Explain the different parts of Ram and configuring it?

[Froger]

Hi, iv only recently come to the world of PC's but i think i have become quite confident in it, i know about different things such as over clocking which i will be trying when i get my CPU, and other things, but the biggest thing i dont get is different parts of Ram, for example, can someone explain to me about ram timings, what they are, what difference they make, and how to configure them, and also cas latency, i do know my may around the BIOS but ram is my weak point on PC's so could someone explain those factors of latency and timings.
thanks, i dont know, and i want to learn, so i may not understand everything you talk about but il ask questions as they come around, help is much appreciated, and i will use it to help me when i get new ram.

 

[Bang]

Okay. RAM is the go-between the cpu and hard disk drive (hdd.)

The cpu requests data which is supplied by the hdd. the cpu sorts what it needs then stashes the lot in the ram. this is where it used to get interesting. hingsare better now with ram being cheap but I will explain it in the old days analogy for you.

Being the gobetween for the cpu and hdd its like this: youre going to have a party and you need to go to the shops to pick up some supplies. You can either use two shopping trolleys, or you can make two trips with one trolley. Using only one trolley obviously takes twice as long but the job still gets done - eventually.

Having more ram enables the cpu to store, sort, and delete data as needed or not.

It's gresat these days as ram iis both cheap and abundant - in Australia a Corsair 4GB stick of their cheapest stuff is only $32. Twelve years ago a 1GB stick would cost over $1,000.

Timings are how fast the RAM performs functions like fetching data. Dont worry so much about the timings for the moment. You should pretty much be able to whack a stick of ram in these days and have it work right off the bat with no tinkering.

Some motherboards offer better/fewer RAM options than others so keep this in mind when planning/making purchases. Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI motherboards tend to be pretty good, and cpu manufacturer will determine alot of what goes inside the bios.

Timings usually come on a sticker on the ram on on the packaging it came on. When in doubt visit the manufacturers website for more info. Timings such as CAS Latency are better the lower the number. If youre going to buy an intel product setting the right timings and frequency is a matter of one click in BIOS. Dont stress alot about it.

1ns is a really fast fetch. Most ram runs at 2ns or even 3ns, still blazingly fast.Its best not to mess with timings these days as doing so can damage your modules and void your warrantee. Just let BIOS do its thing and only mess with things to make sure they are the correct timings, not 'overclocked.'

If you go to play with ram timings and your computer freezes/ blue screens, reset BIOS, try again.

 

[Froger]

ok, thanks, i think i might need to read it though again to interpret some parts of it, but iv got another question?
can you explain about quad channel, dual channel and single channel ram. and the advantages of each and how each one is better than the other, how it effects speed etc...