Highest quality RAM for this setup?

[Azurium]

Hello guys, I am drafting a new build for a bang for your buck gaming rig, so far I have chosen:

Motherboard:
Asus Maximus III GENE Micro-ATX

Processor:
Intel Core i5-750 (Lynnfield 4c)

There is some serious performance for value going on with those two.

However I am having difficulty settling on the best RAM for the board, I was looking at DDR3 1600 overclocked to 2000, but I see that there are quality manufacturers about such as OCZ, Corsair, Crucial. I would like your opinions on the right memory to go with, the requirements are this.

1. Best manufacturer for highest quality.
2. Best bang for buck - I would like the best value for money AND performance.
3. DDR3 1600
4. 2GB of either 4x512MB or 2x1GB.
5. Focus is high end gaming performance.

If anyone could provide me with advice on this that would be great, as I am still learning!

Thanks!

 

[Azurium]

I was looking at OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Fatal1ty Edition RAM, however I only require 2GB, I think 4GB would be overkill, don't you?

Could I simply use 1 of those 2GB chips on the 4x slot and performance be ok? Or will I require two equal pairs for best performance.

I can't see anywhere that sells these in 1GB chips individually.

 

[shreejan86]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247616-30-memory-corsair - You can find the diffrence here!

 

[Azurium]

Thats interesting, I'll look into that, thanks.

I'd appreciate some folk with gaming rigs to let me know which RAM they run as well, OCZ and Corsair seem to be the big boys.

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

2GB aren't enough if u want the rig for games, in that point a good option for u are thi G.Skill 4GB 1600 are very solid and good price/performance.

Another option more expensive but with high quality are this Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB 1600 with an amazing performance and OC capabilities.

 

[Azurium]

Thanks for the response. I'm not planning on going REALLY extreme, I'm just trying to build something better than a 360 and keep it as cheap as possible for the best value. Are there any games out there, apart from the likes of Crysis etc that would even challenge 2GB?

Also, can the G.Skill be overclocked to 2000? It's actually decent priced, considering.

Anyone else have any other suggestions?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I'll second saint19's G.Skill RAM suggestion. Any current gaming system should use 4GB of RAM. 2GB really isn't enough for a modern system. You'll regret crippling your system with 2GB of RAM.

I wouldn't worry about whether the RAM will overclock to 2000MHz or not. CAS 7 DDR3 1600 is actually the sweet spot. You'll have to loosen the timings so far to get to 2000MHz that it won't be any faster than CAS7 1600MHz RAM.

 

[Azurium]

Ok, since you both have made that recommendation, I just have one question.

The motherboard I am using from my OP will support overclocked RAM to 2000, at least as far as I can tell, what you are essentially saying is they are good enough without that?

Actually 2 questions.

Could you justify to me by examples the reasons for choosing 4GB over 2GB? I was merely looking for something beyond the capabilities of the Xbox 360, its RAM is just 512mb, I think 2GB is ok, unless you can provide reasons/examples as to why more would be required.

 

[saint19]

Like I say and shortstuff_mt says, the modern system should have 4GB and for the games that u want specially Crysis is better go with 4GB.

U can OC the G.Skill but if u bear in mind that the OC need a high CL and more voltage maybe u won't see the difference between 1600 and 2000.

 

[Azurium]

PS: Not looking for crazy FPS here, just anything 60 or above. I'm sure I could run Crysis at 60 fps at 1080 resolution with 2GB of RAM?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You can't compare the RAM on an Xbox 360 to the RAM on a computer. They are COMPLETELY different. What OS will you be using for this system? You MAY be able to limp along with 2GB in Windows XP, but you will still run into problems when gaming. Modern games require a lot of RAM and 2GB just plain won't cut it. Once you run out of RAM and the system starts paging to the hard drive your gaming performance will drop dramatically. Feel free to try it, but don't say we didn't warn you.

By the way, what graphics card are you using for this system, what resolution are you planning on playing at, and what games are you wanting to play? Knowing all that information is helpful when making suggestions for gaming systems.

 

[saint19]

^+1.

I'm not very sure but the GPU that a XBOX 360 have is something among GeForce 6200 and Geforce 7800.

It's something crazy compare the XBOX 360 against a gaming rig, the most expensive 360 on the egg is around $400 and with that price u can get a Phenom II X6 1090T, an ATI 5850 or a GTX470 that can kiss ass the 360 without problems.

 

[Azurium]

You can't compare the RAM on an Xbox 360 to the RAM on a computer. They are COMPLETELY different. What OS will you be using for this system? You MAY be able to limp along with 2GB in Windows XP, but you will still run into problems when gaming. Modern games require a lot of RAM and 2GB just plain won't cut it. Once you run out of RAM and the system starts paging to the hard drive your gaming performance will drop dramatically. Feel free to try it, but don't say we didn't warn you.

By the way, what graphics card are you using for this system, what resolution are you planning on playing at, and what games are you wanting to play? Knowing all that information is helpful when making suggestions for gaming systems.

The resolution I'm looking at is at least 720p with full settings on all games I want to play at 60fps fixed, any current games really. I have not yet decided on a graphics card, I'll be looking at that next. RAM is what I'm looking at but I think you have directed me accordingly. 4GB it is.

I'm not very sure but the GPU that a XBOX 360 have is something among GeForce 6200 and Geforce 7800.

It's something crazy compare the XBOX 360 against a gaming rig, the most expensive 360 on the egg is around $400 and with that price u can get a Phenom II X6 1090T, an ATI 5850 or a GTX470 that can kiss ass the 360 without problems.

I believe its closer to the 7900, but not far off there.

 

[Karusai]

"saint19"- You are a newb, do have any idea what is actually going on here?

The Rest-

720p won't touch the 1080i. Even with an HDMI, you're still only @ 720p while the X-Box remains native @ 1080i. HDMI won't make a difference either unless you have a High Hz T.V. (120-240 Hz is High. 60 Hz is Standard in America. Only Blu-Ray and 3D T.V. like my http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN55D8000YFXZA have High Hz), so forget about graphic's Quality, we have to go for speed, smoothness, and stability. When you're talking about DDR2 PC 1600, this is what you want- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2%2050011776%2040000147%201052529367%201052429371&name=DDR3%201600%20%28PC3%2012800%29&SpeTabStoreType=1

Now, before you decide "How much RAM?", you have to ask yourself "What O.S. do I have?". If you have XP 32 bit (x82), you can only utilize 3.2 Gig's of RAM anyway. If that was the case, I would opt for 1- 2gb and 1- 1gb stick. The measly 200mhz you're going to lose by not getting 2-2g's or 1-4 will pay off. If you have a 64 bit system (x64), theoretically, you can harness 48-52 gb of RAM.

 

[stillerfan15]

If you have a 64 bit system go with 4 gig minimum if your motherboard can support it.