Which RAM should I get?

I just bought a Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R for a i7 build and I admit I haven't built a new system since the old AMD XPs.

My (first) questions is, I would like to get 6 gb of DDR3 RAM and the Mobo specs say I need 1.5v RAM. But I'm confused as some people are running 1.65v RAM. The Newegg product page says that people have prchased 1.65v RAM as well. So what's a decent ram for me to Fold with as that's what the primary use of this new rig will be - Of course I need to try to get it to 3.6~4.0Ghz.

Thanks

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2989

We have the same motherboard except mine is rev 1.6. I use 1.6v RAM too. Here is what I use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

The 1.5V spec. (+/- 5% = up to 1.575V) is in compliance w/ the JEDEC standard for DDR3, and is what Intel adheres to in addition to stating that 1.60V is the absolute maximum (1.875V in the i7 datasheet; 1.375V max. uncore). 1.65V is within .5V of the default QPI / Uncore voltage of 1.1V, which Anandtech and others (including memory manufacturers) found necessary to be within that range when increasing DRAM voltage to or above 1.65V. This is so no damage to the IMC would occur when running a higher than spec. DRAM voltage, which is sometimes needed when overclocking.

Will Current Performance Memory Kill New Intel Core i7 CPUs?
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/806/2/

Thanks redduc.

After reading that and speaking with the seller, it seems the MoBo by default runs the RAM at 1.5v, so I guess this is much ado about nothing.

I still don't now which RAM I'll buy, but now my indecision is based on price/performance and not voltage.

Thanks all for the help.

redduc900 said:

The 1.5V spec. (+/- 5% = up to 1.575V) is in compliance w/ the JEDEC standard for DDR3, and is what Intel adheres to in addition to stating that 1.60V is the absolute maximum (1.875V in the i7 datasheet; 1.375V max. uncore). 1.65V is within .5V of the default QPI / Uncore voltage of 1.1V, which Anandtech and others (including memory manufacturers) found necessary to be within that range when increasing DRAM voltage to or above 1.65V. This is so no damage to the IMC would occur when running a higher than spec. DRAM voltage, which is sometimes needed when overclocking.

Will Current Performance Memory Kill New Intel Core i7 CPUs?
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/806/2/

Click to expand...

some really good ddr3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

For that price, I would hope so.

Thanks, but that's a little out of my budget as I'm already spending a huge amount of money building my new i7 systems as it is.

jazon1 said:

some really good ddr3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

Click to expand...

Well since your tri channel, you are already 33% more expensive than us 1156ers.

Something to note: buying a higher speed ram will make OCing to 4.0 much easier. Since at that speed you are looking at 100 Bclk, then DDR3 1600 should be sufficient. If you are looking for higher Bclks then you should be looking at highly overclockable (expensive) 1600 or go with DDR 2000 anything higher is overkill. You can get away with lower though, because with a X6 multi you would have to be at a superhigh bclk to BSOD and since most chips don't seem to hit higher than 200-210ish you should be good.

If you have a golden chip or running liquid nitrogen, then it would be worth investing in better ram

Well since your tri channel, you are already 33% more expensive than us 1156ers.

Something to note: buying a higher speed ram will make OCing to 4.0 much easier. Since at that speed you are looking at 200 Bclk, then DDR3 1600 should be sufficient. If you are looking for higher Bclks then you should be looking at highly overclockable (expensive) 1600 or go with DDR 2000 anything higher is overkill. You can get away with lower though, because with a X6 multi you would have to be at a superhigh bclk to BSOD and since most chips don't seem to hit higher than 200-210ish you should be good.

If you have a golden chip or running liquid nitrogen, then it would be worth investing in better ram