More RAM!

[thepar]

I was thinking of getting some more ram. I currently have a an i7 920. With 6 Gb of ram. Corsair Dominators 7-7-7-20 Running at 9-9-9-24. I have noticed that alot of the newer ram runs and 1.5v opposed to 1.65 volts, and a lot of the ram timings are a lot slower now for DDR3 memory then they were a few years ago. Any thoughts on what I can do to get more memory? Will I have to retire my current memory? I also have a noctua heat sink and may need to remove the heat spreaders on the ram. Is this recomended for OCing the ram. Thanks for all of the help guys.

[wevsspot]

Hey TP - are you running a 64 bit OS? If not there isn't any reason to add extra RAM.

 

As for compatibility - if possible it's usually easier if you get memory that has the same ICs (voltage, timings & speed) as what you currently have. It doesn't have to come from the same brand though. Fortunately socket 1366 is pretty forgiving when it comes to miss-matching RAM, so you might be able to find something close and make it work.

 

With RAM pricing so low these days, I personally don't see a compelling reason to try and mix / match RAM when you can buy a mated kit for bargain basement prices. You could probably sell your current kit for enough to cover the cost of a higher capacity (albeit lower speed - lower voltage) kit.

[thepar]

64 bit os. Thanks so much. I may just get a new kit. Should I take heat spreaders off. http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=faqs&step=2&products_id=31&lng=en

Edited November 19, 2012 by thepar

[wevsspot]

Frankly, I don't think heat spreaders on RAM make much a difference one way or another (except for making the memory look "high performance"). However, you may find that removing the spreaders technically voids the warranty. Just an FYI.

 

And I agree with your decision to just buy a new kit of the stuff you want. Remember, DDR3 1600Mhz is more than fast enough for the Intel platform, and timings really don't matter all that much for anything other than benchmarks.

[d6bmg]

64 bit os. Thanks so much. I may just get a new kit. Should I take heat spreaders off. http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=faqs&step=2&products_id=31&lng=en

 

In most of the cases heat spreaders don't matter much. All it matters is the memory chips inside a RAM module.

[thepar]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233296 Will this work? Or will I need to get ram that is rated @ 1600 mhz. The voltage on this is different then the ram I currently have. I am running @ about 1400 mhz currently.

[wevsspot]

Hey Par - are you planning on keeping your current memory in the system and just adding these, or will you be retiring (selling) your current memory?

[d6bmg]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233296 Will this work? Or will I need to get ram that is rated @ 1600 mhz. The voltage on this is different then the ram I currently have. I am running @ about 1400 mhz currently.

 

You should know that OC'ing capability of XMS3 is very low.

And please answer the query of wevsspot.

[thepar]

Probably retiring. I need to fit more ram in each slot. I currently have 2 gB x3 sticks in the machine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145253 The ram I currently have has been discontinued. I need more ram per slot. It seem the newer ram has much looser timings. Thanks again for all the help. I don't know why I am having so much trouble figuring out what ram to get. I love corsair. Will the lower voltage ram work?

[d6bmg]

Practically there is no difference between CL7 and a CL9 1600MHz RAM in terms of performance.

Take a look at these kits:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231556

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568

And if this comes online again,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231528

it would be best choice in terms of price.

[IVIYTH0S]

Good luck trying to get all the ram to show up without messing around in the bios for a while

 

Is there a real reason you want the extra memory??

 

I got the extra 12GB added to my 6GB kit because I got them for $60 (which at the time was great, since triple channel kits suck donkey balls for discounts), but really didn't see much improvement for my uses. (and the initial headache of making all the memory work with X58)

[wevsspot]

Par, since you are retiring your current memory, you should be looking at a decent triple channel memory kit. No sense in crippling the 1366 platform with dual channel memory (two sticks).

 

The Corsair memory you picked is fine except that it is only two sticks, and you'll need a minimum of three to keep your triple channel functionality.

 

So (based on Price, Popularity and Customer Feedback);

 

G.Skill Ripjaws 3x4Gb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358

$64.99 + free shipping

 

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 3x4Gb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226192

$64.99 + free shipping

 

Corsair Vengence 3x4Gb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233146

$64.99 + free shipping

 

Kingston HyperX 3x4Gb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104127

$62.99 + free shipping