Good gaming mobo that supports more RAM

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johnny-mac

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Hi All,

I'm looking to build a new gaming rig, but this is also going to act as my lab machine at home (Maybe this way I can get work to cover some of the expense :p) I'm a data center architect, and I like to do a lot of testing on my own to keep my skills sharp, I use different virtualization solutions in order to run multiple servers/desktops on my rig simultaneously, and I'm also trying to test if some of the new memory caching solutions are viable for gaming (Running games directly from RAM, MWAH HA HA HA! )so this is going to take a good amount of RAM.

I'm looking for recommendations for a motherboard that will support 64GB RAM of DDR3 or DDR4 or more, and still has all of the bells and whistles a gamer needs in his rig (Good Audio, Ethernet, PCIe, USB3.0, you know, literally want it all). Also, hoping to find this in a Z97 if possible, for the Broadwell support. Thanks for your help!
 
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I don't think you would be able to find a Z97 board that supports 64gb RAM, as most people going that large, would just go for the x9* series chipsets.
If you want something that would last longer, and already go straight to DDR4 (considering DDR3 will die), go for the RAMPAGE V EXTREME, or the X99-E WS, I would specially recommend the later one, as it is a great board, and you probably could use the increased stability, as it is going to be a "lab machine". If you want to stay with DDR3, and save some bucks, go for the RAMPAGE IV EXTREME, or the P9X79-E WS, which are essentially the same boards as above, but one generation before.
The first two boards I mentioned, run on a X99 chipset, and carry a 2011-v3...
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johnny-mac

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Would prefer full ATX, I tend to end up adding a lot of HDs over time, but if that restricts the options its not necesarrily important to me.
 
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johnny-mac

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I wasn't aware of that limitation. Do you know if the 2011 socket will support Broadwell going forward, I'm definitely interested in being able to upgrade to a Broadwell proc when they come available.
 
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Luca Rood

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I don't think you would be able to find a Z97 board that supports 64gb RAM, as most people going that large, would just go for the x9* series chipsets.
If you want something that would last longer, and already go straight to DDR4 (considering DDR3 will die), go for the RAMPAGE V EXTREME, or the X99-E WS, I would specially recommend the later one, as it is a great board, and you probably could use the increased stability, as it is going to be a "lab machine". If you want to stay with DDR3, and save some bucks, go for the RAMPAGE IV EXTREME, or the P9X79-E WS, which are essentially the same boards as above, but one generation before.
The first two boards I mentioned, run on a X99 chipset, and carry a 2011-v3 socket, and the last two run on a X97 and have a 2011 socket. Personally I prefer the WS boards over the Rampage ones, and for your use I think they would suit you best, but they are all great boards.

EDIT: You also have the X99-DELUXE and the X99-A, which do support 64gb ram, and are cheaper boards than the ones I recommended above. They also run on X99 with a 2011-v3 socket.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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you'll want to go 2011 or 2011-V3 for 64GB (the V3 is the newer and uses GGR4 vs DDR3). The newer, V3 is more on the expensive side being brand new, and have yet to see any full 64GB sets of DRAM for it, so if need is immediate would look to the 2011 mobos, any idea of a budget
 
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Luca Rood

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Yes, you should go for the 2011 or 2011-v3, as I showed some options above. Though if you go for the DDR4 I don't think the real problem will be the price of the MoBo, but the price of the RAM itself.

You can buy two 32gb (4x8gb) kits to get 64gb, and it will work exactly as a 64gb (8x8gb) kit, as they will both essentially be two quad channel kits. Examples of such kits are these ones from Corsair.

Just for comparison, a DDR3 Dominator platinum 32gb kit at 2666MHz is $669.99 on the corsair website, and a DDR4 Dominator platinum 32gb kit at 2666MHz (exactly the same) is $914.99 on the corsair website (That is almost 40% more expensive). And the DDR4 has higher latency, so as of now, DDR3 is still better, and if you want to build a DDR4 system I would wait!
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Would think long and hard before trying to mix a pair of 32GB sets, one of the reasons sets are so expensive is them being able to find sticks that will play together to put in a single package. They might pull 10 consecutive sticks off the assembly line and only be able to pput together a single 4 stick set that will play nice (even with these much looser timings). Same has been true with DDR3, any time you mix sets of DRAM it can be and often is problematic.
 
