Corsair

[bdwain]

I'm building an i7-920 machine, and trying to decide on which memory to get. I'm getting 6gb, and 1600 mhz seems to be the fastest i can afford to buy. but i'm having trouble deciding which sticks to get.

for reference, ill have an i7-920, asus p6t mobo, and radeon 4870 1gb gpu, and 1 small ssd for win7 and a larger hdd for my data. i plan on overclocking, but i've never done it before, and probably won't do it to a ridiculous level (but i'll definitely try to get the cpu up to at least 3.6 ghz or so, and them mem up to 1600 mhz or even 1800ish), so if one of them will suit those needs fine and is cheaper, i'd rather get that. i will be gaming and doing a lot of heavy multitasking, and i might get into photo editing a little when i get some free time next year.

i found what looked like a really good deal on amazon for some ocz platinum sticks
OCZ OCZ3P1600LV6GK DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 6GB Platinum XTC Triple Channel Kits
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600LV6GK-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Platinum/dp/B001NFZ5PQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251006988&sr=8-1

but the reviews of those on newegg seemed pretty bad, a lot of people saying they couldn't hit 1600 mhz with 7-7-7-24, like it advertised.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

there are 2 other sets of ocz memory that i like and have pretty good reviews, but i'm not sure how good they are

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

but when looking at corsair, it seems to be above and beyond every other brand when it comes to performance and reliability, and i'd gladly pay an extra $20 or so to get some better performance and/or not have to rma my kit. here are a few corsair kits i like

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145236

i'm not sure how much better it is or if the difference is something i would be able to take advantage of, but the dominators seem to be everyones favorite set of memory and overall just awesome. what do you think of them for me? i'd only want to get them if the differnece is really big and something that i could take advantage of even though i'm a new and not so serious overclocker.

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail (amazon has it for 8 dollars cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C7D G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145253

any thoughts on what might work best for me?

thanks.

 

[spinny]

Just get a reasonably priced set of OCZ in my opinion. Been using them for 5 years, had no problems.

And don't sweat the details on timings. The difference in performance you will see between 7-7-7-24 and 8-8-8-24 is exactly zero. On the same token, trying to overclock your RAM past its rated performance only increases your chances of burning it for basically zero performance gain.

 

[erdinger]

Just get a reasonably priced set of OCZ in my opinion. Been using them for 5 years, had no problems.

And don't sweat the details on timings. The difference in performance you will see between 7-7-7-24 and 8-8-8-24 is exactly zero. On the same token, trying to overclock your RAM past its rated performance only increases your chances of burning it for basically zero performance gain.

Oh man i had written a great answer with many links and everything but i made a wrong klick and the answer was gone...

The short version. You compare different ddr3-1600 rams the only difference is their brand/ price/ and the timings.

Timings are not the most important thing to performance but still they can make a noticeable difference.

Winrar f.e benefits a lot of timings, most games don't (only 1%or2 %)

Look that the brand you choose has a good name and offers addequate warranty. Check on your motherboard makers website if its supported.

Of course the price is also very important... do not spend something like 20 bucks only for slightly better timings, but it its only 5 bucks or so I would take the one with better timings.