Quad channel

[Gaurdian]

What's up gentlemen. I'm looking to build a new gaming computer. The hardware will include something along the lines of a Maximus 5 mobo and Ivy Bridge i5 cpu overclocked. My brother is the computer wiz, and will be helping choose parts and build it. As I'm no expert when it comes to these things excuse me if some of my questions sound amateurish.

My questions are mainly regarding RAM:
1. Do the new ASUS mobos support quad channel RAM, and if so, is there a benefit to using quad channel for overclocking a gaming computer?
2. Is there a benefit to using 16 gigs of RAM for the purposes of an overclocked gaming computer/ and overall perfomance, or should we stick to 8 gigs?
3. Do you have any recommendations for brands/ types of RAM that would be best suited for this kind of build?

I'll be happy to answer any specifics that would help you help me =)

 

[ahnilated]

You do realize that the Ivy Bridge CPU's are not even out yet? Talking about everything is mere speculation atm.

 

[Gaurdian]

a couple pieces of hardware I'm planning on buying aren't out yet, but will be within a month. Just about the time I'll be able to afford all of it. But my question is regarding the motherboard and RAM, both of which should be available now if I'm not mistaken

 

[jsc]

The LGA1155 CPU's are all dual channel as far as memory is concerned. Only the LGA2011 CPU's have a quad channel memory controller built into the CPU.

So ...
#1. Only LGA2011 motherboards support quad channel. And there's no particular benefit.
#2. Generally, no, unless you are doing complex modeling, huge spreadsheets, massive databases, or things like that. OTOH, with the price of DDR3 RAM, installing 16 GB is not a major expense.
#3. Check the motherboard QVL list for RAM that has been tested with whatever motherboard you have chosen.

I'd say that you should look for 1.5 volt DDR3-1600 RAM. Intel CPU's gain little extra performance with overclocked RAM. And the 1.5 volt spec is very important.

 

[Gaurdian]

I appreciate the info jsc. Thanks for clearing that stuff up for me.

 

[mightymaxio]

I was always under the impression that quad channel ram is backwards compatible with dual channel slots. At least thats what i read under the information specs on all the quad channel ram i looked at.

 

[JamieCal]

All Quad Channel RAM should be backwards compatible, just check compatability with MOBO.

The quantity of RAM you will need/use will depend on what you're doing, and what you're running. You may see some benefit going from 8Gb to 16Gb, but it will be minimal unless you are doing things like complex calculations or virtualising (as stated by jsc).

If your building a gaming PC, remember that most of the load will fall onto your Video Card. This is where I would look to spend most of the money. The most demanding thing about games is the video and graphics rendering, and your system will palm these tasks off to your Video Card. So make sure you load up your system with a strong video card, as this will give you quality gaming performance into the future.

Also, I didn't think intel were bringing out an i5 processor on ivy bridge. Even so, make sure you get a 'k' or 'x' processor (i.e. ix-xxxx k or x model), as these are unlocked for overclocking.