Sabertooth z77 Compatible Ram

[basickefatude]

hey guys,

Just check out the QVL on the asus website for sabertooth z77, however for the life of me i cant understand what the jibberish is infront of me when i read it .
Could anyone help me out please?

16gb would be the sweet spot for me, no need for me to go any higher.

Currently looking at *below* to buy my parts as it is close to home.
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

Could someone please advise of the best combination ot buy for this mobo.
Also whats confusing me is the diff dimm slot colours. Im assuming to get the best out of any set i get, i should use the same colour dimm slots (so only 2) and get 2x 8gb ram sticks, or it wont make a difference if i get 4x 4gb ram sticks and throw them all on?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460 < 2 of these would work

 

[basickefatude]

also a friend just showed me these?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Memory%20%28Desktop%20Memory%29-_-SAMSUNG-_-20147096&AID=10446076&PID=4003003&SID=ky3ggt80cnkr

didnt even know samsung made RAM. however, would buying 2 sets to total 16gb be the right choice with this brand?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

16gb < buy 2 sets of the ram modules above and put 1 in each slot,that will give you 4 gigs in each slot for a total of 16GB.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

The ones i posted are a higher quality and better spec ram,i'm running them now.

 

[basickefatude]

awesome.

ive just had a look at both none of them are avialable at the shop ill get em from.

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf <-----

 

[vertical777]

it's harder to work with more sticks of ram so I'd personally stick with 2 sticks of 8Gb in your case, check your motherboard's ram populating rule in the manual, It usually says that you should populate it 2 DIMMs at a time and usually is the second and last slot from the left

something from corsair, gskill, kingston is good DDR3 with 1666Mhz or higher.
I personally recommend the corsair vengeance low profile 1.5V 1666Mhz

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Post what they have we will help.

 

[geofelt]

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can be very sensitive to this.
That is why ram vendors will not support ram that is not bought in one kit.
Although, I think the problem has lessened with the newer Intel chipsets. Still,
it is safer to get what you need in one kit.

You want documented ram compatibility. If you should ever have a problem, you want supported ram.
Otherwise, you risk a finger pointing battle between the ram and motherboard support sites, claiming "not my problem".
One place to check is your motherboards web site.
Look for the ram QVL list. It lists all of the ram kits that have been tested with that particular motherboard.
Sometimes the QVL list is not updated after the motherboard is released.

For more current info, go to a ram vendor's web site and access their ram selection configurator.
Enter your motherboard, and you will get a list of compatible ram kits.
While today's motherboards are more tolerant of different ram, it makes sense to buy ram that is known to work and is supported.

For example, here is a link to such a search for g.skil:
http://www.gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&model=1549

Here is one 16gb kit of 2 x 8gb from their extensive list.
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=493&c1=&c2=

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

geofelt < thanks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

You want documented ram compatibility. < List is on the motherboard site as a pdf.

 

[nikorr]

I recommend CORSAIR Vengeance 99% of the time, quality RAM and low profile with XMP profile.
And if u will get an aftermarket CPU cooler, low profile is the worry free remedy with perfect fit with any large cooler.
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198
Vengeance Low Profile heat spreaders have a reduced height of 1.03" (26.25mm). They're designed for high-performance systems with extra-large CPU coolers, small form factor system builds, or any other space-constrained application where standard Vengeance memory might not fit.

 

[basickefatude]

goefelt - thats awesome dude. Much appreciated.
in terms of what the store has.

