Will my components play nice with each other?

[Eldaer]

Hi all,

I'm putting together a gaming rig. The only parts I haven't purchased are the CPU and the motherboard. I'm looking at the following combo:

Intel i7-950

&

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R


Here's what I currently have:

HAF 932 Full Tower Case
Antec Earthwatts 750W PSU
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler
MSI GTX470 1GB DDR5 GPU
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
2x 1TB WD Caviar Black HDD's
ASUS DVD-ROM/CD-ROM Drive


Will all of these pieces play nice with each other? I'm particular I want to know if the CPU and MOBO I've listed will play nice with my 4 sticks of G.SKILL RAM.

Also, is UD3R my best bet in the price range? I can get the ASUS P6X58D-E for the same price. However I've heard great things about the UD3R.

Thanks in advance for everyones help.

 

[Niklas_13]

The only thing i see that might not work so well is your ram ( IMO I think the x58 MOBOs would do better with 6 or 12 gigs of ram ) this is do to the MOBO uses tri Channal VS Dual channal on the P55 MOBOs

So if the 3x2GB sticks of RAM you have installed are triple Channel then adding another stick will slow you down. Triple Channel RAM can only be installed in sets of 3 sticks (3GB, 6GB, 12GB, 24GB)

so, if you add another 2GB stick to your board, you will be running that RAM in single channel--which will hinder your performance.

 

[Eldaer]

The only thing i see that might not work so well is your ram ( IMO I think the x58 MOBOs would do better with 6 or 12 gigs of ram ) this is do to the MOBO uses tri Channal VS Dual channal on the P55 MOBOs

So if the 3x2GB sticks of RAM you have installed are triple Channel then adding another stick will slow you down. Triple Channel RAM can only be installed in sets of 3 sticks (3GB, 6GB, 12GB, 24GB)

so, if you add another 2GB stick to your board, you will be running that RAM in single channel--which will hinder your performance.

So you're saying if I install 3 sticks of my G.SKILL RAM, it will work great? And if I bump up to 4, it will slow me down considerably?

This is my first experience with i7 and x58 mobo's so I have no idea how triple channel works. Can anyone verify this?

 

[aznshinobi]

Why not wait? Wait until SB comes out and see how p4rices turn out. SB is a beast so I wouldn't buy your i7 now if your only 1 month away from such a great chip.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row

 

[Eldaer]

Why not wait? Wait until SB comes out and see how p4rices turn out. SB is a beast so I wouldn't buy your i7 now if your only 1 month away from such a great chip.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row

I can get an i7-950 for $199 so I'm going to pull the trigger. That's not the topic of discussion here.

 

[Griffolion]

Get 3 x 2GB sticks of RAM, that will make your computer quicker than 4 x 2GB sticks as it will be in triple channel. You won't even miss the 2GB anyway unless you're doing heavy video production or CAD/CAM.

 

[Eldaer]

I found a deal on the following memory:

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB ( 3 X 2GB ) PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Tri-Channel Intel Core i7 Triple Memory Kit

125 reviews on NewEgg, 5/5 eggs.


Should I go for this set of RAM and RMA the G.Skill RAM I have now?

 

[Niklas_13]

I found a deal on the following memory:

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB ( 3 X 2GB ) PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Tri-Channel Intel Core i7 Triple Memory Kit

125 reviews on NewEgg, 5/5 eggs.


Should I go for this set of RAM and RMA the G.Skill RAM I have now?

that would work