RAM Face Off: Need Advice

I'm having a hard time figuring out the difference between these two RAM upgrades. They both seem to be the same latency.

Any thoughts?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Vs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

 

yep. They have the same timings.

 

Corsair tends to cater to Intel CPUs.

If you have an AMD, you may want to lean toward the G. Skill.

Personally, I have always sworn by Crucial.

 

Sorry, but that's just untrue. RAM doesn't cater to any kind of CPU. Specs are specs, the CPU type is irrelevant.

 

Incorrect.

Some memory is manufactured to work with Intel, and have certain perks that go with it. Some actually are designed specifically to work with certain features of Intel CPUs. Especially Core i7.

"Especially designed for being compatible with dual-channel DDR3 Intel Core i5 and Core i7 platform, the cutting-edge XMS3 DDR3 kit from Corsair can operate at 1600MHz with a latency of 9-9-9-24, making it ideal for all extremists and enthusiasts."

Puffery, or the truth?

 

pure puffery. I don't believe it for a second.

 

As always, I recommend referencing the QVL (Qualified Vendors List) for your motherboard.

It can be found at your mobo manufacturer's website, and is a listing of RAM tested by said manufacturer, and approved for use with your mobo.

Proper voltage settings can aslo be a factor in a high performance build. It can change your latency, and clock speed.


:major

 

No, no, noooo! :eek

I have lost count of the number of times I've run into RAM (either purchased myself for system builds or having to help a friend/client who thought any brand would work) that didn't play nice with a specific motherboard. On a recent build using an AMD Biostar board (hell, the board was free with the CPU in a combo deal rolleyes), it took three tries before I found DDR2 6400 the board would even boot with.

The best advice is to read the user reviews carefully on the specific memory you're considering. Many times you'll see a pattern of comments dealing with what CPUs/motherboards work (or don't work) with the product (again, look at the reviews for specific memory models, not just brands. Kingston model "A" may be perfect for your setup; Kingston model "B" may not work at all).

To be on the safe side, always buy from a retailer or website offering a decent return/exchange policy if the RAM doesn't work well with your system.

This being said, if I can't find reviews for a board/CPU combo I've found A-Data to be a brand that seems to work in just about anything.

 

Ya know? I really don't worry about RAM speeds as most of that is subjective unless I'm OC'ing them for a specific purpose.! Enjoy!

 

CPU type, reflects the chipset in the motherboard.

It's not solely, or really about the actual processor, it's about the chipset which the motherboard is built upon.

Instead of going "pot luck", do your research, and make sure you won't have to RMA anything.

:cool

 

Ya well sir, I know I won't have to RMA anything, and I'm not going 'pot luck' anything either.

 

Augie, that wasn't directed at you...



No insult intended.

 

I realize that, no insult taken either.

 

Maybe I need to learn Canadian?

:-D

 

Puffery.

The "designed to work with Intel" bit essentially just means, "we adhere to the industry standard"...

 

Maybe we should just go to Papa John's, for RAM.

I've had similar experiences like gman.

I usually recommend the QVL.

 

I agree with the QVL as a starting point.

Throw the specific mobo and RAM into google and have a look.

I bought some RAM from the QVL for a buddies build and we had nothing but problems (HDD had to be reformatted twice). Went for a budget set of Kingston while the RAM went back for RMA. The budget set has performed "correctly" and I just onsold the RMA product (25% of initial cost).

QVL is just a basis for the decision. I agree that some mobos (especially the more recent models) will be very "picky" about RAM. The above build had probs with a Corsair kit, would NOT boot with a GSkill kit but responded to the Kingston kit.

 

Pure puffery and marketing trickery. Saying ram is "designed" to run with a specific kind of mottherboard/CPU is just the same as Microsoft putting a sticker on systems saying its "designed to run windows xxx". SLI ram is the same way, its just a way for ram makers to get on board the SLI bandwagon. When they say its "designed" to run on I7 for example, all it really means is that they did most of there testing on I7. Try running the same ram in an older intel mobo, you will get the same hit and miss results that you would in an AMD system solely because they didn't test the ram on all possible systems. Even then 90% of the time its due to timings and speeds being read incorrectly from the SPD data. If you get some "picky" ram try some "good" ram in there and manually set the ram timings and speeds for the "picky" ram it will normally work fine.

 

I can say I've never had an issue with Crucial RAM not being compatible.

Anyone ever had a problem with them?

 

Yes and no. nVidia charges a fee to SLI-certify RAM and put their stamp on it. ATI/AMD calls it crossfire, and Intel XMP, but they're all the same in principle. All three have multiple timing sets, a.k.a "profiles" in the SPD, with one set of timings for DDR3-1066, one for DDR3-1339, et cetera. You activate SLI in your BIOS and tell it which profile to use, and when you do, most boards adjust the voltage for you as well.

RAM makers that put in the profiles in the SPD and don't want to pay the fees to have the part tested nad certified by nVidia are allowed to call the RAM "SLI ready", "crossfire ready", or "xmp capable", but there is a license fee for the certified stamp.

 

"As I suspected, Watson. It's all about the Benjamins."

:-D

 

Exactly. They put a second (or more) "high performance" spd profile in the SPD and pay whoever next to nothing for the rights to put a sticker on it. All the "performance" profiles are is "stock" overclocking. But at the end of the day, what does ram timings/speeds have to do with SLI/crossfire compatibility? Its all marketing trickery. They sell more ram if it has a SLI / XMS / Crossfire sticker on it and can charge more for it.

 

I quite agree but if the RAM is on the QVL I expect it should just "plug in and go". I myself will manipulate the SPD settings within the BIOS but when it is a build for a friend I want it to be as simple as possible without the need for any BIOS tweaking as they cannot reflect on this if they ever need to.

 

Not every gamer, must lay Peter's Rock...

:-D

:cry:-D-orolleyes:zzz:major:drool:yum:wave

 

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Agreed. When it comes to builds and upgrades, I'm a fan of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). :-D