Which Ram to Buy?

[12pak]

I currently have a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 mobo with a FX-8150. I am currently using (4) 2 GB sticks of GSKILL Ram. (I don't remember which model or speed, I built it back in 2012). I want to upgrade my RAM.

I checked the compatibility list at Gigabyte and saw something I don't understand. They have DDR3 on the list all the way up to "DDR3 2500 (downgrade to DDR3 2000 MHz)" There is also a note that says "Only one DIMM per channel is supported for DDR3-1866MHz and higher speed as using an AM3+ CPU". This is the part I don't understand. I want to upgrade to 16 GB. But do to this sentence, I don't know what combination I should get. (2) 8 GB sticks, or (4) 4 GB sticks. Which would yield higher performance?

Also, based on the sentence (downgrade to DDR3 2000 MHz), does this mean buying anything faster than that would be a waste? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Supahos]

The gskill memory will have a sticker on it telling you the optimum speed and timings, buy another 8 gb at the same speed. With that processor I don't think you'll ever hit 1866 with 2 sticks much less 4. 1600 might even be "iffy" at 1600. The vishera (X3XX) series processors have better memory controllers but most of them still can't do 4 sticks at 1866. Anything faster than 1866 is a complete waste with that processor, and likely 1866 itself is, but sometimes the 1866 sticks are actually cheaper if so pick one up and clock it to 1600 and tighten the timings.

 

[12pak]

Soooo, you are saying (2) 8 gig sticks are better than (4) 4 gig sticks, right?

 

[Supahos]

Depends... typically 4gb sticks can actually OC better, but the problem with an AMD rig isn't the sticks its the IMC, 2 sticks(even if 8gb) put less stress on the controller than 4 smaller sticks. If you want to reach 1866 your best bet is a 2stick setup, and I think its unliklely but the cost difference is practically zero between 1866 and 1600 (actually on newegg some of the cheaper kits are 1866 or 2133 right now)

 

[12pak]

I dont' know how to OC memory, I just want to upgrade from 8 gigs to 16. In looking closer at the compatibility list for the motherboard, they are not showing any 8 gig sticks on the list. Would using 4 x 4 gig sticks yield any better performance than 2 x 4 gig sticks, or would it just be a waste?

 

[Supahos]

If you're planning on doing just gaming right now there is no need for more than 8gb, if you do video renders or lots of massive photo editing then more could come in handy. I wonder if a bios update would allow the 8gb sticks, but honestly there isn't much of a need for more than 8gb currently.

4x4gb would work and is an option for you but I suspect you'll be stuck at 1333 mhz, but you might be at that speed right now as you don't know what sticks you have in atm.

 

[12pak]

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

This is what I currently have, 4 sticks of this. I do alot of video editing and gaming. How do I see if they are running at 1333 mhz?

 

[Supahos]

download CPU-Z and go to the MEMORY tab if it says ~800 mhz its at 1600 if it says ~667 its at 1333 mhz. Timings on that kit should be 7-8-7-24 listed under the speed.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231537

is the cheapest kit I see that is pretty likely to work, and won't get slower than what you have when using less than 8gb of memory.

 

[12pak]

Ah, it is indeed at 1333mhz. Will it not do 1600 with all 4 sticks? The timing is also not right. It's at 9-9-9-24.

 

[Supahos]

you need to go into the bios and manually enter the timings, (or enable DOCP/EOCP if your motherboard has such settings) you might just try running your memory properly for a bit and see if the boost helps makes it faster.

 

[12pak]

Oh, apparently I listed the wrong motherboard too. CPU-Z says it is a GA-990XA-UD3. Maybe I should take a look at the compatibility list again, lol. If I go into the Bios and change the timings, will that possibly put my ram in any danger?

 

[12pak]

I remember now. Back when I bought that kit, it said on the package that it will only run at 1600 when using 2 sticks. it won't do it with 4 sticks. So, based on that, at 1333, 16 gigs would probably give me some more performance than my current 8. Right?

Aside from that, with my current sticks, would 2 of them at 1600 be better than 4 of them at 1333?