Need advice on RAM for a gaming rig.

[Orobas]

Howdy.
I'm putting together a new mid-range gaming machine and have so far chosen the components you see listed below. I already have all the other parts I need (case, monitor, input) and I would greatly appreciate some advice on memory for this configuration. I'd like to try for 8GB (4GB x 2) of ddr3 1333 or better in a dual channel setup. I'm trying to keep the overall cost around $1K and I don't mind shopping around the web for better prices. I don't plan on overclocking (much) but I would like to tweak timings and voltage to achieve the best balance of speed and stability. So far I've focused on this one:

RAM OPTIONS: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

------------------------------------------------
MOBO: ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131646

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Graphics: MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr GeForce GTS 250 (two of these in SLI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB (two of these in RAID 0)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Optical: Lite-On SATA DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Wireless: Rosewill RNX-N300X (my apartment has no convenient cable connections and I can't drill)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166051

 

[NeoElemental]

Dude, drop the sli 250's for a 460...

I would swap out the Caviar Blacks for spinpoint f3 1 TB's. They're only $60 until 9/6. Also, I have heard there are issues raiding the Caviar Blacks, ie WD gimped the raid capabilities so they can upsell their enterprise versions. There is almost no benefit to having Sata 6.0 on a HDD. There was some front page article on Tom's about that.

 

[wielander]

I have to agree with NeoElemental. Although two GTS 250s in SLI would offer decent performance now, that setup will leave you with no route to upgrade. If you don't ever want to bother with upgrading your components, that may be fine. Personally I would go with a single GTX 460 or Radeon HD 5770. That way I would be able to add a second one in the future, when games have become even more graphically demanding and those graphics cards have become outdated, cheaper.

MSI will also only let you redeem one rebate for those two GTS 250s. So they would cost $170 together, not $140.


Spinpoint F3 1TB for $60 link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3%201tb


Here's a combo that pairs the Phenom II X4 955 with an XFX 650W PSU (well regarded, 80 Plus Bronze Certified, modular) for $203 after a $20 rebate and with the promo code XFXPOWER:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492979

650W is plenty, even for two GTX 460s in SLI.


A bigger problem is that your motherboard uses an AMD chipset, which isn't good for SLI (that board isn't SLI ready or certified, either). The second PCI-E x16 slot is also capped at x4 which may impact the performance of a SLI or Crossfire setup.

Here are a couple suggestions for better motherboards (Crossfire ready with x8/x8 support):

ASRock 880G EXTREME3 for $113:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157191

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO for $148:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131633

The ASUS M4A89GTD PRO can be comboed with an ASUS DVD Burner for $156:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496439

 

[Third Darkness]

Orobas,

Like others have said,getting a one card solution for your graphics would be the better option as far as processing power and be able to upgrade later but maybe a 5850 would be a better option as this will at least crossfire,although at a lower channel multiplier.

As for RAM, with G. Skill any of their modules would be great but I would look at the lowest CAS Latency RAM you could find in your pricerange if you want to slightly overclock and change timings. Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Third Darkness

 

[Orobas]

Great feedback, thanks. Is there a mobo that anyone would recommend if I were to drop the current SLI setup and go for the 460? I don't mind going to a board that uses an Nvidia chipset as that is what I have now and I've been successful with it. In addition I imagine I could save more $ by losing the SATA 6 and USB 3.0, basically taking a step down overall in terms of the mobo. That would limit my upgradability as I see it though. If I were to go for a couple SSDs in the future and/or as devices start to use USB 3.0 I'd be out of luck. Is that right?

My current build has an ASUS A8NSLI Deluxe and AMD X2 64 3800 that has served me well for the past 5 years+ I've only upgraded the video card and a couple HDDs since 1st assembly and I'm still playing with reasonably high framerates and detail.

 

[wielander]

If you want a motherboard with an Nvidia chipset, you have to give up USB 3.0 and SATA III anyway.

Here is a passable ASUS M4N75TD AM3 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI for $108 (x8/x8):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131637

and here's the higher end, more recent ASUS M4N98TD EVO AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI (x16/x16) for $143:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131636

 

[coldsleep]

Is there a reason you need 8 GB RAM? No more than 4 GB is necessary for gaming.

If you don't get a USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 Gb/s mobo now, you could add a PCI card for that functionality later (assuming you have expansion slots for it). That being said, it's probably still better to get it onboard now, as you typically only save $20 or $30 on the mobo cost...which is about the current cost of a USB 3.0 or SATA 6.0 Gb/s PCI card.

If you're still getting good framerates, perhaps you should just wait a little while longer? Both Intel and AMD are set to release new sockets next year, so almost anything you buy now will be pretty much a dead socket if you ever want/need to upgrade in a couple of years.

 

[Orobas]

Ok, so based on popular consensus here's what I've come up with:

MOBO: ASUS M4N98TD EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131636

CPU and PSU: Phenom II 955 and XFX p1-650X Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492979

GPU: MSI N460GTX CYCLONE (I will add another one of these when the price drops)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510

RAM: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) Highly rated on tom's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262

Storage: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

With the addidtion of a DVD burner and wireless card it totals $921 on Newegg incuding tax. Subtract a further $40 in mail rebates for the gpu and psu.

Thoughts? Is everyone in agreement about the reduction to 4GB RAM or would I notice an improvement in performance with 8gb?

 

[coldsleep]

Assuming you're set on a nVidia chipset and a GTX 460, I like everything except the RAM choice. For $10 more, you could get this G.Skill ECO Series 1600 MHz CL7 1.35V 4 GB kit, which would give you a lot more options to tweak the timings/voltage.