Which memory kit should I get for gaming?

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jawhnay

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Apr 5, 2012
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I'm looking for a memory kit that is reliable and is the best bang for my buck. I want it to not give me problems for the next couple of years. I don't want a BSOD about memory management or stuff like that. I've been getting that lately with my current rig. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Specs:
MOBO: MSI Z77A-G41

Processor: i5-3570K

Graphics Card: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 DUAL MINIDP HDMI DUAL DVI PCI-E Video Card

Power Supply: Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
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Usual recommendation is 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 (or lower) 1.5V (or lower). Very little difference between the brands, as they're all using chips from a couple of companies.

You could try underclocking the RAM if it's unstable. Also, if it's still in warranty (most do lifetime), run a Memtest86+ and if it shows errors, RMA it.
 
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toarranre

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Feb 7, 2013
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Can't go wrong with Corsair of Gskill. 2 x 4GB is more than enough and will leave room for more later on. If the rig is mainly for gaming I wouldn't waste money on anything faster than 1600. In my opinion budget is actually fine, but few enthusiasts want to be seen using it.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Jun 5, 2013
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You'd be so surprised, leave the reviews and benchmarks articles get a good set of fast sticks and you'd be amazed...If strictly gaming, not much gain except for memory centric games (which are growing), but in real world, seldom is a rig strictly for gaming, and gamers normally multi-task with when not gaming....I figure if the pro gamers use faster memory, there must be something to it
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
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Because the pro gamers use the fastest everything, often donated by sponsors.

Toms did a piece on it a few months ago: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-bandwidth-latency-gaming,3409-10.html

F1 2012 and Skyrim had a difference, but both were thoroughly platform limited and it was tiny in Skyrim. They were really pushing everything else too - OCed 7970CF and a 3960X.

While it might have a slight impact on other things - like reencoding video or Photoshop work, it's small and chances are most people aren't time-limited on that.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Jun 5, 2013
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No problem, you stick with articles and benchmarks, I take realworld people and do blind testing as often as I can they run same or identical systems as they do everyday, not knowing what they are running, thinking at one sitting or the other they are running with a few tweaks I am experimenting with, over 85+ percent choose the one running the faster DRAM...if all you do is game or read your e-mail, will you see a difference, prob not, but if you are USING the system, you probably will, and NO the pros don't use the 'fastest' of everything, they do as I suggest, the best combo of CL to freq, which will provide the best performance, generally tailored to the games they will play on the systems
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

Titan
Sep 23, 2012
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Sorry, maybe I didn't put that right. The pros get given the best stuff by their sponsors so that other people go "Hey, he's really good and uses an ROG board. It must make you game better; if I get one I'll be like him". Most pros would still do damn well on systems that cost half as much.

I'd like to see how "blind" your blind testing is. It's very easy to give off subconscious clues as to which should be better, which then make that person think it's better. Also, there is always a difference in benchmarks if there is one in real life, even if you have to use a FCAT to find it.
 
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toarranre

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Feb 7, 2013
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Kind of getting off topic but I think this is an interesting point. Benchmarks and one users realworld experience is surely not a complete picture. I would like to see blind panels done on toms where they give a group of people two systems with different specs and another group two systems with the same specs and see what sort of poll results come out of the trial.
Personally I use photoshop a lot and spending 10% more on RAM is something I feel is justified.
For the majority of heavy gaming users found on this forum I've yet to be convinced that it's worth it.
 
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toarranre

Honorable
Feb 7, 2013
125
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Well say I spend an extra 20 bucks on RAM in a 1000 dollar system that's a 2% rise in cost for a 5% boost in efficiency for my most commonly run program.
Of course if you are mainly gaming and only dabble in RAM intensive applications then you are wasting your money. I think that's the most important point a lot of new builders miss when asking for "good" stuff. What is good depends mainly on what you are going to be doing. For me no dedicated graphics card is "good" as I play 10 year old games on CPU integrated graphics. Fast RAM however is as I'm on PS half the day and the RAM is being used by the APU as well.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Jun 5, 2013
67,883
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126,960
And what are you generally talking between 1600 and a like set of 1866 $10-15, you are also buying this DRAM for more than a day, programs and even games are becoming more memory centric, so with even slightly faster DRAM you are a step up on others who believe the 1600 line...also 1600 is nothing more than entry level these days...If all one is going to do is game or read email then 1600 is fine - but who does that? I have hard core gamers that play and have browser windows and apps open and no slow down, where with 1600 there would be
 
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