Ram
- Thread starter Gunblack
- Start date
Quick and dirty lesson about RAM.
1) Different speeds. Just under two decades ago, most ram was called SDRAM, designated PC133. 133 means it ran at 133MHz. Eventually, RAM speeds grew faster, and DDR400 became the standard (400MHz). Another kind of RAM was created, but died off within a few years (RD-RAM), but the company that created it sued a number of other RAM manufacturers (but that's a separate story). Anyways, today you will find primarily two kinds of RAM for your PC, and two more for your video card. DDR2 and DDR3 are the current kinds used in your computer; the modern standard is DDR3. Difference between the two is that DDR2 primarily is at the 800MHz standard, whereas DDR3 can go higher (1600MHz standard). Higher speeds = faster computer (or at least, more efficient processing for your computer). The other two kinds of RAM affects your GPU, but you do not have to worry about them. The only thing you need to remember is: If you want the fastest video card, go with the latest memory standard for them. Right now, that's GDDR5, though you will see GDDR4 on some models.
2) Timings. This is my weak understanding so I'll let someone else do a more thorough explanation for you. Pretty much when you buy RAM, the average builder worries about 2 things, and kind of remembers the third. That's size of the RAM and speed, with the timings in third. But timings are important, especially for overclockers. It regulates the amount of power you send to the RAM. More power given = higher the clock rate. The better timings you can get, the more efficient the power (and the higher the overclock you can achieve).
3) Voltage. Same as timings, but essentially, they're mostly 2.1V or 2.3V (I think). It's important to know because your MOTHERBOARD will recognize certain voltages by default without needing you to mess with its bios.
4) Heatsinks. Yes, RAM do come with heatsinks, and their abilities do vary. Most of the time, you'll never ever worry about adding/changing them. But for overclockers, again, this is an important concern as increasing the voltages and speed means they create more heat. So it becomes important to have a good heatsink on the RAM to get the best OC.
Here's an old, but still useful, memory guide from MaximumPC you can skim through: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/memory_buyers_guide_whats_best_ram_my_system
1) Different speeds. Just under two decades ago, most ram was called SDRAM, designated PC133. 133 means it ran at 133MHz. Eventually, RAM speeds grew faster, and DDR400 became the standard (400MHz). Another kind of RAM was created, but died off within a few years (RD-RAM), but the company that created it sued a number of other RAM manufacturers (but that's a separate story). Anyways, today you will find primarily two kinds of RAM for your PC, and two more for your video card. DDR2 and DDR3 are the current kinds used in your computer; the modern standard is DDR3. Difference between the two is that DDR2 primarily is at the 800MHz standard, whereas DDR3 can go higher (1600MHz standard). Higher speeds = faster computer (or at least, more efficient processing for your computer). The other two kinds of RAM affects your GPU, but you do not have to worry about them. The only thing you need to remember is: If you want the fastest video card, go with the latest memory standard for them. Right now, that's GDDR5, though you will see GDDR4 on some models.
2) Timings. This is my weak understanding so I'll let someone else do a more thorough explanation for you. Pretty much when you buy RAM, the average builder worries about 2 things, and kind of remembers the third. That's size of the RAM and speed, with the timings in third. But timings are important, especially for overclockers. It regulates the amount of power you send to the RAM. More power given = higher the clock rate. The better timings you can get, the more efficient the power (and the higher the overclock you can achieve).
3) Voltage. Same as timings, but essentially, they're mostly 2.1V or 2.3V (I think). It's important to know because your MOTHERBOARD will recognize certain voltages by default without needing you to mess with its bios.
4) Heatsinks. Yes, RAM do come with heatsinks, and their abilities do vary. Most of the time, you'll never ever worry about adding/changing them. But for overclockers, again, this is an important concern as increasing the voltages and speed means they create more heat. So it becomes important to have a good heatsink on the RAM to get the best OC.
Here's an old, but still useful, memory guide from MaximumPC you can skim through: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/memory_buyers_guide_whats_best_ram_my_system
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2012
- Messages
- 323
Not bad for "Quick and dirty", I find the one thing most of my clients have a hard time getting their head around when asking me to do a build for them is RAM, timing, speed & voltage get 'em every time
After speed the next important spec is response time or latency. They can be very different between manufacturers and even different models from the same manufacturer.
Now were talking nanoseconds here... so... ya... but if you're wondering why G Skill Intl F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB costs less than Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9 4GB... they are both 4 GB right? Both are PC12800, DDR3, 240pin, SDRAM... so why the $28 difference? Well brand name has some effect here =) However the first is 24ns and the second is 22ns (also their read/write speeds are different) Here's the really tricky part... both on NewEgg say they are Cas Latency of 9! If you were to just look them up on NewEgg they have IDENTICAL specs at the top of the page... it's up to you to dig in and figure out which truly is faster.
http://www.memorybenchmark.net/ram.php?ram=Corsair+CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9+8GB
Now were talking nanoseconds here... so... ya... but if you're wondering why G Skill Intl F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB costs less than Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9 4GB... they are both 4 GB right? Both are PC12800, DDR3, 240pin, SDRAM... so why the $28 difference? Well brand name has some effect here =) However the first is 24ns and the second is 22ns (also their read/write speeds are different) Here's the really tricky part... both on NewEgg say they are Cas Latency of 9! If you were to just look them up on NewEgg they have IDENTICAL specs at the top of the page... it's up to you to dig in and figure out which truly is faster.
http://www.memorybenchmark.net/ram.php?ram=Corsair+CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9+8GB
Well heres the problem on that. Most people either dont notice that part or just dont care bout the nanosecond part. Ill admit that I just dont care bout the nanosecond part myself. However Ive noticed that the price in memory has jumped up $20 in the last 2-3 months, so thats pretty much the big thing for me (just saying).
