hmmmmm, just what memory should someone get?

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opio

opio

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As I've shopped around for memory I've noticed (g.skill in particular) have a bunch of different series of ram that pretty much all have the same specs (except for the CAS latency, which the $20 more expensive ram has a CAS latency of 10 as opposed to 11).

I guess the question is: does it really matter which series I get (ripjaws x series, trident series, etc.)?

I've decided to go with the 2400mhz modules as the modules that are rated for 2666mhz are like $100 more, and I don't think an extra 266mhz is worth $100.

Just what do the timings and CAS latency mean anyway? I get what the frequency (clock cycles) means and how your processor has the memory controller and all that jazz, but I don't understand what timings and CAS latency means.

Thanks in advance to the community, this website is great, everybody is nice and when you have a question it gets answered better than just googling it IMO.
 
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Seladon-1370374
Depends on what you're going to do with it.

For gaming, it's just not worth it to spend more than what 1600 MHz RAM costs. If there's some deals, like some 1866 MHz RAM for the same price, why not, but otherwise, no.

For video editing, 3D modeling and that kind of things, going higher on RAM does help. Both on RAM speed and RAM size. You want the highest speed, with the lowest CAS latency, while keeping a good price/MHz(and CAS) ratio.
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Seladon-1370374

Seladon-1370374

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Depends on what you're going to do with it.

For gaming, it's just not worth it to spend more than what 1600 MHz RAM costs. If there's some deals, like some 1866 MHz RAM for the same price, why not, but otherwise, no.

For video editing, 3D modeling and that kind of things, going higher on RAM does help. Both on RAM speed and RAM size. You want the highest speed, with the lowest CAS latency, while keeping a good price/MHz(and CAS) ratio.
 
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opio

opio

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As of now I have:
Fractal Design R2 quiet series case (all fan slots are filled with Fractal Design R2 quiet series fans for optimal cooling + WAY QUIET I LOVE IT! It gives even my buddy`s liquid cooled rig a run for its money in terms of temperature and decibels
EVGA 750w PSU
Intel media series generic mobo (mATX)
Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9650 cooled by a Zalman cnps9700 quiet series
EVGA gtx 650 ti 2gb SSC edition
8gb g.skill ddr2 @800mhz
Windows 7 running on a 150gb Samsung SSD
and a 10,000 RPM Western Digital 300gb Raptor Drive for my main storage (I only put programs I use most on the SSD)
Highest score achieved on furmark 1.8.2: 3704

I'm looking to upgrade my mobo to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188132

and my CPU to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899

This is the ram I have picked out so far, but if anybody thinks there is a set of 2x4gb dimms I should rather get then by all means. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231585

My tech buddy said that if I had a HDD instead of a SSD going above 1600mhz would do nothing, but since I have a SSD there would be no bottleneck, thus wanting dimms that are rated for higher frequencies, plus the 2400mhz modules I picked out are pretty much the same price as 1600mhz ones anyway.

For those wondering, yes, I am an EVGA whore :)
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

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There's no point in paying the extra for a mITX board, unless it's going in an mITX case. Just get a mid-range ATX/µATX board.

You may want to consider an FX-6300 and a nice new GPU.

That's quite a good price for DDR3-2400, but I wouldn't run 1.65V stuff on an Intel platform. And anything above DDR3-1866 is into diminishing returns territory. RAM bottlenecks aren't like what they were in the DDR2 days.

I'm not sure about what your tech buddy is saying. I'd expect it to be more related to the CPU/GPU. Plus, the tests I'm basing the point of diminishing returns on were all done on SSDs.
 
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opio

opio

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Oh yea I guess I should have mentioned my case is a mini that only supports mATX and mITX.

Yes, that mobo is expensive, but it has all I need on it and has had very favorable reviews. I can appreciate AMD, and have considered getting one, but there are NO micro atx boards out there with an am3+ socket and other features that I want on it, I have upgrade plans for my rig going all the way out to two years from now, and getting an AMD CPU would falter from those plans. And when you look at the numbers, intel may cost more, but is better.

IMO EVGA is among the top manufacturers.

If I did indeed find a board with an am3+ socket and other features (such as two pci-e slots for sli or crossfire) it wouldn't matter, my GPU doesn't support sli, then I would feel obligated to buy two new GPU's sooner than I can afford, so that's out. And again, I know the mobo I have picked out is expensive, but compared to other boards I've looked at, I want the EVGA stinger.

My current GPU doesn't support sli anyway and IMO doesn't need to be replaced for another year, and I would just get another single card.

I did more research and in terms of gaming 1833 is about as good as it gets, but the ram I have chosen seems to be good for the price and I don't need more than 8gb of it.

Remember this is about ram, not choosing what other things for me I am upgrading that I'm pretty much set on.
 
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Someone Somewhere

Someone Somewhere

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While I accept that you like EVGA, there isn't really much point in going for that board compared to a Z87 micro-ATX board with a decent VRM.

EVGA is a good company, but IMHO it's main appeal is in things like international warranty support and customer support. The products aren't hugely amazing.

I'd save $100 (towards a nice GPU) and get one of these or these. You'll get far more features than a space-constrained mITX board. For starters, there's another pair of RAM slots, could add a WiFi card or something, and there's another 2x SATA ports.

While this is primarily about RAM, I don't like to see people spending money on stuff that's not needed. And putting $100 towards your next GPU upgrade would be a far better use.
 
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opio

opio

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I wrote up a whole paragraph but deleted it. There is no use. I can tell you're the type of person who probably keeps to himself because, well you've demonstrated this perfectly, your way is the only way in your head. Yes I get it, you're just trying to help. But it's a little insulting to pull up boards and assume that I haven't looked at other options.

Once again, I don't need another GPU for awhile.

That gigabyte board, I've seen it, has great features, and added to my cart all the other shit I'd have to get when I got it, plus other shit I'll have to buy in the future. The way I have now actually saves me 400 bucks. Yes, for you that looks great dude. But like I said, IMO, I'm not wasting money. I don't think the EVGA stinger is that bad space constrained, shit if you look at the dimensions it isn't much smaller that mATX boards. Not to mention EVGA has replaced two cards in the past I've had when both times were my fault, all I had to do was pay shipping.

I'm done with this, I got my answer. Bye.
 
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