Need help on picking out ram

[Xcurior]

looking to get 2x4gb ram for a new amd pc build.

this is the motherboard i'm getting, the asus m4a89td pro:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655

with a phenom ii x6 1055t thuban cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851


so my question is, what clock speed should i aim for? it seems that the most 2 practical choices are 1333mhz or 1600mhz, though i cant tell if the jump to 1600mhz is worth the extra coin. im willing spend up to 250$, though i'd prefer closer to 200.

and say i were to go with 1333mhz, i've also noticed that non-ECC boards appear to be somewhat cheaper than the equivalent with ECC. is ECC worth it? and between the timings 9-9-9-20 and 9-9-9-24, is there any big dif?

so guys if you have any recommendations that would be awesome! there is just so many choices and i can't tell the difference between them, if i had to choose i would just buy one based off reviews pretty much.

 

[Maziar]

Both 1333Mhz and 1600 will do fine for a good OC.
Look for a 1333/1600MHz RAM with CL7/8 timings and a voltage of 1.65v or lower, brands like Corsair,G.Skill etc. are good
Also there isn't a noticeable difference between those timings you mentioned,even in OC'ng

 

[Xcurior]

alright thanks mate. my cpu limits me to dual channeled ram, there is virtually no CL 7 dual channeled ram, at least not below 300$ lol.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227588&cm_re=8gb_ddr3_ram-_-20-227-588-_-Product

is the closest I found to what you've given me. it's 2x4gb 1600mhz CL8, would it be compatable with my motherboard and cpu? and is it worth the extra cost per performance over:


as opposed to: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-311-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227549&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-227-549-_-Product

 

[Maziar]

For $10 cheaper than the first OCZ model you posted,you can get G.Skill Ripjaws with better specs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231329

 

[Xcurior]

Ohh I was under the impression that capability is optimized with the use of only dimm slots 1 and 3 with this motherboard/cpu combo.

If it's a negligible difference in performance, I would definitely consider getting 4x2gb instead of 2x4gb -- though the one good thing about 2x4gb is that I could probably sell it much more easily in the future, or upgrade to 16GB should there ever come the need LOL.

 

[Maziar]

Well 4x2gb options are cheaper than 2x4b options.Although with 2x4gb you have the upgrade path to 16GB and also they tend to work better in OC'ng(but don't worry about 2x4gb,it will do fine too),8GB is more than enough or sometimes overkill in most games/apps.So you don't need to upgrade it for a long time

 

[davcon]

Here's some good kits.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006127%20600006066%20600006156&IsNodeId=1&page=2&bop=And&CompareItemList=147%7C20-145-285%5E20-145-285-TS%2C20-231-303%5E20-231-303-TS%2C20-226-103%5E20-226-103-TS

 

[Xcurior]

Hmmm alright well if 4x2 offers more performance, then I'll go with that. I don't care about 2x4 being more upgradeable if it doesn't yield better stats and costs more as well -- virtually all are CL9 @ 1333Mhz. I'll try doublechecking with the company to see if their ram supports AM3 before buying then, thanks.

Would 2 sets of 2x2GB of the same ram here be better? Even after shipping, it totals out to 231$, and the other posted after shipping is 255$(CAD)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

It doesn't support CL7 in all AMD motherboards from the manufacturer's response, but will it still be able to run 7-7-7-18 like in some of the reviews with an Asus M4A89TD Pro motherboard?

 

[davcon]

Yes i would buy two of those kits.
As a matter of fact i own a kit.
You'll just have to set it up in your bios.

 

[Xcurior]

Alrighty then thanks for the help guys, that's what I'll do.

 

[Maziar]

Hmmm alright well if 4x2 offers more performance, then I'll go with that. I don't care about 2x4 being more upgradeable if it doesn't yield better stats and costs more as well -- virtually all are CL9 @ 1333Mhz. I'll try doublechecking with the company to see if their ram supports AM3 before buying then, thanks.

Would 2 sets of 2x2GB of the same ram here be better? Even after shipping, it totals out to 231$, and the other posted after shipping is 255$(CAD)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

It doesn't support CL7 in all AMD motherboards from the manufacturer's response, but will it still be able to run 7-7-7-18 like in some of the reviews with an Asus M4A89TD Pro motherboard?

That's the same model i posted, but yours is the 4GB version with 1.65v.
Its a great choice, no one knows if you can run it on 7-7-7-18 because you have to play with the timings and find the best and most stable one.