DDR3-1600 RAM CAS8 vs. CAS9.

[ImmaPC]

I was looking the other day for a cost-effective 6GB triple-channel DDR3-1600 RAM set. I noticed that prices stay fairly low for all and any RAM sets with CAS9 (9-9-9-24, usually), and once you get any lower than that (CAS8 8-8-8-24), prices jump up significantly, and even more so when you get to OCZ's CAS7 (7-7-7-24) kit.

I looked into whether it was worth the extra $20-$50 for lower CAS timings, and came across this on [H]ardforum. It appears that CAS8 timings only performs better by a very slight margin, even being beaten in some tests by CAS9 timings. Can anyone with a CAS8/9 kit testify to this?

If so, then it won't matter very much if I were to go out tomorrow and get the best 6GB DDR3-1600 CAS9 kit, will it? Can anyone reccomend a good 6GB CAS9 set? Gskills?

[Chilly]

While I have no hands on experience with DDR3(yet!), IMO its not worth the premium you pay. Real world applications, you'll never feel the difference, and in benchmarks, maybe a bit of a boost.

Ask your self, is the extra cost worth the boost in benchmarks, with no real world benefits. If you like to bench, then I can see the value in getting lower CAS ram, in fact I'd say its worth the extra $20-$50, you might also possibly gain some extra OC'ing room. Otherwise though, with little to no boost in games/real world applications, whats the point?

Hope that helped a bit!

[ImmaPC]

Originally Posted by Chilly

While I have no hands on experience with DDR3(yet!), IMO its not worth the premium you pay. Real world applications, you'll never feel the difference, and in benchmarks, maybe a bit of a boost.

Ask your self, is the extra cost worth the boost in benchmarks, with no real world benefits. If you like to bench, then I can see the value in getting lower CAS ram, in fact I'd say its worth the extra $20-$50, you might also possibly gain some extra OC'ing room. Otherwise though, with little to no boost in games/real world applications, whats the point?

Hope that helped a bit!

I see. Your help proved useful, I think I may just invest in some good ol' CAS9, nice and *fairly* cheap and fast. BTW I want DDR3 because I got an i7 build happening, just deciding on what RAM to buy and I'm ready to go. Otherwise I woudln't upgrade to DDR3, stick with good ol' DDR2-1066 etc.

[encorp]

If there was any difference in performance it wouldn't be at stock speed/timings really. You'll mostly see gains on the higher binned/lower timing sets if you loosen their timings from 7 to 9 and boost the MHZ where possible.

[Cranky]

The lower CAS might give you an extra frame or two while gaming.

[ImmaPC]

So all in all the difference between the two are slim in terms of gaming performance, even negligible in terms of FPS, except when OCing. I won't do very much in terms of RAM OC's, so...

[rjbarker]

BTW I want DDR3 because I got an i7 build happening, just deciding on what RAM to buy and I'm ready to go

Ahhhh..another one coming over to the other side of the fence.....I7 that is :)

[ImmaPC]

Yeah, I was so phsyched when I saw this NCIX Boxing week sale, i7 920 + eVGA X58 for I think $630, I just couldn't resist.

WOAHLY-SH*T! Check THIS! I just Pricematched this on NCIX, it was accepted! Perhaps for the EXTRA money it's not THAT much worth it, but if it's LESS than a similar kit at CAS9, I'm all in.

So after this, all in all I'm getting my i7 setup, sans case, for ~$960 tax included. Plus re-using 4850 ($180), plus re-used brand new 640GB ($80), plus re-used DVD drive ($25)...so more like $1250, sans case...not too bad.

[Chilly]

Originally Posted by ImmaPC

Yeah, I was so phsyched when I saw this NCIX Boxing week sale, i7 920 + eVGA X58 for I think $630, I just couldn't resist.

WOAHLY-SH*T! Check THIS! I just Pricematched this on NCIX, it was accepted! Perhaps for the EXTRA money it's not THAT much worth it, but if it's LESS than a similar kit at CAS9, I'm all in.

So after this, all in all I'm getting my i7 setup, sans case, for ~$960 tax included. Plus re-using 4850 ($180), plus re-used brand new 640GB ($80), plus re-used DVD drive ($25)...so more like $1250, sans case...not too bad.

Sounds like you made out nicely with a couple good deals! Make sure to post up a small worklog once you got it all together. While I don't like the OCZ brand for personal reasons, it looks to be a great kit, and at a great price.

[ImmaPC]

I've used OCZ before, they're not that bad. Sometimes they have high timings for the speeds (I got a DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 2GB set awhile back), but you can get it down to lower CAS timings easily. It sucked though because after I had that set @ 4-4-4-12, it worked for another two months and then one of the sticks crapped out, at least the RMA went smoothly.

Will definitely post a worklog once it gets here, another 1-2 weeks :D