ASUS P8Z68-V Pro w/Mem?

[dilligas]

Well its time for a new build...

I have the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro and the i7-2600k and am stuck on what memory to get for it. I will be running Win7 64bit and the 2 applications I run are CAD softwear that does some rendering and current Battlefield Bad Company and soon Battlefield 3 in max settings. My video card is the Gforce GTX 480 and some point will have the 3d monitor.
Looking over all the memory that is out there I cant tell what would be better over another?
Thanks all and anyone for your help.

B

 

[jaquith]

Well you've got your toes in different waters; CAD I think of errors and Gaming I think High Frequency with low CAS.

Cinebench R10 does well with DDR3 1333 MHz CAS 7, errors are lower with DDR3 1333 MHz; Gaming DDR3 1600 CAS 8/9. In most CAD work 16GB or more is best, and recently there are 2x8GB kits but they're expensive but a couple months ago 4X8GB non-ECC was $1500~$2000 recently a $330 kit became available.

$150 4x4GB DDR3 1333 CAS 7 F3-10666CL7Q-16GBXH -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231442

$130 4x4GB DDR3 1600 CAS 9 CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143

$660 4x8GB DDR3 1333 CAS 9 AXDU1333GW8G9-2G -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211564

Side-by-Side -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=147|20-231-456^20-231-456-TS%2C20-231-442^20-231-442-TS%2C20-233-143^20-233-143-TS

edit: good article -> http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/

 

[dilligas]

Super! Thanks for the info, will check it all out and that helps a ton! Cheers

 

[dilligas]

If I am going to keep my windows 7 at 32bit, does it change anything besides not needing more than 4 gigs of DDR3?

 

[jaquith]

If you keep any 32-bit OS then the limit is 4GB of RAM with 3.25~3.50GB usable.

Rendering magic number is >8GB of RAM so I think you're doing yourself a disservice with Windows 7 32-bit.

Oddly, 2X4GB kits are almost the same price as 2x2GB Kits - you could install a 2x4GB kit and once you upgrade your OS to a 64-bit then the full 8GB will be ready.

$69 2x4GB DDR3 1333 7-7-7-21 F3-10666CL7D-8GBXH

Updated Side-by-Side -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%2050008476%20600006069&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=147|20-231-456^20-231-456-TS%2C20-231-442^20-231-442-TS%2C20-233-143^20-233-143-TS%2C20-231-440^20-231-440-TS%2C20-231-445^20-231-445-TS

Affordable:
$55 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426
$31 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 F3-10666CL9D-4GBXL -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425

 

[flong]

Hi, there are several reviews that show that 2 x 4GB RAM is the performance vs cost sweet spot for Sandy Bridge builds. You would have to be a real power user to need more. I think that even though you run CAD 8 GB should be enough. I am not a gamer so I could be wrong. For most people, anything over 8 GB is overkill and you won't see too much difference in performance if you go to 16 GB. Bit-Tech had an excellent article on this subject.

The best RAM to get is 1866 because if you wait for a sale you can get Gskill or Corsair for $75 or less - which is bargain. If you can get a CL 8 it is a little better than CL 9 but with Sandy Bridge it doesn't make much difference.

1600 RAM also does very good job on Sandy Bridge rigs. Anything over 1866 is probably a waste of money unless you are again a super power user (heavy video editing, picture editing, heavy use of very intense math-centric programs).

If cost is not an issue get a set of 16 GB RAM - it certainly will be somewhat faster.