCD and bleh I don't remember all of them off the top of my head.

Okay, now I know. Thanks.