Re-using DDR3 RAM

[Kate01]

Hi,

Just last night my PSU had a mini explosion. As it stands I don't know whether it's just the PSU, or if any of the other components have been affected, just that nothin's runnin. Since I've been contemplating upgrades to my system for the past year or so, I figured now might be the time to commit to doing it.

My present system (the one presently not working) is
i7-930
ga-x58a-ud3r
12GB ddr3 1333mhz kingston RAM (6 cards using triple channel)
gtx460

I'm looking at upgrading to a 4th generation i7, with a h97 chipset. Mainly because the boards I've looked at suggested they will support the use of ddr31333mhz RAM, and since I'm having to live on a limited budget I thought reusing the RAM would help. I'll look at whether further upgrades to RAM and graphics card are necessary later, the main thing at the moment is to get the system back running.

I have two questions:
(a) are there any problems any of you can see reusing old triplet paired RAM as dual paired instead (ie dropping the 3rd card from the triplet), since the boards I'm looking at have only 4 slots?
(b) I'm leaning towards a Gigabyte motherboard because I've always used them before and had little difficulty in doing so. Should I be considering any other companies? Am looking for a good price but also stable & sturdy performance - I live in an area that reaches up to 45C in summer and since I'm living on a budget I don't like to over-use the air con (if at all) so I'm concerned about heat/wear.

Thanks.

 

[algorithmbreaker]

Hi,

Just last night my PSU had a mini explosion. As it stands I don't know whether it's just the PSU, or if any of the other components have been affected, just that nothin's runnin. Since I've been contemplating upgrades to my system for the past year or so, I figured now might be the time to commit to doing it.

My present system (the one presently not working) is
i7-930
ga-x58a-ud3r
12GB ddr3 1333mhz kingston RAM (6 cards using triple channel)
gtx460

I'm looking at upgrading to a 4th generation i7, with a h97 chipset. Mainly because the boards I've looked at suggested they will support the use of ddr31333mhz RAM, and since I'm having to live on a limited budget I thought reusing the RAM would help. I'll look at whether further upgrades to RAM and graphics card are necessary later, the main thing at the moment is to get the system back running.

I have two questions:
(a) are there any problems any of you can see reusing old triplet paired RAM as dual paired instead (ie dropping the 3rd card from the triplet), since the boards I'm looking at have only 4 slots?
(b) I'm leaning towards a Gigabyte motherboard because I've always used them before and had little difficulty in doing so. Should I be considering any other companies? Am looking for a good price but also stable & sturdy performance - I live in an area that reaches up to 45C in summer and since I'm living on a budget I don't like to over-use the air con (if at all) so I'm concerned about heat/wear.

Thanks.

The present motherboard supports both Dual and Triple so it won't be an issue. If you're looking at dual channels (4 slots) motherboard, still you can use the RAM, should you find any error, you can rule at the issue by installing individually to rule out any defective ones due to the mini explosion. But the effect is highly unlike.

As for recommendations of Motherboard, Gigabyte is the best from my perspective, MSI and Asrock follows.