Suggestion on buying RAM

I will be upgrading or close to maxing out the RAM in my computer. Not sure why I need it but just want it since RAM is so cheap now a day vs Hard Drives. I am doing virtualization such as using Virtualbox.

Out of curiosity:

Currently, I have this motherboard and RAM setup:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...d=3450&dl=1#sp
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365

That is exactly what is in my computer right now. So here are the questions:

-Should I buy another 12gb and can they be different in volts and speed?
or
-Should I toss the current 6gb and just buy a 24gb deal? Why? Well, in this thread, it basically recommends not to mix ram types.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/23...-latency-volts

-My board recommends putting 1.5V but the current ram is 1.65V. I should buy RAM that runs at 1.5V? I know when buying RAM, we need to look for the lower the better, interms of latency and voltage.

-Is it better to have 12gb of 2000mhz or 24gb of 1600mhz?
Please feel free to make recommendation from this:
http://www.frys.com/search?cat=-6903...play&fq=100515 Triple-100514 12-100512 PC3__16000_/_2000MHz
http://www.frys.com/search?cat=-6903...play&fq=100515 Triple-100514 24-100512 PC3__12800_/_1600MHz

FWIW, Crucial® Memory Advisor results for the Giga-Byte GA-X58A-UD5 Motherboard

Does your Operating system even support more than 16GB.http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...=vs.85%29.aspx

When you mix ram like that one of 3 things can happen.

1. Computer will not boot.
2. Will boot but you could have a lot of hair pulling errors.
3. Work like we want it to.

I buy matching ram and sell the old ram. Stop any possible headache before it can start.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wonderinguy34

Does your Operating system even support more than 16GB.http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...=vs.85%29.aspx

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Thanks for raising that. I have a MSDN subscription and have been using Ultimate 64bit for almost 2 years now. I believe my board can handle 24gb and the OS can handle more than 100gb.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Train

When you mix ram like that one of 3 things can happen.

1. Computer will not boot.
2. Will boot but you could have a lot of hair pulling errors.
3. Work like we want it to.

I buy matching ram and sell the old ram. Stop any possible headache before it can start.

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Matching RAM as in maker too or just speed, voltage, latency, timing, etc...? Do you sell it on eBay or something like that?

If that is the case, then you helped answer 2 of the 4 questions.

Still interested in understanding this.
-My board recommends putting 1.5V but the current ram is 1.65V. I should buy RAM that runs at 1.5V? I know when buying RAM, we need to look for the lower the better, in terms of latency and voltage.

-Also, do I need to buy non-ecc?

Thanks for the recommendation Spyware.

Strictly (non-ECC) ram.
The extra .15V does allow a tad of OCing.
Never bothered doing so myself.

latency is the big thing most folks worry about. The lower the better.
Almost all the DDR3 is 9-9-9-24.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Train

The extra .15V does allow a tad of OCing.
Never bothered doing so myself.

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Not sure about his CPU but I know Intel Sandybridge have the memory controller on the processor and running anything over 1.5 volt ram can damage the CPU itself,this is especially true if you populate all ram slots with over voltage Ram.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wonderinguy34

Not sure about his CPU but I know Intel Sandybridge have the memory controller on the processor and running anything over 1.5 volt ram can damage the CPU itself,this is especially true if you populate all ram slots with over voltage Ram.

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Darn good point which I did not know about.

So, I decided to experience and mix-match RAM speed, type and size. Since I am able to write this post, it seems like it is working with no blue screen yet at least.

Interesting thing is that all this time, my OCZ 1600mhz was running at 1066mhz. I googled around and this seems to be the default setting. Is this normal? Anyway, the new ram Patriot 2000mhz also defaulted to 1066mhz. I did not increase the voltage or latency.

The only thing that I did was incrased the multiplier from Auto to 12 in the DRAM bios screen and that seem to do the trick. Is it that easy? Is this considered as Overclocking the memory and not the CPU? Ever since increasing the multipliers, my CPU has been running 10 celsius higher measuring with Realtemp, averaging about 45C.

Thanks

Quote:

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Interesting thing is that all this time, my OCZ 1600mhz was running at 1066mhz. I googled around and this seems to be the default setting. Is this normal? Anyway, the new ram Patriot 2000mhz also defaulted to 1066mhz. I did not increase the voltage or latency.

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Yup....its normal for RAM to default to 1066mhz. The speed can be reconfigured in the BIOS, HOWEVER....

