So you’re on the hunt for a new memory kit, and whilst you know that “lower = better”.. you don’t exactly know why. You may even know the name “CAS Latency” .. but what is that, exactly? Why is it better to have CL8 over CL10? What are all these other numbers? What do the abbreviations mean? Why is it all so complicated!? Oh, and why do I care? Well.. read on, find out, and rejoice! I’m here to save the day.

CAS Latency
Aka CL
Example timing: 9-10-11-24 2
Highlighted in bold is your CAS Latency. This is the delay time in which the memory a) receives a command from the processor, to the point where it b) sends data back to the processor. It is fairly obvious why this is regarded as the most important timing when it comes down to it. Memory with a CL of 7 will respond faster than memory with a CL of 9.