ddr3 1600 1.5v and 1.65v question

[monoaural]

There are a lot of posts pertaining to this subj., but none answered the question i have to my satisfaction, so i'm starting a thread...

i have a gigabyte ga-970a-d3 mobo w/ fx 8350 cpu. Was running 4x2gb 1600 @1.65v, but i purchased 2x8gb 1600 @ 1.5v. I've installed the 8gb in 1 bank, leaving the 2gb sticks in the other bank. System boots fine and everything with voltage set to 1.5v in BIOS. my question is, which would be preferrable over time-- setting 1.5v in BIOS, undervolting the 2 2gb sticks, or setting BIOS to 1.65v, overvolting the 2 8gb sticks? Is this going to be a question of just running benchmarks and seeing what the components like, or is there a hard rule to this? I could run at 1.5 or 1.65 or maybe split the difference?
I'm goung out of town tomorrow, so I don't really have the time to fool with benchmarking atm... but if someone has previous experience, that'd be great.

oh, the ram in question are OCZ gold 2gb (8-8-8) and mushkin blackline 8gb (9-9-9). Thanks in advance for the help, folks!

 

[maikutech]

Don't mix and match different ram modules, your asking for problems down the road eventually.
The mushkin blackline gb will be enough, with higher voltage for the ram, you can oc much better.
Provided you have good air cooling or good liquid cooling to pull off the oc wihout burning up the chip and your remaining warrenty.

 

[monoaural]

Don't mix and match different ram modules, your asking for problems down the road eventually.
The mushkin blackline gb will be enough, with higher voltage for the ram, you can oc much better.
Provided you have good air cooling or good liquid cooling to pull off the oc wihout burning up the chip and your remaining warrenty.

I know I represent the minority in this community, but I have zero interest in overclocking. So, eventual instability aside, I'm still interested in determining whether underclocking one or overclocking the other is preferable. I do intend on purchasing another set 16gb kit in the future, but that will take some investigation, as the #0 slot is underneath my CPU cooler, and I don't think the clearance is quite enough to accommodate another one of these Mushkin blackline modules due to the height of the heatsink. But, I appreciate your input, of course.

 

[Tradesman1]

If they will play nice, try them both ways and see what runs best with best performance, either way is safe, if going the 1.65 route monitor mobo temps, should be little to no change but best to check 😉

 

[monoaural]

If they will play nice, try them both ways and see what runs best with best performance, either way is safe, if going the 1.65 route monitor mobo temps, should be little to no change but best to check 😉

Well, they're playing nice so far... am I better served running a benchmark software, or just getting down with some heavy gaming or something? I guess I can try both. Would you recommend any particular benchmarking app? Most of what i've got is video benchmarking programs, but I think my aida64 has memory benchmarking, iirc.

 

[maikutech]

I might be wrong but this will do for the computer itself http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmark
Then this for the gpu http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark/all
Sis64 might be what your looking for but I haven't touched it yet.

Just to be sure give us your system specs so me and tradesman can help you out.
What kind of cpu heatsink do you have, if its right on the edge of touching or pushing the ram a tad bit.
I suggest looking for a more compact heatsink that will cool well if not better with the right thermal paste.

 

[monoaural]

I might be wrong but this will do for the computer itself http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmark
Then this for the gpu http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark/all
Sis64 might be what your looking for but I haven't touched it yet.

Just to be sure give us your system specs so me and tradesman can help you out.
What kind of cpu heatsink do you have, if its right on the edge of touching or pushing the ram a tad bit.
I suggest looking for a more compact heatsink that will cool well if not better with the right thermal paste.

let's see if i can rattle off my build off the top of my head:

gigabyte ga-970a-d3 mobo
amd fx-8320 4ghz octacore
corsair a70 dual fan heatsink w/ arctic mx-4 tim
2x ocz gold 2gb ddr3 1600 (1.65v cl8)
2x mushkin blackline radioactive 8gb ddr3 1600 (1.5v cl9)
msi radeon r9 380 4gb
320 gb wd velociraptor 10k rpm
1.5 tb wd somethingorother either 5.4k or 7.2k rpm, not really sure atm.
rosewill fortress 750w platinum psu

not really interested in getting a different heatsink until i can afford a corsair h110 or equivalent. this heatsink is proper-- I was idling at 26°C and under last night, which I think is pretty darn good. I could probably OC the crap out of this machine, but I can't be bothered atm. perhaps when I return from vacation on the 20th (or so) i'll flirt with the idea.

 

[Tradesman1]

Can just try gaming, might run Real Bench or Si-Sandra (both are relatively short time wise

 

[maikutech]

I might be wrong but this will do for the computer itself http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmark
Then this for the gpu http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark/all
Sis64 might be what your looking for but I haven't touched it yet.

Just to be sure give us your system specs so me and tradesman can help you out.
What kind of cpu heatsink do you have, if its right on the edge of touching or pushing the ram a tad bit.
I suggest looking for a more compact heatsink that will cool well if not better with the right thermal paste.

let's see if i can rattle off my build off the top of my head:

gigabyte ga-970a-d3 mobo
amd fx-8320 4ghz octacore
corsair a70 dual fan heatsink w/ arctic mx-4 tim
2x ocz gold 2gb ddr3 1600 (1.65v cl8)
2x mushkin blackline radioactive 8gb ddr3 1600 (1.5v cl9)
msi radeon r9 380 4gb
320 gb wd velociraptor 10k rpm
1.5 tb wd somethingorother either 5.4k or 7.2k rpm, not really sure atm.
rosewill fortress 750w platinum psu

not really interested in getting a different heatsink until i can afford a corsair h110 or equivalent. this heatsink is proper-- I was idling at 26°C and under last night, which I think is pretty darn good. I could probably OC the crap out of this machine, but I can't be bothered atm. perhaps when I return from vacation on the 20th (or so) i'll flirt with the idea.

Well I looked at the mobo and the heatsink you have, you are right about cpu socket being abit too close to the ram.
The heatsink looks pretty compact though I use this on my fx6100 with artic mx-4.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118128
I looked at the corsair but are you sure you want to plummet down 120.00 dollars for that ? 😵
If I were you I wouldn't bother if you want liquid cooling without breaking the bank with over draft fees.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181030

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4TZ2SN8437&cm_re=thermal_grease-_-35-186-020-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835129056&cm_re=case_fans-_-35-129-056-_-Product

That case fan will help with cooling off the gpu and hard drive heat.

So with that said, save some good money, the only time I will go liquid cooling.
When I see amds new cpu/apu lineup performances and switch to intel next year if I don't like what I see.