timings are just that, timings on the ram. the lower, the faster. for instance, you see ram being labeled Cas 2, 2.5, etc. 2 is faaster than 2.5, but harder to run too, meaning less overclock. lower numbers mean tighter timings, higher numbers mean looser timings.

ok, you are getting an asus canterwood, and after reading this excellent review http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...threadid=12734 and you will see that timings don't mean crap on the canterwood board. so don't worry about timings too much, and just get as high a FSB/memory as you can.

ok you already know about FSB and multipliers, which is good. one more variable you have to learn about is ratios. specifically, FSB/memory ratios. before this, the fsb and memory speed were 1:1, meaning for every FSB you increase, a corresponding increase in memory speed accompanied. so with say, an athlon 133 fsb, when you bumped up the FSB to 150, the memory was also now at 150.

with P4's, we are introduced to ratios. basically, you can choose 1:1 ratio, so with fsb at 200, memory is also at 200. but these chips overclock like crazy, so some are hitting 275-300 fsb. no memory i know of that can hit that, so you enter into a 5:4 ratio. thhe first number is the FSB, the second the memory. so, lets say we are at a 250 FSB. with a 5:4 ratio, the fsb will be 250, the memory will be only at 200. get it? there is also a 3:2 ratio, so at 300 fsb, your memory will only be at 200.

with the P4 and asus p4c800, i suggest doing this. leave the ratio at 1:1, and up the fsb/memory until it craps out. most likely, it is your ram crapping out, and you know the maximum of your ram now. then drop the ratio down to 3:2. up the fsb until it craps out. this is likely the max of your cpu. now you know the maximum of the cpu, and memory, so you can work from there.

well i'm sure you know about vcore voltages (for the cpu), so you must be asking about vdimm (voltage for memory). i don't **** around with that. i drop it in, and up the memory voltage as high as it can go (2.85 in your case) and leave it there.

hope that helps.