Memory Configuration and QVL questions

[idkanymore]

Hey guys,
I am looking to buy 12gb of memory for my Asus Rampage III Extreme motherboard but before I do, I have a few questions. I may end up buying 6gb though depending on costs but the questions still remain.

1. I was wondering what the performance difference between the ram configuration 2gb x 6 modules vs 4gb x 3 modules if there even is any

2. Do I really need to buy from the QVL from my mobo? I looked up these two sets of corsiar memory (ones in question 3) and it says the faster one will only work up to 4 dimms but the slower one will work up to 6 dimms. does that really make sense? basically, it says that one set wont work fully if all 6 dimms are filled with the memory but that doesnt make any sense to me.

3. whats the difference between some of these models i see on newegg? they seem the same in many ways and even sometimes a better one will be cheaper (at least what I think is better)
TR3X6G1600C9 for $179 with 9-9-9-24 timing
TR3X6G1600C8 for $175 with 8-8-8-24 timing
Doesnt seem to make sense but maybe theres something im missing.

Any other advice on buying ram would be great.

Thanks in advance! I posted a lot of questions lol

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
1_There is no performance difference, but 4gbx3 is "usually" better for OC'ng and requires less slots
2_No, there are many RAMs that aren't in the QVL list but are supported.
Where did you read about that ? (the required dimms)
3_The second one has lower timings and only $5 cheaper,so go for it
As for my suggestion,well i think even 6GB is more than enough for today's games/apps so you may want to consider it too,what's your usage ?

 

[idkanymore]

Thank you for your reply and welcoming me!

Where I read about the dimms thing is on the QVL for my mother board. I posted a picture of it below to show you what I mean. I'm confused that it will only allow a certain amount of dimms for a certain memory unless I'm reading it wrong. I got the QVL pdf from Asus' website.

Well the reason I want 12gb is not so much that I'll use it up right now, its more because I want a future proofed system and once I have 12gb, I will probably never have to worry about ram again.

 

[bilbat]

DDR3 eval tool at Memory - Part III - "Evaluation and selection"

 

[idkanymore]

DDR3 eval tool at Memory - Part III - "Evaluation and selection"

It's definitely a nice write-up but it doesn't really answer my question about the supported amount of dimms shown on the QVL

 

[Maziar]

Thank you for your reply and welcoming me!

Where I read about the dimms thing is on the QVL for my mother board. I posted a picture of it below to show you what I mean. I'm confused that it will only allow a certain amount of dimms for a certain memory unless I'm reading it wrong. I got the QVL pdf from Asus' website.

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8269/ramt.jpg

Well the reason I want 12gb is not so much that I'll use it up right now, its more because I want a future proofed system and once I have 12gb, I will probably never have to worry about ram again.

That's strange.I see no logical reasons about the dimms and i think it should work fine.
You may want to check it with Corsair just to be sure

 

[idkanymore]

That's strange.I see no logical reasons about the dimms and i think it should work fine.
You may want to check it with Corsair just to be sure

Yes exactly! It makes no sense that one shouldn't work for all 6 dimms and the other won't. I might just end up going with g-skill but I'm going back and forth between g-skill and corsiar.

and just to be sure, I could also install three 2 x 2gb kits and that should work exactly the same as one 6 x 2gb kit, right?

 

[Maziar]

Performance wise ? if so then yes

 

[idkanymore]

Thank you for your help! I went with 2 sets of 6gb G skill sets. Hope all goes well! I think ill install one set at a time to try and prevent any problems. I believe other people did this too to try and prevent problems rather than install all 12gb at once

 

[idkanymore]

Best answer selected by idkanymore.

 

[Maziar]

No problem, hope you enjoy it

 

[idkanymore]

Just a quick update. Installed all 12gb of g skill and bios picked it up right away with no problems so far.

 

[Maziar]

Great