New System Build

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Ok, so DDR3 1866 is preferred.  That helps narrow down gigbytes supported list by more than half (only 22 choices of 1866 vs. 57 for 1600).  Are any of these manufacturer's better than the other (Avexir, Corsair, Crucial, Geil, G.Skill, Kingston, Patriot, Panram, Silicon Power, Team)?

I would check the qualified vendor list of your motherboard, those rams are tested by the maker.

[guncrasher]

Ok, so DDR3 1866 is preferred.  That helps narrow down gigbytes supported list by more than half (only 22 choices of 1866 vs. 57 for 1600).  Are any of these manufacturer's better than the other (Avexir, Corsair, Crucial, Geil, G.Skill, Kingston, Patriot, Panram, Silicon Power, Team)?

be aware KOOL that most likely you will have to oc your system to get speeds on ram like 1600 or above.  but dont be afraid of it, it's not that big of a deal to do it.

but if your ram is on the list it's most likely to not cause a problem.  I have ram that isnt on the list for my mobo as the list was very limited and I have never had a problem with it.  but some others did with with the exact ram on the same mobo.  go figure.

I like gskill, just because this is my second build and never had a problem with it, except once.  and that was due to a bios update where they mobo manu messed up and you could only use one stick but that was promptly fixed.

if I was you, and I was going to reuse parts from my old build.  I would get the mobo/cpu/ram first.  reuse the case, hd, dvd, ps and os.  If I recall correctly you built your other one too.   and add parts or more better parts as your budget allows.

if you need a sound card, i have 2 available for the price of little more than shipping.  one is brand new that I just didnt have the time to return and the other is the sb z series.  a better card with great sound.


semp

[guncrasher]

I read an article recently where they benchmarked rams, they found out PC3-14900 i.e. DDR3 1866Mhz to be the current sweet spot. Going above that only rises cost fast but getting the regular 1600mhz gives a little penalty already.

out of curiosity what do you mean  by this?  you talking money or performance, only reason I was asking is that a year or 2 ago using something more than 1600 was just a waste of money.


semp

[KOOL]

I would check the qualified vendor list of your motherboard, those rams are tested by the maker.

Yes I understand the list were tested by the MB maker but which one on their list is the best performer?  Or are they all equally the same in performance, quality, and dependability?

Before your last post I found this site:
http://www.memorybenchmark.net/ram_list.php

With this I'm able to drop in the module part number from the MB maker's supported list and can see the Latency Time, Read Uncached Transfer Rate, and Write Transfer Rate values, along with some prices.  Are these good catagories to use for comparison?  Or are there other things like CAS that are more meaningful for comparison?

[KOOL]

if I was you, and I was going to reuse parts from my old build.  I would get the mobo/cpu/ram first.  reuse the case, hd, dvd, ps and os.  If I recall correctly you built your other one too.   and add parts or more better parts as your budget allows.

if you need a sound card, i have 2 available for the price of little more than shipping.  one is brand new that I just didnt have the time to return and the other is the sb z series.  a better card with great sound.


semp

Initially I planned to use parts from my previous build however that changed.  This will be a fresh build so I can retire my current rig for general family use.  The current family rig is 8-10 years old still on WinXP and runs like a POS.  Except for maybe a DVD drive all of the parts I'm currently shopping for will be for AH purposes only.  I have an old sound card, I think it's a SoundBlaster FX or something like that, which I may or may not use.  Not sure with the MB I'll really need it but thanks for your sound card offer anyway.

Salute!
KOOL

[KOOL]

Based on the MB's supported memory list, and utilizing the PassMark memory Benchmarks, the Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD8GX3M2A1866C9 appears to be the better ram.  Yes?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

out of curiosity what do you mean  by this?  you talking money or performance, only reason I was asking is that a year or 2 ago using something more than 1600 was just a waste of money.


semp

I wish I had the review link at hand, basically they were testing a current i7 with multiple different ram speeds and benchmarking each. They found out that the 'baseline' 1600Mhz ram is starting to show negatively in benchmarks and a better price/performance ratio could be found using 1866Mhz modules instead. Going above that showed negative returns, you had to spend way too much money to be worth it.

[morfiend]

Based on the MB's supported memory list, and utilizing the PassMark memory Benchmarks, the Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD8GX3M2A1866C9 appears to be the better ram.  Yes?

  Kool,


   yes the charts shows what you say is correct,however for 1 nanosecond you pay 1/3 more.....   Maybe I'm just not up on this stuff enough but it seems to me thats a lot of cash for little return.


  I look at timming ,9,12,12 or something like that and you will see most are the same or very close,the older ram had lower timmings but also ran slower so becarefull to compate apples to apples!

   Personally,I get the 90 dollar ram and get more of it,I dont think you will see or notice a difference,unless of course you plan to do heavy video editting or maybe some cadcam type stuff!

  I'm just a layman who is learning on the go,there's plenty of experts around here to advise you,my only advice is not to spend more than you need to,afterall a brand new computer is obsolete before you build it.......


     

[guncrasher]

KOOL a question we probably need is will you only be playing ah?  or will you be doing something else.  because for ah a cheaper ram will be the way to go.  more expensive ram is not necessarily better.



semp

[save]

Buy a high-end graphics card, if you plan to play other games than AH.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

  Kool,


   yes the charts shows what you say is correct,however for 1 nanosecond you pay 1/3 more.....   Maybe I'm just not up on this stuff enough but it seems to me thats a lot of cash for little return.


  I look at timming ,9,12,12 or something like that and you will see most are the same or very close,the older ram had lower timmings but also ran slower so becarefull to compate apples to apples!

   Personally,I get the 90 dollar ram and get more of it,I dont think you will see or notice a difference,unless of course you plan to do heavy video editting or maybe some cadcam type stuff!

  I'm just a layman who is learning on the go,there's plenty of experts around here to advise you,my only advice is not to spend more than you need to,afterall a brand new computer is obsolete before you build it.......


     

You're right that investing in faster ram has poor price/performance ratio. The reviewers in the article suggested however to consider 1866 as the 'new baseline' for ram purchases.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Buy a high-end graphics card, if you plan to play other games than AH.

This. 90 additional bucks spent on ram speed may give you maybe 0.5 fps increase but 90 bucks to a higher model graphics card can give you 20fps or more as long as your cpu is up to the task.

[KOOL]

Ok, this is good info. Thanks.  I'll reallocate the excessive ram funds towards a better gpu.  That little bit bumps my gpu choice range from the GTX 760 to a GTX 770.  Maybe after a few weeks the GTX 780 may even be within reach?  I plan to wait and see before pulling the trigger on the gpu.

The trigger is already pulled on the case, psu, mb, cpu cooler, and os.  Price jumped on the cpu so I'll hold off ordering it for now to see if it will come back down.

[KOOL]

Is this HD decent for daily use (i.e. Photo storage)?
WDBH2D0010HNC-NRSN at Bestbuy. I'm thinking of getting two to run in Raid 1 in my old rig.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Is this HD decent for daily use (i.e. Photo storage)?
WDBH2D0010HNC-NRSN at Bestbuy. I'm thinking of getting two to run in Raid 1 in my old rig.

That drive is fine. It's not the top performer but not bad either.