Advice pls -- Very confused about memory purchase

mcaren · Mar 3, 2015

I'm building a budget (<$500) desktop for video conversion & photo editing (just family stuff; no Photoshop) basic surfing/MS Office stuff. No gaming. I read the memory FAQ (well, I tried), but have to admit a lot of it went over my head.

These are the CPU, motherboard, and memory I've tentatively selected (will be using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit and am using a smallish micro-ATX case). Please ignore the prices of the other parts listed in meeting a $500 build total -- I've already purchased other parts and $125US is pushing it for memory... Honestly I don't have a clue how to select memory -- I was going by the motherboard specs (Memory Slots-4 x 240-pin DIMM; Memory Type DDR3-1066 / 1333 / 1600 / 1866 / 2133 / 2400 / 2800 / 2933 / 3100), size (low clearance), reviews, and latency (lower is better?).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $384.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-03 16:22 EST-0500

For $125ish, am I getting good bang for my buck? I don't know if the intended use of the computer makes a difference in selecting memory (video/photo stuff vs gaming), if I should get 2x8gb or 4 x 4gb (for the immediate future), if I should really inspect the case and see if I can manage memory with heat spreaders, or if there are other considerations I'm neglecting.

I'd appreciate any advice you can provide.

Thanks very much.

Monica

boosted1g · Mar 3, 2015

1600 MHz memory is just fine, no reason to spend on more then that.

filippi · Mar 3, 2015

imho you dont need 16GB. A 2x4Gb kit will be more than enough. And a H97 motherboard will be all you need for a no-oc able cpu like i5-4590.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $299.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-03 16:44 EST-0500

AdviserKulikov · Mar 3, 2015

CAS latency is how many cycles it takes to respond to a command. Frequency is how fast it performs one cycle of commands it already has.

Usually higher frequency RAM is better, with low CAS being a nice bonus if you pursue it.

And in a $500 PC, choice of RAM shouldn't matter too much. Just make sure you have enough.

boosted1g · Mar 3, 2015

Here is some good ram for only $115

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl10d16gbxl

I would do an SSD drive for windows and a western digital blue HDD for the media files

boosted1g · Mar 3, 2015

filippi :

With doing video conversion 16gb can actually be useful, if he has the budget then might as well get the 16gb.

EagleDesignInc · Mar 3, 2015

Memory Type DDR3-1066 is slower than DDR3-3100 and so on...
The higher the memory type, the higher the speed... Honestly from 1066 to 2133 you won't see much of a difference. Only after 2400 you'll notice the difference, but the prices go up as you demand faster reading memory. Stick with 1600/1866 they are affordable.

Read the PC RAM GUIDE: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1722156/ram-guide.html

mcaren · Mar 3, 2015

Thank you all very much for your feedback.

Tradesman1 · Mar 3, 2015

With a 4590 you can realistically run 1866 in a 2x8GB config and YES, 16GB would be better than 8 for video work and 1866 would be better than 1600. In video work you can see it in that the rendering time gets cut. When my son started working with video he had 16GB of 1600, went and bought 16GB of 1866 from a friend and saw a good difference, when he got a little more serious I gave him a 32GB set of 2133 which amazed him, then this last XMas I gave him a 32GB set of 2400 which improved the time even more (now he want my 2800 set

he's going to have to wait on that

)

mcaren · Mar 4, 2015

Thanks Tradesman1 - your explanation helps a lot. However, I'm surprised at the prices I'm finding when comparing similar memory (DDR3 2400, 2 x 8gb)mat different speeds. These prices are so similar (see below), and other than perhaps latency, other specs I'm not familiar with, or brand I'm not sure why. Wouldn't I be better off buying one of these instead of the 1600 I'd originally selected? They're a bit more than the $125 I'd hoped to pay, but not by much...
Thanks. Monica

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Cd88sY) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Cd88sY/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32133c10d16gab) | $127.95 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32400c11d16gab) | $134.98 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-blt2kit8g3d1869dt1tx0) | $132.98 @ Newegg
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$395.91**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-03-04 06:35 EST-0500 |

Tradesman1 · Mar 4, 2015

All would work fine, the Ares 2133/10 set is lowest price and is a good set, I'd go it

mcaren · Mar 4, 2015

Thanks!

Tradesman1 · Mar 4, 2015

No worries, let us know how it all turns out

EagleDesignInc · Mar 4, 2015

Tradesman1 :

Yep, the 16GB of the 2133/10 was also my choice, as you can see on my signature.
Not the fastest but money-wise the best choice.

mcaren · Mar 4, 2015

Curious - are y'all selecting the slower speed because the latency is lower? (Purchased the one y'all recommended...). Thanks.

Tradesman1 · Mar 4, 2015

Of the three listed, the 2133 Ares is the best match for your CPU, it should be able to run the sticks, the 2400 set may be too high a data rate for the non'K CPu so you would be wasting money, and the 1866 is costlier than the 2133, if you really wanted to could run the 2133 sticks at 1866 with prob the same timings

EagleDesignInc · Mar 4, 2015

mcaren :

Money wise the 2133 is also the best fit. "Tradesman1" is an expert in the field.

Advice pls -- Very confused about memory purchase

Distinguished

Titan

Distinguished

Honorable

Titan

Titan

Reputable

Distinguished

Legenda in Aeternum

Distinguished

Legenda in Aeternum

Distinguished

Legenda in Aeternum

Reputable

Distinguished

Legenda in Aeternum

Reputable

Share this page