How much do ram timings really matter?

Hi, I'm currently considering upgrading my 2GB of ram to 6GB, the catch is my current set runs on 4-4-4-12 timings where the new set would be 5-5-5-18.I could just upgrade to 4GB and keep the same timings but as upgrading to the full 6GB will cost almost exactly the same, I am very tempted to do so.I use my computer for gaming mainly and simple general tasks, nothing super taxing like a lot of video editing.So if anyone could give me advice to how much the slower timings will effect me and if its worth taking the hit, that would be great.ThanksTomHow much do ram timings really matter?
The tighter the timings, the better usually. From what I've read, you usually want the first three numbers to sum to the last number. I'm no expert on this, so someone please correct me if this is misinformation. I've also seen the general idea that more RAM = less timing, but at any rate, if you don't regularly max out your 2gb (think, 4 is DOUBLE what you have now) then I wouldn't say it's worth it to get 6. -Betta How much do ram timings really matter?
thanks, 'worth it' isn't an issue in terms of price as it's almost identical, I currently do max out my 2GB fairly often, with games such as Crysis and Company of Heroes, plus it takes an age to open large folders in windows or to fully close down a game.I'm aware that 4GB would be sufficient to sort out these issues, but as the 6GB is the same price, and as i thought the maxim is the more ram the better generally with Vista 64bit id give it a shot.Thanks for your help and please keep it coming
[QUOTE=''tommymac28''] Hi,I'm currently considering upgrading my 2GB of ram to 6GB, the catch is my current set runs on 4-4-4-12 timings where the new set would be 5-5-5-18.I could just upgrade to 4GB and keep the same timings but as upgrading to the full 6GB will cost almost exactly the same, I am very tempted to do so.I use my computer for gaming mainly and simple general tasks, nothing super taxing like a lot of video editing.So if anyone could give me advice to how much the slower timings will effect me and if its worth taking the hit, that would be great. ThanksTom[/QUOTE]There is hardly any hit in my opinion. Faster Ram in terms of Mhz is better.
Don't worry about the timings. If the cost is close, go for the 6gb. More ram is better.
thanksI know it sounds stupid, but im just pulled in by the desire to say WOW i have 6GB of ram rather than just 4GB, even though I probably won't see an performance increase at the moment. so if there's going to be a nominal performance difference between the 2 timings I would prefer the 6GB, unless people think that mixing two different timings could causecompatibilityissues? Please keep your advice coming!thanks
so does anyone think that mixing 2GB of Corsair XMS2 (4-4-4-12) with 4GB of Corsair XMS2 (5-5-5-18 ) could cause any real compatibility issues?thanks
mixing ram is never good if you can avoid it
[QUOTE=''tommymac28'']so does anyone think that mixing 2GB of Corsair XMS2 (4-4-4-12) with 4GB of Corsair XMS2 (5-5-5-18) could cause any real compatibility issues?



thanks[/QUOTE]

You can mix them, but the 2gb of corsair will run at 5-5-5-18
thanks, what kind of difference in performance in game would i get between 4GB at 4-4-4-12 and 6GB at 5-5-5-18?thanks again everyone for your help
It depends if your running a 64-bit O.S. they will see 4 or 6 gigs of R.A.M. XP64 and Vista Ultimate are the only 2 O.S. that see over 3.25 gigs of R.A.M.
yeah im running Vista64, so you would go with the 6GB?thanks
[QUOTE=''roulettethedog'']It depends if your running a 64-bit O.S. they will see 4 or 6 gigs of R.A.M. XP64 and Vista Ultimate are the only 2 O.S. that see over 3.25 gigs of R.A.M.[/QUOTE]

You sure? I though Vista Basic 64 could run 8GB of RAM, Vista Premium 64 could run 16GB of RAM, and Business and Ultimate 64 can run up to 128GB of RAM. Am I wrong?



And of course the 32 bit'ers limited to 4GB
[QUOTE=''tommymac28'']thanks, what kind of difference in performance in game would i get between 4GB at 4-4-4-12 and 6GB at 5-5-5-18?thanks again everyone for your help[/QUOTE]



The 4 gigs would bench probably a few hundred points higher than the 6 gigs but you would likely not see a single frame per second worth of difference in a game. The only scenario where the 6 gigs would pay off is if you are running vista, watching a movie, encoding a gigantic file all while having 6 instances of firefox open and playing a game.
[QUOTE=''teldath'']mixing ram is never good if you can avoid it[/QUOTE]I tend it to avoid mixing RAM if I can.
[QUOTE=''tommymac28'']so does anyone think that mixing 2GB of Corsair XMS2 (4-4-4-12) with 4GB of Corsair XMS2 (5-5-5-18 ) could cause any real compatibility issues?thanks[/QUOTE]I don't think it will.