Best Memory for my A8-3850

[Peaks]

Hey,

Looking for the best/best value for money set of memory for my new A8-3850.

Preferably 8GB of 1866MHz with the lowest voltage possible or a 8GB of 1666MHz that I can easily get to 1866 under 1.65v. I have been recommended these but haven't read great things about their overclocking though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004V3TM8S/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1WSMC95VC34EGFKSY9X6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

Thanks,

 

[o1die]

If the ram is on the qvl listing for your board, then you should be fine. Low voltage is required for some Intel boards but not amd. I don't use it as most amd boards will default to 1.5v, and some low voltage ram may not run stable at that voltage.

 

[blazorthon]

1866MHz is the slowest I would recommend to LIano owners and 2133MHz the fastest. Low voltage kits just need to run long enough for their clock and timings to be adjusted for 1.5v and I don't think a 1.35v module would have trouble at 1.5v. A 1.25v module might not run right with its stock speeds at 1.5v but a 1.35 module should be fine.

I am not speaking from experience here because I never tried LIano (not enough processing power for me) but I do think buying a 1.5v kit would be easier and more likely to work in the long run.

Just make sure you get at least 1866MHz with decent latency, preferably on the QVL list.

 

[Peaks]

So its not true that Llano only supports 1866MHz max?? 2133Mhz will be fine? I have read a bit about memory for Llano and most reviews don't use higher than 1866. What these reviews did indicate however, is that faster speed memory is better than lower latency memory.

This isn't the most detailed review but still gives you an idea:

Speed:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/07/06/the-best-memory-for-llano/2
Latency:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/07/06/the-best-memory-for-llano/3


So as long as the memory is CL9 or lower and with lower than 1.65v I am happy.

 

[blazorthon]

Using 2133MHz RAM on LIano means you're overclocking the bus between the RAM and CPU, not just the RAM. You could give it a try (I would) and shouldn't have a problem.

All GPUs favor bandwidth over latency. Even a slightly higher latencies than CL9 would be fine at 1866 or 2133.

 

[blazorthon]

A difference of 2 clock cycles was needed to get a 1FPS difference in the second link you posted, I think that the latency isn't really going to matter. At 2133MHz I bet even CL11 would be adequate. The second link also suggests 2000MHz or 2133MHz if you can afford it and buying a 1600MHz 1.25v or 1866MHz 1.35v kit and overclocking them should give you 2133MHz with decent latencies at 1.5v or 1.65v.

 

[Peaks]

Using 2133MHz RAM on LIano means you're overclocking the bus between the RAM and CPU, not just the RAM.

Sorry, so in other words I would be overclocking the CPU too??

 

[blazorthon]

You would be overclocking the bus between the CPU and RAM, so technically it overclocks a part of the CPU that only speeds up the RAM because the memory controller is integrated into the CPU in LIano processors, as it is in all modern AMD CPUs and in Intel CPUs since the Nehalem architecture.

 

[Peaks]

Right I get you. But I can keep the CPU clock the same by reducing the multiplier? I dont particularly want to oc the CPU to save on power. I am getting this for the IGP after all.

 

[blazorthon]

You aren't overclocking the CPU cores. You would be overclocking the controller. The controller just happens to be on the CPU instead of the motherboard because doing so allows removing a northbridge chip from the chipset, reducing power and increasing performance by having the northbridge as close as it can get to the CPU.

The last CPU architecture to have a northbridge chip was the core 2 series. The northbridge was a middle-man for the CPU and memory, integrating it into the CPU was just a method of getting rid of the middle man.

 

[blazorthon]

Overclocking the controller (I think it is called the northbridge frequency on AMD systems) doesn't change the CPU clock.

 

[Peaks]

ok thanks.

Yea I knew about the the controller being moved to the chip itself, thats the case on my gaming rigs CPU (i5-750) ists just the actual frequencies in the BIOS I am not that sure about, hence all my questions. Thanks for your help.

To be honest I cant find much cheap 2133MHz kits in the UK, but I have found a reasonably priced 1866MHz kit at 1.5v CL9 so might go for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004TGFWCW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2AEWZ68B7P4J7

 

[blazorthon]

They should do the job well. My suggestion to you would be to loosen the timings to increase the frequency because the timings aren't important, unlike the frequency. If you can get 2133 with cl11 and without increasing the voltage then you should be set.

LIano has been proven to only get a 1FPS or so increase by decreasing the timings by 2 while getting several to several dozen FPS increases from increasing the frequency. I assume this is because the IGP of Llano is much more bandwidth starved than it is latency choked because GPUs tend to not really care about latency, unlike bandwidth which they scarf up as much of as they can.

 

[Peaks]

Yep, thats the plan!

Not sure I will get that far without increasing the voltage. If I could get even 2000MHz with CL11 and 1.5v I would be happy! The 1666Mhz G.Skill Sniper kit is 1.25v which is really nice, but I am starting from an even lower frequency and with no guarantee I think this is the best bet. At least if I dont get anywhere I have 1866MHz at 1.5v.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[blazorthon]

1600MHz 1.25v kits can probably get around as high as an 1866MHz 1.35. Your welcome.