Help me choose RAM please

mojin7

Honorable
Jun 7, 2012
148
0
10,690
Hi Folks,
I have...

I7 2700k @ 5Ghz (water cooled)
Junk 1333 Ram
Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 MOBO
Seasonic X600 Gold + PSU
Intel SSD 180 GB
(2) MSI Twin Frozr 4GB GTX 680s in SLI

Looking to get some performance RAM. Could somebody please maybe point me to a couple high end choices? This is an area Im not confident in as far as compatability. Ill need 16GB. I have four slots but I dont know if using 2 8gb chips is better then 4 4gb. Please advise me the best you can. Thanks in advance for any help folks. ;)
 
Using the 2x4GB RAM if you need 16GB really, because you OC your CPU. Do you use the PC for games? If yes, you don't need the 16GB.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/11


Also you are better to get the bigger PSU for 680 SLI.

GeForce GTX 680 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 680 SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 750 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_680_sli_review,4.html

 

mojin7

Honorable
Jun 7, 2012
148
0
10,690
Not to be rude but I dont think either of you are familiar with the Seasonic X series. i stated 600 above it is actually the X650. The fan barely even moves when my rig is at full load. Doesn't even get really too warm considering. It is almost 90% efficient at ANY load between 20 and 100%. Not just at specifically 20 50 and 100% like the shotty tx series. Check them out.

Thanks for the info on memory. I do game heavily but not exclusively. I do have a need for more the 8 gigs of ram. Im looking for a 16gb kit that really performs. I have a 1333 kit now.
 
We are familiar with Seasonic and it's not a matter of efficiency. 650 actually gives a little bit of breathing room, 600 is down to the wire.

At any rate, is there a specific program you run that is sensitive to RAM frequency? That would be the only case for going above 1600MHz.
 

Tacoboy

Distinguished
May 13, 2006
97
0
18,640


I've always been lead to believe that using 4 memory sticks is less stable then using just two sticks.
(I'm not trying to say it's wrong to use memory 4 sticks).
Have you updated your motherboard to the latest BIOS?
The website Techbargins will sometimes list some low prices for name brand memory.
 

mojin7

Honorable
Jun 7, 2012
148
0
10,690


Ah ok. I was rushing as I am at work and did type that wrong. My apologies.

My question. As far as gaming goes with my particular rig, would I see any scaling increase in performance as RAM frequency is increased. I.e. 1333 getting 45 fps, 1866... 48 fps, 2133... 51 fps. Or is this not the case. I have found some discussions here and there about RAM frequency not being a big deal but the rigs and testing they used were not really applicable to what Im running.

Of course if the answer is no Ill just stick with what I have. Either way Im here to learn and thank you.
 
Swear I saw an article recently and it wasn't very impressive (a couple of frames per speed bump but at rapidly increasing cost since you have to keep the timings down or it's a flat out wash) but can't locate it now.

It seems to be more important for integrated GPUs than for discrete cards.

If a couple frames are worth the cost for you to feel like you're getting the most out of your system then grab the good stuff. It's just not normally recommended for folks looking for a good cost/performance ratio.
 

rojodogg

Honorable
Feb 22, 2013
218
0
10,710
You should get the fastest speed with the lowest cl score. IE 1600 cl7, 1866 cl8, 2133 cl9.

While the typical latencies for a JEDEC DDR2 device were 5-5-5-15, some standard latencies for JEDEC DDR3 devices include 7-7-7-20 for DDR3-1066 and 8-8-8-24 for DDR3-1333.

DDR3 latencies are numerically higher because the I/O bus clock cycles by which they are measured are shorter; the actual time interval is similar to DDR2 latencies (around 10 ns). There is some improvement because DDR3 generally uses more recent manufacturing processes, but this is not directly caused by the change to DDR3.

As with earlier memory generations, faster DDR3 memory became available after the release of the initial versions. DDR3-2000 memory with 9-9-9-28 latency (9 ns) was available in time to coincide with the Intel Core i7 release.[8] CAS latency of 9 at 1000 MHz (DDR3-2000) is 9 ns, while CAS latency of 7 at 667 MHz (DDR3-1333) is 10.5 ns.

(CAS / Frequency (MHz)) × 1000 = X ns

Example:

(7 / 667) × 1000 = 10.4948 ns