T43 Memory Performance Difference for Timing Aspect

[fjearr]

Hi.

Does anyone know if theres a difference in performance for T43 memory with 4-4-4-12 timing and buying memory with 4-4-4-10 timing and installing them together.. would it be much difference?

or would it be better to find the same 4-4-4-12 timing memory to use.

any help would be appreciated.


cheers

[eharley]

I'm relatively new to the notebook world, but I'll take a stab at answering, assuming that this works the same way as it does on desktops.

The memory timing that is listed for memory you buy should be the fastest timings (i.e. lowest numbers) it's certified to work at. The timings the memory actually runs at in your computer are determined by the settings in the bios (haven't looked to see if they're actually accessible for editing in my T43 bios). This means that all memory sticks in your computer will be running the same timings. From that standpoint if you buy a stick that can run at better timings you aren't going to cause a problem - you just may be running it a little slower than it is capable of running. This could even be a positive thing as far as system stability is concerned. You would see no difference in performance, though, between adding a chip with 4-4-4-12 timing and adding a chip with 4-4-4-10 timing, since they would presumably both be running at the 4-4-4-12 timing.

I also know that in desktops I have dealt with, chipsets using dual channel memory across two sticks (like the nForce2 chipset) are very picky about the two sticks being identical in every respect. This would mean you wouldn't want to install chips with different timing. Can anyone elaborate on the details of whether this kind of thing is a concern for T43s? I haven't looked on the forum for this for a while, but I remember seeing some confused posts on this subject in the past. I am also at least a little confused about differences, if any, between DDR2 (like in the T43) and dual channel (ala nForce2). Is the T43 only dual channel in the DDR2 sense, but not in the sense of using two sticks in parallel? Or can the T43 also use the two sticks in parallel?