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Fast RAM Provides Low Value

Slim gains from low-latency RAM don't justify a steep price.

David Essex

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Test Report: Faster RAM Boosts Game Performance (chart)

Low-latency DDR memory provides a modest boost to large-data-set, graphics-intensive applications (like the Doom 3 game), which make frequent random accesses of main memory. But the performance gains mostly disappear at higher resolutions for games, where systems rely more on high-powered graphics cards than on the CPU/memory subsystem. Mainstream apps show minimal improvement.

FOOTNOTES:
1Frames per second, at 640 by 480 resolution and 32-bit color depth.
2Frames per second, at 1600 by 1200 resolution and 32-bit color depth.
3Frames per second, at 1024 by 768 resolution and 16-bit color depth.

HOW WE TEST: We tested an AMD Athlon 64-based system with Windows XP Professional using a pair of low-latency DDR RAM modules, then a pair of standard DDR RAM modules, at both 512MB total and 1GB total. We used low-latency parts from Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston, in turn. See the WorldBench index page for details on WorldBench 5. In the Mozilla subset of tests, we time the loading of 115 Web pages, four times. For Doom 3, we measure frame rates during the supplied timed demo. In Return to Castle Wolfenstein, we measure frame rates during a recorded demo. The Unreal Tournament 2003 test measures frame rates during a fly-through of one game level. All tests developed and performed by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved.

CHART NOTES: On the Mozilla test, lower is better; elsewhere, higher is better. Bold denotes best score.

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