Idaho’s Crucial Technology has announced the immediate availability of new high-performance 512 MB and 1 GB DDR2 memory modules. The high-bandwidth 1GHz PC2-8000 is a 2.2V DDR2-1000 module priced at $165.99 for 512 MB and $330.99 for 1 GB, with 5-5-5-15 latency timings. The new 2.1V PC2-6400 (DDR2-800) and PC2-5300 (DDR2-677) modules offer lower latencies (4-4-4-12 and 3-3-3-12, respectively) designed for use with Intel 925XE and 955X chipsets.
Memory frequency and latencies are have different impacts on a systems’ performance on different tasks. In general terms, memory with lower latency performs somewhat better at tasks with relatively unpredictable memory requirements, such as high frame-rate video games, while memory with higher frequency performs somewhat better at tasks which move large amounts of data in and out of memory on a regular pattern, such as audio and video processing. Generally, improving one characteristic (bandwidth or latency) comes at the expense of the other, although over time both capabilities have improved radically in recent years. High performance memory can enhance a system’s performance of specific tasks from 2 to 6 percent, which – for serious gamers or folks on tight deadlines – may justify the added expense.