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Luca Rood

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The memory sticks in a kit are optimized to work in a "channel group", meaning that if you buy a kit with 8 sticks rated for quad channel, they only have to be optimized in groups of four. So buying a pair of 32gb quad channel kits or buying a 64gb quad channel kit is really going to work the same way!
The motherboards I sugested all work in quad channel, so they are expecting groups of four validated sticks. But you can have two separate kits, as long as they are both quad channel.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Look through the forums and see all the people that have mixed sets, including same exact sets of the same model having problems - I don't know any knowledgeable builders, DRAM manufacturers or mobo makers that will suggest getting two sets of DRAM (even the same exact model). The manufacturers also ONLY guarantee by the single packaged set.
 
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Luca Rood

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I didn't say anything about mixing sets. I said you can use two quad channel kits in their respective quad channel slots on the MoBo. If the memory sticks were to be validated in groups of 8 it would become a octa channel kit instead of a quad channel kit.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Please........there is no such thing as 'octa channel', the 2011 mobo's run quad channel 4 separate channels, take a 4 stick set and put 1 stick in each channel, with 8 sticks you are running 2 sticks in each channel....just like putting 4 sticks in a 1150, 1155 or 1156 mobo as an example - they are all dual channel mobos and with 4 sticks they run in DUAL channel
 
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Luca Rood

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I know there are no octa channel kits (yet), I was just saying what a kit of eight validated sticks would be called.
Quad channel memory sticks are optimized to work in a bank of four sticks, so the sticks are validated per bank, and not in pairs of sticks per channel. The way quad channel works, is by writing data spreaded through the four sticks of a bank, thus theoretically quadrupling the bandwith. So each bank of four sticks acts as a independent unit.
For further info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture
 
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Tradesman1

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No they don't - an 8 stick set is still quad channel as, as said there is no Octa channel and probably won't be for years to come- Quad channel in effect is taking the DRAM, of which each individual stick is a single 64 bit device, when you take 2 sticks in a dual channel mobo the MC (memory controller sees both sticks as a SINGLE 128bit device, run 4 sticks on a dual channel mobo and the MC sees all 4 sticks as a single 128 bit device......on a quad channel mobo 4 sticks are seen as a single 256bit device, and if 8 sticks it's still seen as a 256bit device, so no each bank doesn't operate as a single unit, and actually in each of the 4 channels you will be mixing DRAM from different packages slots A1 and A2 compose the A channel capabilities. Try reading up on quad channel and the 2011 socket
 
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Luca Rood

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What you said is controvertial, you said that four sticks on quad channel (one bank), are seen as a single 256bit device, yet you also say that each bank does not act as one unit.
And yes, indeed, four sticks in quad channel are seen as a 256bit device, and a pair of four quad channel sticks (eight sticks) will be seen as two 256bit devices. So all sticks in a bank (256bit group of four sticks), have to be validated to work together correctly. Though one bank does not have to be validated to work with another bank, as they act as two separate 256bit devices.
 
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Luca Rood

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I agree, and adding to that, is the fact that two quad channel kits will have no issues at all! The only time there might be a problem is if you mix sticks within one bank, though often there will be no issues at all, as you said.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Well I see it here numerous times daily, and get quite a few calls every month from people who get referred to me on exactly this issue, my clients are forewarned, and they often warn their friends, who seem to prefer to listen to people on the net that don't really know DRAM or systems. There are three primary causes of DRAM RMAs one is bad sticks (less than 15%), the next is people can't get their DRAM to run at the spec freq, then the third and largest is from people trying to mix DRAM with older sticks they already had
 
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Luca Rood

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As I said, it is bad, and might cause problems to mix sticks within a memory bank (four sticks in case of a quad channel config). But you can have two different quad channel kits without any issues.
On a side note, why do you think quad channel motherboars are color-coded in groups of four? If like you say, the sticks are matched "per channel", shouldn't the memory slots be color-coded in pairs?
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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No they don't, if what you say was true then it would be Octo channel which is isn't - there are 4 channels, PERIOD, each consist of 2 slots that can be filled, same as most dual channel where there are 2 slots per channel. Tri- channel mobos generally have 6 slots - again two slots per channel ---which is why numbering is generally A1, A2, B1, B2, C and D same.......It's the number of channels that determine how the DRAM is seen 1 = 64bit, 2 = 128bit, 3 channels 192 bit or 4 channels 256bit....As mentioned before, pls go and read up on and learn a little something about DRAM
 
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