Suggestions Needed on Affordable DDR3 RAM

[E-V]

It would be much appreciated if people could throw out some suggestions on what RAM I should purchase. I'm looking for 8 to 16 gb DDR3 RAM cards.
Additionally, is there actually a difference in RAM card quality, since it's just storage?

 

[Ethanh100]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $77.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-05 17:23 EDT-0400

The variance in ram is the clock speed and timings which wont actually effect performance in real world desktop case use, unless you are using a cpu with integrated graphics rather than a dedicated graphics card. then high core clocks would benefit performance.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What is the rest of your setup , mainly CPU and board?

 

[E-V]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $77.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-05 17:23 EDT-0400

The variance in ram is the clock speed and timings which wont actually effect performance in real world desktop case use, unless you are using a cpu with integrated graphics rather than a dedicated graphics card. then high core clocks would benefit performance.

Thank you so much! That's a great deal! But I'm also wondering if it's worth buying RAM that supports XMP, or is there no everyday use?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What are your specs?

If your running a 4790k and a Z board you can run faster modules.

 

[E-V]

What is the rest of your setup , mainly CPU and board?

CPU: intel i7 4790k

Motherboard: Still deciding between 4 options -
Asus Z97-A
ASUS Maximus VII Ranger
MSI Z97 Gaming 5
ASUS Maximus VII Hero

 

[Ethanh100]

We would need to know your specs like Blackbird said to see if you could benefit from this. if you can, XMP is just a automatic overclock performed on the memory clock and the cpu clock, so if you want some overclocks it could be worth it.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I run these on a similar setup.

16gb.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $59.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-05 17:34 EDT-0400

 

[E-V]

What are your specs?

If your running a 4790k and a Z board you can run faster modules.

Thankfully I am running a 4790k but I don't know what you mean by Z board. If you mean something like an Asus Z97-a, then yes, most likely that will be my choice in motherboard.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Z97 like the boards you listed.

Go with 2133 , you can set it up with 2 mouse clicks in the BIOS under DRAM settings , XMP profile 1.

 

[E-V]

We would need to know your specs like Blackbird said to see if you could benefit from this. if you can, XMP is just a automatic overclock performed on the memory clock and the cpu clock, so if you want some overclocks it could be worth it.

The parts? Well, I am using a Intel i7-4790k 4 GHz processor, and the problem is I'm still choosing my motherboard from these four options:
- asus z97-a
- asus maximus vii ranger
- msi z97 gaming 5
- asus maximus vii hero

probably going with asus z97-a in the end

 

[E-V]

I run these on a similar setup.

16gb.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($59.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $59.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-05 17:34 EDT-0400

Thank you both for giving me two really good options! Do you think 16 gb is overdoing it or will it show a change in performance?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

16gb is the norm now , never hurts to have ram to spare.

 

[Tradesman1]

I'd look to 2x8GB in 2133/2400 (best price to performance area) , probably the Ripjaws X or the Sniper lines from GSkill, their Trident X is the best I've run, they cost a bit more