AM3 upgrade specs (opinions?)

[tigerheart1979]

Hi all, Happy New Year.

I'm just looking for a bit of advice with choosing my RAM (4GB dual channel) as I've no experience of the newer AMD chipsets etc just good old socket 939 (as per my sig). I'm looking to upgrade my rig & I'm quite happy with my CPU & motherboard choices.

Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.20GHz (C3 - 125 watt)

Feel free to comment/suggest alternatives though but my main issue is with choosing the RAM.

I don't have a clue what spec RAM is best on the AM3 platform with these components if I'm wanting to overclock on water i.e. MHz versus timings? My rig is & will be well cooled (Fuzion v2.0, DD-4870 & Thermochill PA120.3 etc) & I WILL be looking to overclock. (Also got decent airflow for motherboard heatsinks.

Any advice you peeps can offer would be very much appreciated, oh & the rest of my rig i.e. PSU & VGA will be staying the same for a while yet.

 

[Big.Wayne]

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.20GHz (C3 - 125 watt)

Feel free to comment/suggest alternatives though

I don't think that processor is worth the money when you can buy a good Athlon II processor and a motherboard for the same amount?

or up the budget by 5% and build an Intel® Core™ i5 is you really, truely, genuinely need a quad core monster.

I'm using an Athlon II Triple Core 425 and its a worthy bit of kit for the asking price, along with an ASUS 785G DDR2 based mobo and a premium heatsink for less than the cost of the PhII 965. Just make a list of what you are paying the extra money for and I'm pretty sure not one of them will hold up under Real World useage!

Regarding Ram I'm interested to know more from anyone with AM3 DDR3 experience? . . . I had several 4GB DDR sets laying around and figured it was a more cost effective option to utilize them instead of splurging on DDR3 which brings very little to the table, having said that the DDR2 pricing has reached parity with DDR3 now so yeah I see it makes sense going the whole hog and spending on some nice DDR3!

I was personally looking at DDR3-1600 kits with Cas 7 on the basis that they should be able to underclock with even tighter timings or overclock with slacker timings . . . . again you have to weigh up your love of numbers with the price premium and work out yourself if its worth it!

 

[tigerheart1979]

I don't think that processor is worth the money when you can buy a good Athlon II processor and a motherboard for the same amount?

or up the budget by 5% and build an Intel® Core™ i5 is you really, truely, genuinely need a quad core monster.

I'm using an Athlon II Triple Core 425 and its a worthy bit of kit for the asking price, along with an ASUS 785G DDR2 based mobo and a premium heatsink for less than the cost of the PhII 965. Just make a list of what you are paying the extra money for and I'm pretty sure not one of them will hold up under Real World useage!

Regarding Ram I'm interested to know more from anyone with AM3 DDR3 experience? . . . I had several 4GB DDR sets laying around and figured it was a more cost effective option to utilize them instead of splurging on DDR3 which brings very little to the table, having said that the DDR2 pricing has reached parity with DDR3 now so yeah I see it makes sense going the whole hog and spending on some nice DDR3!

Cheers for yer comments mate. I've gone for AM3 & as a result DDR3 mainly for future proofing over AM2+ because the motherboards such as the 1 I've picked that are rated for 140 watt TDP Phenom 2's 'should' after a BIOS flash be compatible with 'Thuban' when it arrives (hopefully) in the summer.

 

[Big.Wayne]

Hey tigerheart1979,

did you click the

button by mistake instead of [Post Reply] as otherwise I have no idea why you have done a FULL quote! . . . . you can make use of the [edit] button now!

Back on topic I see you are playing the Future-Proof game, I don't buy into that idealogy at all because if the hardware manufacturers want you to upgrade then you will be upgrading! . . . whether it be PCI-E 3.0, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 or the new and improved WigimyWodget™ etc

Have you got a budget for this new memory or is the price irrelevant?

 

[tigerheart1979]

I'm willing to spend up to £110 but not sure whether a higher MHZ rating is better on the basis I may well be able to lower the speed & tighten the timings or just go for lower official rated speed with guaranteed lower timings.