Quote:

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The only thing that I did was incrased the multiplier from Auto to 12 in the DRAM bios screen and that seem to do the trick. Is it that easy? Is this considered as Overclocking the memory and not the CPU? Ever since increasing the multipliers, my CPU has been running 10 celsius higher measuring with Realtemp, averaging about 45C.

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You are increasing mismatched RAM. And yes, you are overclocking the (mismatched) memory and not the CPU.

This is why it is recommended NOT to use mismatched memory. It may "work" by setting each bank to different speed, timing and voltage settings, but you really should match the banks for maximum efficiency. The weaker RAM will always be your weak link.

When matching RAM, it is always best to stick with one manufacturer in order to provide the closest match. Recommend Crucial or Kingston (I found that PNY always seems to run hot).

Thanks Bistro.

I decided to get more today to replace the weaker RAM.

Both cost the same but not sure which one is best bang for the buck:

Patriot Viper II ‘Sector 7’ Edition PV7312G2000ELK
http://www.frys.com/product/6934597?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220518

OR

Patriot Viper Xtreme PX7312G2000ELK
http://www.frys.com/product/6461732?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220543

12GB (3 x 4GB)
240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000)
Desktop Memory

-----------------------------------------------------------

When I had the 6gb OCZ 1600mhz and ran at 1066mhz, CPU was running at about 35c idle.

Now, adding 24gb Patriot 2000mhz and running at 2000mhz, CPU is running at 53c.

Is that normal?

Any form of overclocking will generate more heat.

If you intend to compare apples to apples,
Run the new memory modules at 1066 and check temperature.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shinma

Any form of overclocking will generate more heat.

If you intend to compare apples to apples,
Run the new memory modules at 1066 and check temperature.

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I did. I turned off XMP and ran them at 1066. That made them go down about 10c which is now at about 43c. When it was at 35c, I was running these.

Since you are here already, which Patriot Viper is the better bang for the buck?:D

Both are E.O.L. products and have same specifications.
I do not use memory with 1.65v.
With that said,
I think the Extreme is more recent between the two.

Thanks Shinma,

Why no memory with 1.65 volts and what is EOL?

I bought the Xtreme and put them in. I ran the MEMTEST86+ and everything is fine.

When I had mixed RAM (1600mhz and 2000mhz), MEMTEST86+ kept showing error on the setting no matter what timing, voltage, multiplier being set. I kept telling that Train person not to mix RAM. :D Hahaha, I should have listed to him.

At one point, I lowered my CPU multiplier to 15 and increased the BCLK to 200 to get the memory to run at 1600mhz. I was trying to avoid overclocking the CPU. Even that, MEMTEST86+ was still coughing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Falcon Speed

... Why no memory with 1.65 volts ...

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Reference to wonderinguy34's comments.
And
I prefer long term stability over any overclocking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Falcon Speed

... and what is EOL?

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End
Of
Life.

Is it the DRAM Voltage of 1.65 that you are referring to and can I lower it manually?

When I was running these, it was set at 1.5 although the specs said that it is 1.65.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Falcon Speed

Is it the DRAM Voltage of 1.65 that you are referring to ...

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Yes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Falcon Speed

... and can I lower it manually? ...

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Possible but no guarantee of running at specified latency settings,
and/or
Data corruption may occur over the long term.

If performance is what you're after,
Use of SSD for operating system + programs, would likely provide better performance than running more memory beyond 8 GB.
Unless you're implementing RamDisk.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shinma

Possible but no guarantee of running at specified latency settings,
and/or
Data corruption may occur over the long term.

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I manually set:
-QPI/VTT voltage to 1.175 (read it suppposed to be within .5 of DRAM)
-DRAM Voltage to 1.5
-Latency to 9-11-9-27
-Memory Multiplier to 12 (1600mhz, not 2000mhz)
-No overclocking on the CPU (staying within 2.8ghz)

I ran MEMTEST86+ for about 4 hours and it said it passed all. It is showing temperature at 39c when running my Zalman air on high.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shinma

If performance is what you're after,
Use of SSD for operating system + programs, would likely provide better performance than running more memory beyond 8 GB.
Unless you're implementing RamDisk.

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I do have an SSD for the OS. And yes, you are correct that I am in the process to implement a RAMDisk.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shinma

End
Of
Life.

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Yeah, these RAM is considered to be the higher end for my board. When I bought the DDR3 1600mhz (6gb), they were about $170 in 2010. It is amazing how price dropped on memory, while in that time frame, hard drive costs went up. You mentioned that it is EOL. I guess there has been much better memory that came out recently.