Hi, I'm new to the forum and I have a question

I ordered a MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard and an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor.

I also ordered some memory for it but I have a voltage concern. The memory I ordered is OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

I got to reading the specs after I ordered everything and noticed that the memory Voltage is 1.65V

I'm thinking I read somewhere that the AMD Phenom II 965 was supposed to be either 1.4 volts or 1.5 volts. I can't find that information I was reading again now.

Will that memory damage or ruin my new processor? Or is it OK to use it. This is the first build I'm doing in several years. My last build was a 286 series, and that should tell you how long ago that was.

I don't want to rush things and ruin anything so any help you can give me would be appreciated. If that memory isn't compatible, do you have any recommendations for memory that would be.

Thanks

John

Oh yeah, I've been looking for information in this place when I run into a computer problem. Lots of good info here.

Great place you have here.

 

The memory support link on their site for the mobo is:

http://www.msi.com/uploads/test_report/TR10_1740.pdf

Search the product code there.

I'm sure you will be able to "undervolt" the RAM via BIOS if your concerned.

 

Oh. Are you saying the RAM voltage and the CPU doesn't necessarily have to be the same?

I appreciate any help because I don't want to zap something.

 

I have an Intel system but we can clearly see my vCore is at 1.33v and my RAM is at vDIMM@1.52v.

I don't know about AMD but I am sure they will be similar here?!?

Hopefully someone with actual experience with these CPUs can provide a more qualified answer.

But if we look at the "supported" memory list for the mobo and compare 2 different kits of OCZ we will see they have differing specified vDIMMs:

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr3_pc3_10666_platinum_edition

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr3_pc3_12800_platinum_edition

One has 1.7v while the other kit has 1.8v.

 

For what it's worth, the OCZ modules on the QVL list BoldEagle found are rated for over 1.7V.

 

Processor voltage is completely separate from RAM voltage. Always has been, probably will be for some time to come.

The only things you need to match for RAM to be compatible with a motherboard are speed and type.

DDR memory has a standard voltage. DDR2 has a standard voltage. DDR3 has a standard voltage. It is all part of the specifications for the DDR standard.

 

Just to be clear Wooden Frog (WF) has answered a very valid question (for any others reading this). There was a lot of discussion about RAM voltages and the I7 (Nov, 2008), and that over voltage of the RAM can kill the CPU due to the QPI being integrated on the CPU:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/11/03/intel-core-i7-nehalem-architecture-dive/1

Personally I haven't kept abreast of this info, as I don't have an I7.

- Collin's I am being very careful here as articles on I7 seems to be indicating there is a "significant" correlation between RAM Voltages and CPU (QPI and RAM must not be >0.5v?!??!? there is no FSB anymore?!?).

- AMD (no FSB?!?!) have a very different set up from Intel but I'm not certain on the MCH "pathway".

WF it is a very interesting question but I'm really hoping an experienced AMD CPU user will post some comment here. I think if you check some more of the "supported" RAM you will be finding the volts are varying across the module makes and models and I was using this as a guide.

I will try and find some more info WF to increase my confidence but you can be certain if it is on the "supported"memory list you can use it!

 

BoldEagle:
What they told me at my job when the i7 came out was that these CPUs have the memory controller on the processor, much like AMD has done it for a while now. Because of that there is no north bridge between the memory and the CPU anymore so whatever DRAM voltage is set, will be what funnels right into the CPU. Or to phrase it differently, if you set your DRAM voltage to 1.8V on an i7 motherboard, you'll nuke your processor.

I don't have an i7 either, but that's what they told us about why we have two different DDR3 lines of memory, with different voltages. One is i7 approved, the other is not.

 

I agree (I have a DDR3 kit with vDIMM@1.5v a pic'd above and yet it will do 1600MHz!):

http://i4memory.com/f83/gskill-2x1g-ddr3-1333-pc10600-f3-10600cl9d-2gbnq-budget-ram-oc-run-10731/

Moreover I have heard that AMD does not have the FSB (has been this way for many years?) so I have been very "cautious" about forming any opinions here and have been referencing info from the mobo "directly". I don't know the dynamics about the MCH on AMD systems.

WF vDIMM can be changed to ensure you don't defy to great a distance between your vCore (CPU) and RAM voltages but it may take some settings in BIOS.

 

I appreciate you looking into it. I think I will try to contact AMD and see if I can get some kind of official reply from them.

I haven't had much luck contacting various manufacturers and getting a reply back though.

I'll post the response if I receive a reply.

 

Try OCZ's forums, I have heard good things about them.

 

Okay well I'm just going to base observations on documentation.

The AMD CPU you have listed, i.e. AMD Phenom II X4 965:

http://products.amd.com/en-us/Deskt...2&f7=45nm+SOI&f8=&f9=&f10=False&f11=&f12=True

We can look at their supported mobo list from there and the MSI 790FX-GD70 is present :

http://products.amd.com/en-us/Recom...™+II+X4&f2=965&f3=C2&f4=&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=140+W

Okay now here comes the interesting part if we look at the RAM modules I previously linked from the "QVL" were at 1.7v or 1.8v.

Now the CPU has a "suggested" vCore range of 0.85-1.425 (from link above) whereas the Modules you are interested in are spec'd at 1.65v:

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_pc3_12800_black_edition_ready_cl7_dual_channel

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_pc3_12800_black_edition_ready_cl8_dual_channel

Those voltages are more "closely aligned" with the CPU but our final confidence builder is:

"OCZ Black Edition kits are tested and qualified specifically for AMD’s own “Black Edition” Phenom CPUs for ultimate performance and stability. "

http://www.ocztechnology.com/aboutocz/press/2009/353

Maybe a simple yes would have sufficed for your question but we didn't seem to get any AMD CPU users offering a "qualified" opinion but I feel I have readily demonstrated that all 3 of those components "should" be able to play nicely together.