2G 1333 Patriot-S / G.Skill-NT / Kingston
4G Single 1333 Patriot-S/G.Skill-NT/AMD-E/Kingston
4G Kit 1333 Patriot-S /G.Skill-NT /AMD-E /Kingston
4G Kit 1333 G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Patriot Gamer2
4G Kit 1600 G.Skill-NQ /AMD-E /Kingston HyperX
4G Kit 1600 G.Skill Ripjaws-X/Patriot Gamer2/AMD-Performance
4G Kit 1600 Patriot Gamer2(AM3) // 4G Single AMD 1600
4G Kit 1866 Patriot Viper-Xtreme Div.2
8G Single 1333 Patriot-S / Patriot Gamer2
8G Single 1333 G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Kingston
8G Single 1600 G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Kingston
8G Kit 1333 Patriot-S /G.Skill-NT /AMD-E /Kingston
8G Kit 1333 G.Skill Ares / G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Patriot Gamer2
8G Kit 1333 G.Skill Sniper / 8G Kit 1600 G.Skill Sniper
8G Kit 1600 Kingston HyperX / G.Skill Ripjaws-X
8G Kit 1600 G.Skill Ares / Patriot Gamer2
8G Kit 1866 Patriot Viper-XD / G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Kingston HyperX
8G Kit 2133 G.Skill Ripjaws-X / Patriot Viper-XD2
8G Kit 2133 G.Skill Ares / Kingston HyperX
16G Kit(8Gx2) 1333 Patriot Signature /G.Skill Ripjaws-X
16G Kit 1333(8Gx2) G.Skill Ares /Patriot Gamer2 / Kingston
16G Kit 1600(8Gx2) G.Skill RipJaws-X / G.Skill Ares
16G Kit 1600(8Gx2) Kingston /Patriot Gamer2
16G Kit 2133(8Gx2) G.Skill RipJaws-X
8G Kit 2400 G.Skill Ripjaws-Z
8G Kit 2400 G.Skill Trident-X
16G Kit 2400(8Gx2) G.Skill Trident-X

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf < his source

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I prefer Gskill < 8G Kit 1333 G.Skill Sniper / 8G Kit 1600 G.Skill Sniper just make sure it's compatible.

 

[basickefatude]

Area: Just for reference i found
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=447 < 1600 snipers are compatible

im assuming higher is better?

also just confirming.

and 8gb kit measn 2x 4 sticks?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I use Corsair Vengeance or Mushkin Blackline in most builds, Mushkin Redline if I'm going for workstation performance or just that last few % of performance in anything else. I also use Crucial and Kingston occasionally but stopped using GSkill about 4 years ago .... might just be my luck but had too many RMA's and incompatibility issues.

These Corsair Low Profile, Low Voltage models will insure clearance for your CPU cooler and lighten the load on the CPU's memory controller.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199

when building Intel 9xx based boxes, I did observe what the pundits said about getting bigger OC's w/ 1 set of modules than 2. have not had opportunity to confirm w/ SB & IB, but they logic holds that you should get higher OC's w/ 2 modules than 4 since the controller has less to do and the impact of the weaker module is greater with 4 chances than 2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226314

 

[geofelt]

You are getting there.

My preferred criteria would be:

1) A single 16gb kit for support. (as compared to multiple separate 8gb kits)

2) 2 x8gb instead of 4 x 4gb. It is easier to oc 2 sticks vs. 4.

3) DDR3-1600. There is little real value in faster ram. even 1333 is ok, but is usually priced about the same as 1600.
Read this which applies to ivy bridge also:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

4) Low profile ram. 1.5v ram really does not need any heat spreaders at all. Tall heat spreaders are mostly marketing and can interfere with some cpu coolers.

5) Must be on a motherboard qvl list or supported by a ram configurator.

Any of the ram vendors are good, and generally reliable.

 

[basickefatude]

Best answer selected by Basickefatude.

 

[basickefatude]

that article is definitely an intruiging read!

newer rams are coming with lower voltages but with better if not same performace so it doesnt eat up power? (i think thats the grasp of it)

the only thing that confuses me is timing. the 9.9.9.24 thingy.

however, im hoping i will not have to touch this if i O/C my rig?

 

[geofelt]

that article is definitely an intruiging read!

newer rams are coming with lower voltages but with better if not same performace so it doesnt eat up power? (i think thats the grasp of it)

the only thing that confuses me is timing. the 9.9.9.24 thingy.

however, im hoping i will not have to touch this if i O/C my rig?

The thingy numbers refer to timings. It is how many cycles it takes the ram to access rows and columns..etc. As you increase ram speeds, it needs increased number of cycles to access the ram, and that offsets the benefit of higher speed. Only if you are a record seeling overclocker should you really be worried at all about ram.

When you OC, and I am assuming a "K" cpu, just raise the multiplier gradually until you reach your target, or get uncomfortably hot. Once you get past 4.0-4.3, I don't know how much difference it really makes.

As to low voltage, I suppose that is good, but any power or heat savings seem irrelevant to me.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr