Gaming performance
We ran Far Cry with the DDR2-equipped P5K Deluxe at our usual DDR2-800 and, additionally, at DDR2-1066 4-4-4-12 timings, to see how much extra performance we gained at 1024x768. The answer is not much, but, obviously, it's faster than 7-7-7-21 DDR3-1066 timings.
Our gaming benchmarks reinforce the fact that DDR3's higher bandwidth is compromised by the time taken for the modules to act upon a request.
We're adamant that when the combination of 1333MHz FSB CPUs and even-faster DDR3 memories rear their respective heads, the pair will shine.
The bottom line here is that dual-channel DDR2-800 is more than plenty for a 1066MHz CPU. As we mentioned earlier, more bandwidth is always good. Just how good depends upon, primarily, how highly-clocked your CPU's FSB is.
