Memory / Mobo Voltage Question

[Joudoki]

Okay, so I'm planning on building a rig with the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L ( I don't need SLI or RAID, so it's fine for me ).

Anyways, in the manual for the memory, it says this about memory:

4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory

Does this mean that it only supports memory that runs at 1.8 V? or memory that's at or below 1.8 V? or does it mean that it just runs at 1.8V by default, and it's something that you can change in the BIOS?

I'm trying to decide between these two memory modules:
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB)
- DDR2 800
- 5-4-4-12
- 1.8V

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
- DDR2 1066
- 5-5-5-15
- 2.0V - 2.1V

The main issue is that the voltage on the second one exceeds what is mentioned in the motherboard manual.

( Or if someone can recommend a better pair of memory modules.. I'm looking for 2x2gb ddr2 memory that is supported by the board I have chosen. I'm going to be using an E8400 and a GTX260 core 216, 896mb ).

 

[GhislainG]

By default DDR2 800 MHz memory requires 1.8V. It's always better to buy modules that run at 1.8V because you can increase voltage a bit if need be. For the price, that Mushkin memory is a very good buy. If you want G.Skill memory, then you should also consider the DDR2 800 MHz PI Black: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209&Tpk=g.skill%20pi%20black%20ddr2%20800. I run 8 GB at 1.9V on a GA-EP45-UD3P and it's stable.

 

[bilbat]

Either one will work fine; most RAM that's faster than JEDEC spec (800) will need to run at a little higher voltage - don't worry, your board's ram voltage can be raised well beyond toasting the ram. If you're going to run four sticks, you'll also likely need to bump the memory controller hub voltage a tenth or so; and, be aware that it's usually easier (for god only knows what reason) to get 4x2 working than 4x1. Like Ghislaing, I'm running 8G of G.Skill - mine is F2-8500CL5D @ 1080 (DDR2-8640) 5-5-5-15 - takes 2.01V, and a tenth of MCH...

 

[Joudoki]

Thank you, this one thing was terribly irking me =D