Corsair TW3X2G1600C9D G works on AM3 platform?

[Guest]

Is this Dominator 2x1Gb DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 1.8V compatible with my Asus M4A79XTD EVO motherboard? The voltage seems right for an AMD configuration. I already went to their compatibility list http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=vk9Pqxby9MjO0WHm and didn't find it. Are just the ones starting with CM... code name compatible with AMD, and not TW... also?
Why doesn't the search on Corsair's site find TW3X2G1600C9D G, the closest match being TW3X2G1600C9DHX?
Thank you!

 

[photonboy]

I'm pretty sure if a board accepts DDR3 it will in theory work with all DDR3 memory though in practice there are sometimes issues.

If your motherboard doesn't state it, go into the BIOS and see if you can view what voltages are available for DDR3. If it has 1.8V your fine.

There is a LOT of RAM out there. Sites don't list close to all the modules available.

I doubt you'll see any problems. Don't mix RAM types though.

I highly recommend you get slightly more RAM:

32-bit ->3GB (2x1GB plus 2x512MB)

64-bit ->4GB (2x2GB)

If you are getting Vista or Windows 7 get the 64-bit version. It sounds like you are building a system. I recommend Windows 7 64-bit (OEM) when it's available.

 

[Outlander_04]

that ram will work on an am3 mb , but it not a great choice . You'd be better off with cheaper c7 1333 Mhz ram at a lower voltage .

Have a look at the phenom memory articles on this website .

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I thought so, DDR3 1.8V should work on AM3 mobos, it makes sense.
I just bought those components 3 days ago and when I got to mounting the memory kit on the board I got stuck because in case I should return them I didn't want to open the package yet. I was going for the 2x2Gb kit cause for now I use XP 64 bits, and will be having Windows 7 soon. Anyway I couldn't find in my country, a 4 Gb 1600Mhz, the top retailers ran out of it, I thought I'll go with a 2Gb kit and I'll add 4Gb in a few days. Meantime I found indeed opinnions that Dominator CL9 it's a little bit slow, and I am thinking of returning it. But couldn't I just do a little OC through BIOS settings (I'm not yet well informed about that) and take the Corsair to latencies of 8 or 7. Looks that it's made for overcloking with that cold steel on it. What downside will that have, will I have to lower frequency, the voltage will be too high, will it be sensible faster?

 

[Mongox]

When anticipating lowering the CL by overclocking, remember that the manufacturer has already decided what they can claim in terms of normal operation. If they put CL=9 on something, you likely can take it to 8, but you might also want to take it down to 1333 too. 1333 @ 8 is faster than 1600 @9.

But, if you start with 1333 @ 7, as recommended above, then you might take it down to 6 with overclocking.

Your choices if start with good memory are better. And good memory is: low voltage, low latency at its speed.

When you talk about adding a 4GB, are you meaning a single 4GB module? Not a good idea, it'll kill your dual channel - and that makes SO MUCH MORE difference than anything we're discussing. Either 4 - 2GBs or 2 - 4GBs is the way to go.

 

[Guest]

I decided I will go with 2x1Gb and 2x2Gb kits, same make, same specs. And as I bought Asus M4A79XTD EVO mobo for the 1800 O.C. memory compatibility and OC potential (same with Phenom II X3 to meet future needs cause I don't like to upgrade often (thus the 6Gb RAM).
So with the Corsair Dominator 1600 CL9 it's about sacrificing bandwidth or latency? What would be the best possible compromise? What about voltage? Higher voltage would mean more power consumption and more heat, because if it's just that I wouldn't care as long as it stays in the manageable limits (what would those be?) for my mobo. The PSU I bought I made sure could handle more than enough for my configuration, and that big steel radiator thing could handle some extra temperature. So, to conclude, what maximum voltage could I afford, in order to get the RAM to work at optimal frequency and latencies? I guess other than the producers specified 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 1.8V, or else why is everybody is talking about overclocking?
P.S. Hope I'm not talking (too much) nonsense, I obviously don't know much, or I wouldn't be asking. Thanks!

 

[Mongox]

Cosmin, if everyone who came here knew all about these subjects, there wouldn't be any questions! You might get some rude replies if you ask questions that have been answered many times, but not often. These are common questions and you can learn a lot by exploring other threads here in this section of the forum. Also by reading some articles. Here's a few I recommend:
http://www.pcityourself.com/choosing/memory.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-overclock-athlon,2161.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-scaling-i7,2325.html this is about i7 but covers the slight difference users will experience with different RAM speeds. Skip to the Conclusions page.

You mention going with BOTH the 2GB and 4GB kits, is that correct? Most would choose the 4GB kit and either another one or to leave the slot open for later expansion when memory prices drop a little. Few users need more than 4GBs of RAM at this time anyway - with 4GBs you'd be in the top 5% of current computer users (not the people here, but normal users!) If you have Win XP or other 32-bit versions of Windows, you can't address more than about 3GBs of RAM anyway.

Overclocking refers to pushing beyond the specifications guaranteed by the maker of a product. OC might be increasing the speed of the CPU, or the bus or the RAM. Putting in 1.8V RAM and setting your BIOS to that 1.8V is not overclocking. But reducing the CL or increasing the speed (to 1800 perhaps) is OC. Same with increasing the voltage to 1.9 or such to make it work.

When increasing CPU numbers, many folks get bigger "steel radiator things" to aid in cooling. They're called CPU coolers/fans/heatsinks. A cooler is a heatsink with tubes in it to draw the heat out better. All of them have fans to blow air over the heatsink or cooler and make the heat come off faster. Very few people add special cooling for their RAM - the fins you see sticking off of many RAM modules help to take the heat off and the air circulation inside your case takes it out of the system.

Maximim voltages and maximum anything is what you find out when you overclock. Your system will report the current temp of many items, usually including the CPU and the case, sometimes the RAM and hard drives. A program like CPUid Hardware Monitor will show you those numbers. Another program called CPUz is helpful in seeing how your system is running. Both available at www.cpuid.com in free versions. There are LOTS of programs related to OC and monitoring, here's a very long list of them.
http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/latest-overclocking-programs-system-info-benchmarking-stability-tools-30530/

Sacrificing Bandwidth vs Latency. Most all agree that both are worried about too much, but Latency is more important. Always choose the best latency at a given bandwidth (speed). Actually bandwidth and RAM speed aren't the same thing, but we'll assume they are! So you choose 1600 @ 8 over 1600 @ 9 given all else equal. And many recommend choosing 1333 @ 7 over 1600 @ 8 - because the lower latency will result in better performance even giving up the speed. But all of these differences are very minor.

That should give you enough to work with for a while - good luck!

 

[Cosmin83]

I must say that the Corsair 2 x 1 Gb and 2 x 2 Gb DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 1.8V kits are working on my pc with the Asus mobo and with XP 64 bits, didn't run any tests but two days passed and no application crashed.