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14.4K Posts

January 23rd, 2008 00:00

Well you always want the lowest numbers you can find but anything in th 4-4-4-12 range will provid good speed. most of the 800 stuff will meet this timings and some even a bit better..shop around

157 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 02:00

some 667 mhz memory is actually faster than 800mhz if the timings are better, so ensure that you get one with equal or lower latency.

552 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 04:00

This is true.As when i decided to upgrade my memory i did the research and like what i have pc2 6400 with 4-4-4-12 timings is only a little slower than pc2 8500 with 5-5-5-18 timings.
Does the xps 410 have sli/epp? Id go with the 4-4-4-12 if you can.

77 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 15:00

Thanks for the advice. I'll shop around.

54 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 18:00

I don't want to highjack this thread, But
 
I am looking at a 420xps and I ask this question in another thread and didn't feel like I completely understood the answers. I'll try it again. I think that the article I read mentioned "Latency"
 
My question is:
1. I read somewhere that DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz was a better match then 800MHZ with a Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB). Is this correct? The cost of the faster Ram speed is only $50.
 
Thanks, Robert
 
 

157 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 21:00

the difference is somewhat negligible but as long as as the timings are the same, the 800mhz stuff is faster for a q6600. my guess is that dell uses 5-5-5-15 memory for most if not all of their xps systems. the extra $50 is up to you but be aware that many retailers have 2gb 800mhz memory kits for less than $50 total so you may find a better deal elsewhere.

54 Posts

January 23rd, 2008 21:00

Thanks elika,
 
I should have made it clear that the $50 is to go from 3GB 667mhz to 3GB 800mhz.
 
Robert

157 Posts

January 24th, 2008 02:00

it's up to you. performance will be *slightly* better but you can use that 50 buck to buy a bigger hard drive or something at your discretion.

10 Posts

December 19th, 2009 11:00

Hi,

I have an Inspiron 1721, with Turion 64 X2 TL-56 processor, x1270 (M690T chipset - look it up on wikipedia or AMD support site for more info), 1Gb memory... and I've had it for the past 2 1/2 years. Of course games lagged and ran slowly. This computer needed a lot of patience. Anyway, my patience is up now and I've decided to upgrade. Was looking for the best memory for the best bang for my hard-earned-buck. This forum didn't help so much... not enough detail to answer specific questions. Here's the solution I found, and how I got to it.

I wanted 4Gb worth of memory - 2 x 2Gb for optimum performance.

Crucial.com recommended the SODIMM (200 pin) DDR2 PC2 5300 667MHz memory with CL 5 latency and PC2 6400 800MHz with CL 6 latency. Corsiar's website recommended the previous. I shopped around, and found better on newegg.ca (there's a newegg.com for people in US). I found identical models, and also other versions that have lower latency: SODIMM (200 pin) DDR2 PC2 5300 667MHz memory with 4-4-4-4-12 latency timings and PC2 6400 800MHz with 5-5-5-5-15 latency timings. The big question was which to go for for optimal performance, and best value for money. Newegg offered both at good pricing so I'd prefer the lower latency option if the computer can handle it.

I found a link to the AMD forums here: http://forums.amd.com/forum/categories.cfm?catid=33

There I found out the need for an upgrade for my bios to make sure the installation of the new memory will work. Don't forget to ensure that your bios is updated. Also make sure to check the manufacturer's website to see if the processor your computer has can handle the memory you want to buy. I went on AMD's website and verified that the 800MHz memory clock rate was supported by the Turion 64 x2 TL-56 processor.

That forum also lead me to this link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-dual-core-laptops-arrived,1305-2.html

From the above link I figured that I want to go with the PC2 6400 option to maximize the real memory clock rate. As far as whether the lower latency will work or not... from all the reading I've done, I get the sense that it depends on the set up of your machine and whether it's designed to handle it. For example, if you tried to using the PC2 6200 from g-skill with CL of 3 (i think that version was for desktops, don't recall now) reviews suggested that overclocking was required and that you'd need to raise the voltage supply to the memory too for optimal performance. These things aren't recommended if you're using your laptop, use it for work, and if your life and living depended on the machine (the way mine does). I also get the sense that the upgraded bios should be able to allow you to change the amount of memory assigned to video, and the settings for operating your memory... but I haven't gotten to that point yet since my memory is yet to arrive.

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/index.php or asktheramguy.com (the same website) provide CPU-Z and memtest utilities to check how well the memory works, make sure to test it out... the latter will tell if the memory you installed has defects or not.

Mixing memory types/ sizes either doesn't work, will crashy your machine (blue screen of death), or give you poor machine performance... this depends on the processor, bios, etc.

Good luck with your upgrades. I'll let you know if it doesn't work or if I don't get the performance I want.

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