Memory upgrade question

[tbresson]

Hello Tomshardware

I've noticed the prices on RAM are pretty low and I thought I'd buy some. I just need a little help on choosing.

I have this setup:
MB: ASUS P6X58D-E X58 S-1366 ATX
CPU: INTEL CORE I7 950 3.06GHZ 8MB S-1366
RAM: CORSAIR 6GB DDR3 INTEL I7 DOMINATOR GT 2000MHZ CL8 (3X2GB)

Now I never really got my ram to run stable at 2000 MHZ so I set them to around 1600 or 1866.

Anyway. I can't find this ram anymore so I thought I'd just buy something else and perhaps just get 1600 MHZ ram instead.

According to ASUS's website the motherboard I have supports 24GB ram and according to the QVL list from asus.com there isn't any 24GB solution but there is a 12GB solution with 3 modules in a pack.

Would adding 2 x 12 GB packs be alright? So I could get 2 of these:
KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX. Would there be room enough with the coolers to have them side by side?

My other choice is to go for a complete set like this:
KHX1600C9D3T1BK6/24GX even though it's not on the QVL list.

I also found some Cosair: CMP24GX3M6A1333C9. They are a bit more expensive and only run 1333MHZ. Would it make any difference compared to the Kingston I found? Also, this kit is not on the QVL as well.

What are your recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[o1die]

First, what do you use your system for? 6 gb may be plenty for your applications. For any ram you choose, just get some name brand like the ones you mentioned with a lifetime warranty and look for lower numbers for the timings, such as 9-9-9-24 for cl9 spec ram. These are the brands I've used: corsair, crucial, kingston, pny, patriot, samsung, and gskill (my current brand). I've never had any serious issues with these brands.

 

[tbresson]

My PC is my gaming rig. I'm starting to use VirtualBox more and I need more memory. Also it does help having more ram so I thought I might as well buy some since it's pretty cheap.

I can't find that many pieces of ram like these so there isn't really any other choice than the ones I found (can't find any with lower timings).

 

[o1die]

Most CL9 ram will work on your board. One unlucky guy said Intel voided his cpu warranty for using 1333 ram with his 1366 cpu; I think it was a 950. The default setting is only 1066 fsb for most boards, so you can get the lower priced ram. Intel claimed his memory controller only runs correctly at 1066; go figure. I didn't realize they were so picky about ram speeds.

 

[tbresson]

Usually when you try and get more speed with your ram it affects the CPU - at least from what I can tell when I tried out different settings to make my current ram go 2000 MHZ. So I'm already "overclocking" I guess.

Default bios settings sets my ram speeds to 1066 MHZ.

I guess I need to find some performance charts for 1066 vs. 1333 ram tnx!