Help me chose better RAM

jonathan1107 · Apr 21, 2011

I intend to upgrade my rig soon (adding another radeon 6950 and changing my RAM maybe...)

About the RAM... what should I do? I have 8gb (2x4gb) ram 1600 mhz running at 9 9 9 24... I've heard I could lower those timings... but frankly I'm no expert at tweaking the RAM settings... When I get in the configuration page in the bios for RAM... there are like 200 settings... makes me confused...

I was going to get myself another radeon 6950 to crossfire... but I've talked with a local computer technician who tells me that my motherboard might limit a little bit my Crossfire performance being that it will keep it at 8x instead of 16x PCIe...

He also seems to think that I should have faster RAM (2000mhz instead of 1600) He thinks it would allow for a better overclock and FPS increase and better crossfire performance...

But after what I read on the internet, it looks like just reaching the 2000mhz speed can be complicated with some mobos... Also I'm worried about temps... since my actual temps are just ok right now with the 1600mhz sticks. I guess I might have problems with the 2000mhz sticks...

How much of an FPS increase can you get out of 2x4b sticks 2000mhz?

Lastly, should I buy instead 2000mhz ram but lower its speed to like 1800mhz or even 1600mhz to get lower CAS... like 7 or even 6...???

largon · Apr 21, 2011

High-end RAM is a waste of money.
Difference to run-of-the-mill RAM is something around 0-3%.

LagunaX · Apr 21, 2011

The sweet spot for DDR3 as the performance plateau curve goes is 1866. Most anything past that is for your AIDA64 (formerly Everest) read/write/copy/latency e-penis.
That being said I do think 2133 seems "snappier" than 1866 but that my just be in my head...

sneekypeet · Apr 21, 2011

If you would link to the exact ram you have I'm sure we could help you tweak those before you go a buy new ram.

Faster ram speeds and tighter timings will increase the performance of the PC, but likely you will need to be benchmarking to actually "see" the difference it makes. As for the "feel" of it, you might see the performance from time to time but on the whole, it will "feel" the same. That isn't to say you shouldn't try to get better performance out of what you have if the effort to do so is minimal

jonathan1107 · Apr 22, 2011

Quick question: If I were to upgrade my ram to 2 sticks of 4gb (2000mhz with low CAS... say 8) would I be able to put these in and have that speed or would I have to tweak a lot of settings??? From what I've read on the internet, it seems for 2000mhz sticks, you need to OC your CPU to get that... is that true?

What would be your recommandation? I currently own Gskills Ripjaws 2x4gb 1600mhz 9 9 9 24. I found these which have better timings but not better speed: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 ...

I hear the sweet spot for both CPUs and Mobos is 1800mhz... Please FEEL FREE to Shoot me tons of info and tips about my situation. I need answers soon, I need to close the sell of my current RAM

sneekypeet · Apr 22, 2011

If you are going to buy regardless

I suggest anything from this page for 1600mhz: Computer Hardware,Memory,Desktop Memory,240-Pin DD...

For 2000mhz everything is 9-10-9 or 9-11-9 so its all about the same.

MN12BIRD · Apr 22, 2011

I've hard a few people say on a stock AMD without overclocking the HT that it's pointless to go beyond 1,333MHZ. Any truth to that?

Spectrum · Apr 22, 2011

if you want faster 1600mhz ram, get 2x 4gb mushkin redlines.
if you want some decent 1866mhz, get some corsair vengeance or dominator

LagunaX · Apr 22, 2011

Give a link to your current ram on newegg or g.skill.
If it is lower voltage 1.5 or 1.6v, you might be able to overclock it to 1855 @ 1.65v.

jonathan1107 · Apr 22, 2011

Here's the link to my RAM :

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...&cm_re=gskill_8gb_1600-_-20-231-314-_-Product

I read everywhere that people succesfully OC it... But for some reason, I can't :O( Even if I raise voltages, I can't get it's timings down... And I can't get the Mhz to increase, because I'm not doing a "classical" Front Bus OC... Mine is an adaptative OC... Using speedstep and everything....

My CPU adjusts itself, depending on the workload...

System Name	Brutus
Processor	i5 4690k @4.7Ghz (Watercooled)
Motherboard	z97 MSI Gaming 5
Cooling	NZXT Kraken x61 AIO watercooler
Memory	Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming GTX 980ti x2 (sli)
Storage	1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesternDigital RAID 0
Display(s)	YAMAKASI Catleap q270 SE 27inch Glossy 2560x1440
Case	NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply	Antec TPQ 1200w
Software	Windows 7 (64 bit)

System Name	Ladpot ◦◦◦ Desktop
Processor	R7 5800H ◦◦◦ i7 4770K, watercooled
Motherboard	HP 88D2 ◦◦◦ Asus Z87-C2 Maximus VI Formula
Cooling	Mixed gases ◦◦◦ Fuzion V1, MCW60/R2, DDC1/DDCT-01s top, PA120.3, EK200, D12SL-12, liq.metal TIM
Memory	2× 8GB DDR4-3200 ◦◦◦ 2× 8GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	RTX 3070 ◦◦◦ heaps of dead GPUs in the garage
Storage	Samsung 980 PRO 2TB ◦◦◦ Samsung 840Pro 256@178GB + 4× WD Red 2TB in RAID10 + LaCie Blade Runner 4TB
Display(s)	HP ZR30w 30" 2560×1600 (WQXGA) H2-IPS
Case	Lian Li PC-A16B
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair AX860i
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S / Contour RollerMouse Red+
Keyboard	Logitech Elite Keyboard from 2006 / Contour Balance Keyboard / Logitech diNovo Edge
Software	W11 x64 ◦◦◦ W10 x64
Benchmark Scores	It does boot up? I think.

System Name	Primary Rig
Processor	e8500 Q822A549 4.5ghz AIR
Motherboard	Foxconn Mars P35
Cooling	TRUE
Memory	2 x2GB Patriot Viper 1066 5-5-5-12 @ 1.8v
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 5870 Unlocked
Storage	300gb Velociraptor
Display(s)	Dell 24" Ultrasharp
Case	Coolermaster CM690
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling 750w Quad Silencer
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate x86

System Name	EVA-01
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory	PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse	ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Brutus
Processor	i5 4690k @4.7Ghz (Watercooled)
Motherboard	z97 MSI Gaming 5
Cooling	NZXT Kraken x61 AIO watercooler
Memory	Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming GTX 980ti x2 (sli)
Storage	1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesternDigital RAID 0
Display(s)	YAMAKASI Catleap q270 SE 27inch Glossy 2560x1440
Case	NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply	Antec TPQ 1200w
Software	Windows 7 (64 bit)

Help me chose better RAM

jonathan1107

largon

LagunaX

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator

jonathan1107

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator

MN12BIRD

Spectrum

New Member

LagunaX

jonathan1107

System Name	AMD Black Dragon
Processor	AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition
Motherboard	Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	4GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum (2x2GB)
Video Card(s)	ATi Radeon HD4870 512MB GDDR5 w AC Twin Turbo
Storage	Crucial C300 64GB SSD, 500GB and 2TB Drives
Display(s)	Samsung 2494hm, Dell (Samsung?) 1907FP
Case	Lancool (Lian-Li on a budget) K7
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek ALC889A, M-Audio Fast Tracks
Power Supply	OCZ Mod-X-Stream Pro 600W
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium x64, XP Pro