Your only "pressing question" is whether the RAM kit will play with that mobo (the RAM is not on the QVL, but a QVL does not list all the RAM that will work on a mobo it is just the kits they have tried and tested) you may want to shoot an email of to MSI asap and ask their opinions.

 

OK, thanks. I feel better now.

 

I would like to apologise if my post was innaccurate. I was basing my assumptions on out of date knowledge and I shouldn't have done it.

Sorry:-o

 

You have nothing to apologise for but if you ever see any of the new Intel line (I7 & I5) and I'm assuming AMD there are major changes occurring and they need "new schools" of thought.

I think RAM and CPU volts are just the start (a more intertwined relationship). The new Intel (I9) are bringing out an IGP within the CPU and this is going to require whole new ways of looking at the situation.

Stop looking at the latest and greatest technology for 6 months and it is easy to start feeling left behind.

Keep us updated WF as I saw your name over at the OC forums and the only fundamental question you have left is:

- Will the OCZ Black Edition RAM work on the MSI 790FX-GD70?

We have clearly demonstrated from the links that:

- The CPU will work in the mobo (both from AMD and MSI),
- The CPU will work with that RAM (from OCZ) and should not lead to significant voltages differences that would damage the hardware,

 

Thanks for the info. This seems to be the only place I can get answers. One forum even treated me like a dumb *** for asking the question.

Here are the details of my rebuild. It's almost a new computer in my old case but I'm trying to save a bit of money by reusing some of my existing parts.

Does there appear to be any problems with compatability that you can see? The only other question I still have in my head is the power supply. I wonder if my 550 watt supply is adequate. Any ideas?

Here are the specs of the MSI motherboard:

 

Will have a good look tomorrow. One thing I did find however is that a guy has been using the OCZ Black Edition (BE) RAM on that mobo (well I assume it is the BE series).

If we look at the OCZ nomenclature (the existing way in which the name their product range) we can note that OCZ will give a product code as a summary descriptor, that is for Platinum series the product code will be OCZ3P........, for Gold series it will be OZC3G, etc. The 3 stands for a DDR3 kit, so in your case we find the product codes for the BE are; OCZ3BE1600LV4GK or OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK (one is the CL7 kit the other CL8). Long winded, sorry but here we find a person who has OCZ3BE1600C8LV2G on the MS 790FX GD70:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64578

So from that we can (I hate making assumptions, but) he has 2x2Gb kits of the BE series on that mobo. Half the reason he is experiencing issues is because he is trying to run all 4 modules on the mobo and that sometimes takes a bit of work (you really have to set manual timings).

Sorry for the long story but he has the BE running on the mobo! So I think that demonstrates the final question.

 

To find out if your power supply is enough, plug your details into this site. I recommend setting capacitor aging to 30% and if you are planing on using any distributed computing applications such as folding@home then I would set TDP to 100%

Site is here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

Thanks. I did a calculation using that link and came up with 441 Watts. So if I added 10% for safety, I should be OK.

Whenever I replace that power supply I'll bump it up to maybe about 700 Watts.

Thanks again for this forum being so helpful.

 

No problem.

Is there anything else we can help you with today?

 

So your not going to game much WF?

Were are you buying from (newegg, tiger....)?

 

No, I'm not much into games. I used to play a few but I sort of lost interest. I mostly wanted to update my computer for working with Photoshop and Animation Shop. I play around with those programs as a hobby.

I use my computer to rip and to play movies. I'm wanting to get a 24" or 25" flat screen monitor. My old 19" Sony Multiscan is showing it's age and needs to be replaced soon.

I started out wanting to just changing the video card because I wanted a HDMI monitor. Then the next thing you know I decided I needed to swap out most of the rest of the computer.

I might get a new game if I find one that interests me.

I ordered most of the stuff from Newegg and some from Amazon.com.

 

It starts out so innocently, doesn't it?

I think we've all been there... LOL

 

Ok had to ask as long as the 4670 has the specs you need.

 

Thanks for checking. Yeah, I knew it wasn't a video card for someone in those fast graphics intense games.

I do well to play FreeCell. :-D

 

Well a few points to consider about the 4670 vs a 5750 (cheapest on newegg for the 5xxx series):
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131
- 4xxx vs 5xxx
-Price: $65 vs $145
-DirectX: 10.1 vs 11.0
-MemType: DDR2 vs DDR5
-MemSpeed: 2GHz vs 4.6GHz
-MemTransRate: 32GBs vs 73GBs

So for an extra $80 you will have a card that utilises DirectX 11.0 (Win 7) and will be twice as fast, although you might not game this will still be "very beneficial" for Photo and Animation applications. Just putting it out thr. If it was business purposes I would recommend the 5xxx series purely from a productivity point of view.

 

Well, I've spent a lot of money right before Christmas already. And I've got the 4670 on the way too. Maybe later I will invest in a better video card and put the 4670 on my wife's computer or give it to my grandson.

 

Well hope it all goes together well and if you have any issues just ask and I will see what I can do. The RAM may underclock at first and may need some BIOS tweaks to get it to play nicely. I have had underclocked RAM quite often especially with any Quad Core CPUs as they just don't like high FSBs (and generally don't need them). I currently run my RAM:FSB at 2:1 just so the RAM runs at spec.

 

OK, I'll definitely ask if I run into a problem. I don't even know what some of those terms are yet. I"m sure I will be learning new things as I go. I figure I'll spend at least a day reading the instructions tht come with my new motherboard and processor before I start. According to the UPS tracking, I'll get those items tomorrow.

I'm glad I signed up here. I signed up at several computer websites (including MSI and AMD), and this one has been the most helpful.