Will the 800 MHz FSB in Santa Rosa be less effective than the old 667 MHz FSB if the RAM is still 667 MHz?

Question

Ok, basically I've heard that you get optimal performance when your Front Side Bus speed matches the speed of your RAM.

"Santa Rosa" is being released by Intel soon. It has a new 800 MHz FSB. Most laptop RAM, however, is still at 533 or 667 MHz.

So, the question is, will 800 MHz RAM be available when buying a computer? If not, how big a deal will this be? Would the 667 FSB be better?

Cheers.

Answer 1

Performance is best when the RAM speed is equal to or greater than the FSB. However you have to look at the actual speed of the two, not the quoted speed. FSB speed is quad pumped, so its quoted speed is 4x its actual speed. DDR2 RAM is double pumped, meaning its quoted speed is 2x its actual speed. So an 800Mhz FSB has an actual speed of 200Mhz, while 533 and 667 MHz RAM have speeds of 266 and 333Mhz, so you have nothing to worry about.

Answer 2

no it doesn`t
change the front side bus of your system