CAS Latency Question

Well, I'm going to remove my DDR 2700 mem from my pc and install it on an upgrade for my wife's pc. What I want to do is replace mine with 3200 (although the mobo specs 2700), to accomodate a future upgrade to a 939 system (currently a K7 2500 Barton). I've gone to the Crucial site to see what works and all the pc 3200s for my current mobo are CL 3. My current mem is CL 2.5 (2700). Should I try putting in 3200 at 2.5 or get the 3? I don't want to decrease performance when it comes time to upgrade to the 939 system. What I’m really asking is if the PC3200 at CL 2.5 will work in my current PC2700 rig. Thanks All.
Bronson7

 

Hard to say. Some memory is more forgiving than others. If your board can only run it at 3, its probably better to get faster ram, and run it slower for the time being.

By the way Cas 2.5-3, isn't much of a performance difference at all. The biggest performance change is the CMD rate.

 

Thanks, that's exactly the info I needed.
Bronson7

 

Crucial PC3200 DDR400 Memory has a cas of 3 when run at 200MHz.

If the PC3200 memory is run at PC2700 speed (166MHz) it will run with a cas of 2.5. If the PC3200 memory is run at PC2100 speed (133MHz) it will run with a cas of 2.

If you require memory that will run at DDR400 200MHz with low cas, we have a Ballistix range. 200MHz 2-2-2-6. http://www.crucial.com/uk/ballistix/

Hope this helps

A Memory Expert(SM) from Crucial Technology is now onboard to give you straight answers to your memory-related questions. When responding please provide your full system specs; hardware and software, OS, BIOS, drivers etc.

 

Thanks CrucialTech! I did install two stix of matched DDR400 with no problems. Had I read about mem on your site, I would have had the answer to my question. Your (site) recommends using the fastest available, to accomodate future upgrades, which is exactly what I want to do. Thanks again.
Bronson7