Quad Channel / Dual Channel X79

OK so It remains for me to buy some RAM and 2 x 7970 for my new build.

Now I'm finding very little information on the difference between the performance of a quad channel (i.e. 4 sticks) and dual channel 2 * ( 2 sticks ) on the X79 platform.

I was hoping to grab 2 * (4 * 8GB) - Corsair Dominator kits, but they are out of stock everywhere including the manufacturers website. [CMP32GX3M4X1600C10]

So the alternative is the Corsair Vengeance which a number of people have reported issues with.

Next thing I'm looking at is 4 * (2 * 8GB) kits from Crucial (1600 Ballistix range) [BLT2CP8G3D1608DT1TX0CEU]

On another note I prefer the crucial kit in comparison to the corsair kits, I don't mean to start a childish spat but I've never had a single stick of crucial RAM go bad on me but then again I may have just got lucky.

Any thoughts on the matter or recommend some other RAM - I'm happy with 1600 (PC3-12800).

So you're looking for 8x8GB of RAM?

There are very few 8GB DIMMs available as you've found.

Make sure you have Windows Professional or above (64 bit) for more than 16GB.

Anyway, this may answer one of your questions:

DDR3 Memory Performance Analysis on Intel X79

Surveyor said:

So you're looking for 8x8GB of RAM?

There are very few 8GB DIMMs available as you've found.

Make sure you have Windows Professional or above (64 bit) for more than 16GB.

Anyway, this may answer one of your questions:

DDR3 Memory Performance Analysis on Intel X79

Click to expand...

oooo thanks Surveyor missed this review somehow - Im primarily running Linux x64 so Wndows version is a non-issue. The red stuff (Dominator-GT) from Corsair is very expensive though

inSilica said:

oooo thanks Surveyor missed this review somehow - Im primarily running Linux x64 so Wndows version is a non-issue. The red stuff (Dominator-GT) from Corsair is very expensive though

Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting you buy that particular RAM.

I linked the article as they test channel scaling from single to quad which was one of your questions.

8GB DIMMs aren't cheap.

There are a couple listed by OcUK but they work out at getting on for twice the price/GB of 4GB DIMMs:

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Single Channel Module

Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

Ultimately I think the quad channel over the dual / triple channel doesn't make a huge difference, if I'm reading the charts correctly . The GT is obviously uber expensive and I know you're not suggesting I go for this kit.

There is a kit by a company called Komputerbay, running at 1333MHz for ridiculously cheap in comparison to others. My gripe currently is that A. it's not a well known brand and B. they don't appear to be partnered at all. (dual/tri/quad)

Komputerbay 64GB (8x 8GB)

The crucial kit is guaranteed with some impressive timings and comes in cheaper than the GT, but will ultimately cost me more than the dominator kit (non-GT) but admittedly with tighter timings and double that of the komputerbay.

There's not a lot more I can add.

It looks like for 64GB you either buy something from the recognisable names at a high cost/GB or chance it with stuff you've never heard of (well I hadn't anyway).

I ended up ordering two of these

http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel...annel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz32gx3m4x1600c10.html

it looks like a number of people are running 64GB of these on 1333MHz

inSilica said:

There is a kit by a company called Komputerbay, running at 1333MHz for ridiculously cheap in comparison to others. My gripe currently is that A. it's not a well known brand and B. they don't appear to be partnered at all. (dual/tri/quad).

Click to expand...

In case anybody comes across this thread after searching for Komputerbay, my experiences with them have been awful. I purchased 8GB of DDR3 laptop memory (i.e 2 * 4GB SODIMMS) from them for £195. After returning three sets of faulty RAM to them over the course of 6 months, I finally asked for a refund. They complied by sending me £20, claiming that this was because the price of memory had gone down since my original purchase. They offered to let me return the money and have another replacement memory kit sent out. The forth and final kit they sent me was 8GB in a kit of 2 * 4GB DIMMs (not SODIMMS). After that, I gave up.

tl:dr edition; avoid Komputerbay.

Edit: I forgot to mention originally that they also go by the name of Kompbay (usually written as KOMPBAY in their correspondence). Now anybody searching for Kompbay will also find this thread

Saundie said:

In case anybody comes across this thread after searching for Komputerbay, my experiences with them have been awful. I purchased 8GB of DDR3 laptop memory (i.e 2 * 4GB SODIMMS) from them for £195. After returning three sets of faulty RAM to them over the course of 6 months, I finally asked for a refund. They complied by sending me £20, claiming that this was because the price of memory had gone down since my original purchase. They offered to let me return the money and have another replacement memory kit sent out. The forth and final kit they sent me was 8GB in a kit of 2 * 4GB DIMMs (not SODIMMS). After that, I gave up.

tl:dr edition; avoid Komputerbay.

Click to expand...

Wow! I had a fishy feeling about a company selling 64GB DDR3 for £300 when the next cheapest from a reputable manufacturer is going for £450.

Sorry to hear about your issues but I'm very glad I didn't go with them.

And now someone like me who searches this forum for komputerbary should get this thread . Thanks for sharing your experience!