ram suggestion for my machine

[schmohawk]

Hey everyone!

A while back I built a machine based on an AMD Phenom II X4 840 in an ASRock 870 EXTREME3 mobo, with G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) ram sticks (full specs are in my signature)

For a while now. I've wanted to add some ram to the two available slots.

My initial approach was to order memory identical to whats already in the box, doubling my ram to 8gb.. but then I started thinking it might be more cost effective to order four 4gb sticks and replace them all with two of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

can my computer utilize 16gb of ram? or is it overkill considering the other components?

Thanks to Kahn, and Especially Trents.. I've clocked the cpu to 230MHz x16, vcore 1.425V, nb voltage 1.2500V, and for the ram i set mem clock to 613MHz/DDR3_1226, and timings to:
CL: 7 clocks
tRCD: 7 clocks
tRP: 7 clocks
tRAS: 22 clocks
tRC: 29 clocks
CR: 1T

Would pulling those two 2gb sticks out and replacing them with the 4gig sticks be a good idea?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[Knufire]

It depends mostly on your usage...are you going to use more than 8GB of RAM?

You can just run task manager in the background, it should graph RAM usage for you. Any sort of performance monitoring program should do it too.

 

[schmohawk]

i can defiantly tell its maxed out in the task manager when running multiple memory intensive programs such as ableton and premiere..

Also.. i can feel the jump from the ram to the page file when im running icenhancer 2.1 which is a Very memory intensive mod for gta iv

I know I'll have use for the memory, I just want to make sure it will cooperate with the other hardware

 

[Knufire]

Gotcha, you'll put that 16GB to good use.

That CPU probably won't be happy with stuff faster than, 1333MHz. You can buy 1600MHz, but you'll probably have to downclock it to you 1333MHz and tighten the timings to get the performance back. Or just buy 1333 CL7.

 

[schmohawk]

Gotcha, you'll put that 16GB to good use.

That CPU probably won't be happy with stuff faster than, 1333MHz. You can buy 1600MHz, but you'll probably have to downclock it to you 1333MHz and tighten the timings to get the performance back. Or just buy 1333 CL7.

Would something like this fit the bill? -

Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148485

seems like a really good deal.. any experiences?

 

[Steven90]

Would something like this fit the bill? -

Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148485

seems like a really good deal.. any experiences?

Crucial is really great memory, I've never had a problem with it and the one faulty stick I've run across(out of many I might add) was quickly taken care of by customer service, who were a breeze to work with.

 

[trents]

Going from 2 sticks of ram to 4 sticks places more strain on the memory controller and can have a detrimental affect on overclocking as can increasing the total amount, especially when you are overclocking the FSB past 1333.

 

[schmohawk]

Going from 2 sticks of ram to 4 sticks places more strain on the memory controller and can have a detrimental affect on overclocking as can increasing the total amount, especially when you are overclocking the FSB past 1333.

Its Trents!

Thanks for the priceless info as always.. good thing i didnt jump the gun.

So Im reconsidering my options.. ive found a few different sticks that might suit me well.. but ive yet to get the capacity, speed, and timings where i need them all on one stick..

ive been looking for either two 8gb 1333 sticks with cas latency 7... or ...one 16gb 1333 7-7-7-7 stick... and im starting to think this configuration does not exist.

am I miscalculating what i should be sticking in this machine? Any recommended ram sticks that would be a good fit for this box?

Thanks again!

 

[trents]

Going back to something knufire said, one valid approach is to move up to 1600 or even 1866 mhz ram and run it at 1333 with really tight timings. There are more choices with the higher speed ram and more products are available because the industry is catering to the latest AMD and Intel CPUs which have stouter ICMs that will handle the extra strain. The ram manufacturing business is moving away from the 1333 mhz ram to the faster stuff now so its the sweet spot for price and performance. And one more suggestion, don't buy the ram that takes 1.65 volts to run at it's max speed rating ("XMP"). Get the 1.5v stuff. The lower voltage ram puts less strain on other components. Going with the higher speed ram would also put you in a better position if and when you upgrade to BD or PileDriver.

 

[Neo565]

Corsair xms3 are really good ram. Never had a problem with 'em.

 

[hokiealumnus]

Going from 2 sticks of ram to 4 sticks places more strain on the memory controller and can have a detrimental affect on overclocking as can increasing the total amount, especially when you are overclocking the FSB past 1333.

Going back to something knufire said, one valid approach is to move up to 1600 or even 1866 mhz ram and run it at 1333 with really tight timings. There are more choices with the higher speed ram and more products are available because the industry is catering to the latest AMD and Intel CPUs which have stouter ICMs that will handle the extra strain. The ram manufacturing business is moving away from the 1333 mhz ram to the faster stuff now so its the sweet spot for price and performance. And one more suggestion, don't buy the ram that takes 1.65 volts to run at it's max speed rating ("XMP"). Get the 1.5v stuff. The lower voltage ram puts less strain on other components. Going with the higher speed ram would also put you in a better position if and when you upgrade to BD or PileDriver.

+1 to both of those fine gentlemen. IMHO, to get 16G, go with 2 x 8GB sticks. Here are a few reasonably priced options, all rated at DDR3-1600, 1.5V & 9-9-9-28 (or 24).

Geil Evo Corsa
G.Skill RipjawsX
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline
G.Skill Sniper (if you like guns on your heat spreaders...)
Geil Evo Leggara
Geil Evo Two
Corsair Dominator Platinum (ridiculously expensive for the ratings)
Corsair Vengance
G.Skill Ares
Team Vulcan

Just a few options; pick which one you think looks best.

 

[schmohawk]

+1 to both of those fine gentlemen...

The guidance provided on this forum is indescribable.. and im starting to think trents is simply a bot preloaded with only correct responses.

Thanks again for everyones knowledge and patience.. and great suggestions hokiealumnus! You've made this decision much easier for me, as my job does not leave me with much time to research the best options.

ill go ahead and pull the trigger on the sniper ram.. it seems to fit the milieu of the storm scout case.

Thanks again!!

EDIT: Also, should I reset my bios settings for the ram i already have in there when I switch the sticks, and change the timings back once I know the new ram is stable?