11 replies to this topic

[WARDOZERX]

Does anyone know of any charts showing the impact of memory speeds on HD 4250 IGP's? I found an old chart for an HD 3200 but that guy had very few configurations for memory timings and speed so the differences weren't very large and I'm wondering what the difference would be between something like C7 DDR3-1066 and C9 DDR3-1600 thru DDR3-1866 seeing as the difference is only $10 - $20.

This setup will be used to hold me over on an AM3 setup for TF2 and some other slightly older games until I can afford a much better GPU so I want to make sure I can get the most out of it but only if it's worthwhile to buy faster memory over rather basic stuff.

Edited by WARDOZERX, 12 April 2012 - 05:14 PM.

[Rofltroll]

Quite frankly you won't see any real world difference. I actually just had a course on structure of computer systems at university about memories. The main differences between DDR2 and DDR3 in performance is mainly that DDR3 consumes less power (1.65V). The frequency is higher in DDR3 but the timings are also greater which kind of evens out. between C7 and 1066 and C9 1600 , C9 1600 is somewhat faster but you won't see absolutely any difference in games. 1866 memory isn't worth the 10-20$ in my opinion, especially for games. I dare someone to prove me wrong.

[WARDOZERX]

The $10 - $20 difference is from DDR3-1066 to DDR3-1866. On NewEgg a 4gb kit of 1066 is about $23. A 4gb kit of 1866 is about $40 with 1600 being about $30 - $35. The 1066 is C7 and the 1600 and 1866 kits are C9.

There is a C7 DDR3-1600 kit for $45. Think the difference between C7 1066 and C7 1600 would be worthwhile?

Edited by WARDOZERX, 12 April 2012 - 08:50 PM.

[Rofltroll]

I suggest going for the 1600 C7. Those numbers are given by manufacturers and they represent the manufacturer's guarantee that they will run at those given parameters. You could overclock the 1066 ones but the chance that they will go to C9 at 1600 is greater and there is little guarantee that they will achieve 1600 MHz and C7. 1600 C7 is great for gaming right now but you won't really see much of a difference between 1066 and 1600 in games really. I say go for the 1600 ones. (you will have to enter bios to overclock your ram to those specifications since the mobo will set the ram at a different speed. My OCZ 1600 for example was set to 1066 by default so i had to tweak it).

[Waco]

The difference is going to be small regardless. Just buy whatever you like.

[WARDOZERX]

I'm starting to eyeball an 8gb kit of C7 DDR3-1600. I know it'll be 3.5x the cost of a 4gb kit of DDR3-1066 but it's 2x the ram with 50% more speed at the same timings so that has to be worth something and even tough it'll be a good bit larger initial investment it is probably one that will pay off with the HD 4250 IGP and when I do finally add a dedicated GPU.

I just wish I could find a newer chart with the HD 4250 and a wider range oof speeds/timings to know what to expect from the IGP.

Edited by WARDOZERX, 13 April 2012 - 11:07 AM.

[Waco]

Expensive RAM is almost always a waste of money...just grab some CAS 9 1600 for cheap.

[Rofltroll]

I agree with buying 1600 MHz CAS 9. How much ram does that 4250 eat up? If it eats up 1GB of ram, then maybe 8 GB RAM won't be such a bad idea. Otherwise i suggest you stick to 4 GB if you only plan on playing TF2 really

[boinker]

Expensive RAM is almost always a waste of money...just grab some CAS 9 1600 for cheap.

I can attest to that. I hated my corsair dominator ddr3 1866. Love.my.mushkin ddr3 1333 that runs around 1600mhz all day long.

[WARDOZERX]

What if I can get a 4gb kit that does C6 @ 1600mhz? I can get a kit like that for $40. It's a 2000 kit the guy swears does C6 @ 1600mhz and would likely do much lower cas at 1333 or 1066mhz. He says he binned the pair from a couple of different kits.

Even though it's almost 2x the price of a DDR3 1066 kit if the stuff is as capable as he says then this should perform noticeably better being able to run very low cas ratings at higher speeds. The closest kit on NE is $58 and is a 1600mhz kit at C6 but for $18 less I can get this guys 2000mhz kit that does the same but is also guaranteed to clock much higher.

If cas timing makes more of a difference to an IGP than speed then wouldn't I be able to get a couple more FPS going with the lowest possible cas I can? I'm thinking/hoping that guys one kit might be able to do 1333 or 1066 at cas 4 and that should be worth the extra money would it not?

I just don't want to be in a position where I have to turn a detail setting down because of intermittent jerkiness where having just 5 - 10fps would have helped if I can get that extra speed from going with memory that can run higher speed at lower timings than basic ram and seeing as I'm not going to find a 1gb HD 4870 or GTX 280 for the $20 - $40 extra higher end ram would cost I might as well get what speed I can for now till I can afford a better video card.

Edited by WARDOZERX, 15 April 2012 - 05:57 AM.

[Waco]

You're not going to see much of a difference at all. Even Llano chips only see a few percent at most going from very slow to very fast RAM. The 4250 isn't a speed demon no matter what you do, overclocking it will get you a lot more than any RAM will.

[WARDOZERX]

Eh. I'll prob just get a budget C9 kit of DDR3 1600 then as there are some kits on NE for $24 and see if I can drop the speed to 1333 or 1066 and get C7 or lower seeing as a budget kit of DDR3 1066 is only $4 less prob not worth saving the extra $4.

I think my Thermalright NB1 might even fit the board I'll be getting so that should help me get more speed out of the GPU if it keeps the chipset considerably cooler.

Edited by WARDOZERX, 15 April 2012 - 09:22 AM.