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Recommendation AM3 system.

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calmchaos

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Feb 7, 2010
I'm getting a new system and I was planning on getting the GA-790XTA-UD4 and 720BE.
Newegg just sold out of the OCZ Black OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK which is what I wanted to get initially.

Does anyone have a recommendation for my board? I don't want to spend much more than $125 on 4gigs. But I'm open to suggestion.
If that set of OCZ is the best choice I'll just wait a week or so to get it or whatever.

Thanks all!
-Brett
 
how about these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226103

Sorry for double post...
The reviews I read just now approve of these sticks, but they are tested on intel systems. Is there anything I should know about how memory acts differently between AM3 and the new Intels?

They say designed for P55 boards... Does that make a difference in real life? Or would I get the most out of them on my AM3?
 
What is it that you want? Excellent overclocking, I assume, but are you more interested in pure MHz and sacrificing timings, or do you want to retain the timings at stock values (low) and still O/C?

I've always used OCZ so I'm biased, but then again, I've only ever heard amazing things about Mushkin..
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227496&Tpk=ocz black

The timings on the above (I believe this is the same pair that you were talking about) are amazing, I think this one is superior to the Mushkin you mentioned, even if the timings are similar, but this pair is supposedly designed for AM3 790FX boards..

Although, I'm about to upgrade to a similar system as yours, and this is the mem I'm looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297
Same price.. Don't know what I prefer over the black edition, but the timings are a bit tighter, although it runs at 1.7V.. not sure, have to do some more research
 
Yeah I'm just looking for something that will overclock like a fool for the price I set for myself.
I've been an OCZ user since they started making RAM, never bought another brand.
I'll see what I can find on that OCZ plat with the 1.7V. Wonder is that very slight difference in voltage makes it any less of an OCer.

I like the muskin name. They seem like a stylish company lol. But bias or no, I always buy what I expect to perform better.

I wonder what exactly makes that OCZ black so geared towards AM3 FX and GX boards (board I'm getting is only 790X anyway).

For that platinum it seems like Newegg has the wrong info. OCZ says the real stock voltage should be 1.9V at those timings... So this ram is most likely just some chips that clocked well at that voltage. Mainly geared towards AM3 systems it seems due to this voltage requirement.
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...Z3P16004GK-Running-Low-Voltage-and-SPD-Tables
 
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Um.. I'd recommend you go for the 790FX, all the companies make at least one, and they are very well priced (under $150). No need for the Asus Ultra or anything, just get a MSI FX790 or Gigabyte or something from NewEgg, they are absolute gems for OCing.

There is another OCZ platinum on newegg I noticed earlier when I was checking, and it runs at 1.6V.

Check out this page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0 1052315794 1052429371 1259929402&name=1.65V
There are 5 OCZ mems on there, check them all out and grab the one you want. The one you posted about is on there, and two more at the same price. I'd go for the Platinum (its $129.99 on that page), excellent timings, and same voltage as your black one ($124.99 on that list). There is a pair on there for $130.99, not sure what that is, it just says OCZ, and the timings are not quite as good, but there must be something about it that makes it a dollar more, lol. Check them out.
 
I'll look into those now.
The one thats 130.99 has something to do with that Fatal1ty fool. Marketing crap.

Oh.. Also I heard that unless you wanted to run crossfire or SLi the FX's weren't worth the extra $$, because the only real difference is in the bandwidth there.

The more i read the more I'm starting to hate OCZ's whole "designed for this, designed for that" nonsense. Making me want to buy Mushkin more and more.
 
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I think you gotta choose between the black and platinum on that page, both at 1.65V. Why don't you post another message with those two, and ask people which they think is better (if you have decided on those two). Perhaps add a Mushkin for the same price and similar timings to that as well and see what people think.

I heard all good things about the 790FX SB.
 
Alright. Thanks for your help.
I heard the 790FX are good too. But its $40 more ish and only gives very small gains.
I'm just trying to get the best bang for the bucks.

Also... from what I gather the "designed for intel" stuff is just their chips that happen to clock well at the low voltages declared safe for the system. Should be more than fine on AM3. Someone let me know if I'm wrong.
The designed for AM3 sticks claim to be designed to talk nice to the new AMD chips.

I'm going to do more research, but I'm leaning towards the <M ram.
If anyone wants to chime in please feel free.
 
I gotta say, that was an odd decision, since you were aiming at 1600 sticks.. The timings on these Mushkin are great, but you gotta remember, those are for 1333, I doubt you'll be able to match the OCZ sticks' timings when you go to 1600, but who knows. There is no doubt these sticks are great, but whether they will perform as well as those OCZ sticks we discussed at 1600+ speeds remains to be seen.

Please let us know how you do with them.

Good luck!
 
I know it's 1333 but that's stock. I'll hopefully be able to get them to do what I want anyway.
Plus I have always wanted to try <M ram.

But yeah... I'll definitely let you know how it all goes.
 
Running it now at 250*5.33=1333. Timings are 7-7-7-20-1T at 1.78V stable.

After I find out how far my CPU goes I'll see where I can take the ram.

EDIT:
I got the ram to run at ALMOST 1500Mhz with loose timings of 9-9-9-24-2T at 1.80V. Right now it's only running slightly above stock because that is the way it's matching my CPU speed.
 
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