Brands?

Jhaemes

Jhaemes

Jhaemes

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Joined
3 Dec 2011
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399
I'm looking over my proposed build and I'm deciding to give the RAM a bit more thought.

To start with I just had 8gb of cheapy stuff, then I took that off in place of the Corsair vengeance brand which isn't too bad. I don't mind paying a bit extra if it means better quality etc.

So, does the brand really matter? I'm guessing the cheaper stuff is made well cheaply, where-as the more expensive stuff has "premium casing" type things.
 
I tend to find it is best to buy memory from a reputable brand and from a reputable reseller - mainly because if anything goes wrong you will have a lifetime warranty and it will be processed quickly, so your down-time is minimised.

Under the heatsinks the modules themselves are rather similar, hence I wouldn't generally worry about going for a Corsair kit instead of a Kingston kit with the same specs - since the performance will be identical.

Therefore, I suggest going for the cheapest 1600MHz, good brand kit from a quality reseller (like OCUK).

That said, one thing to consider is heatsink size. Modules like the corsair vengeance do look cool but the large heatsinks on them (and similar "enthusiast" versions from other makes) often gets in the way of large/efficient CPU coolers. Therefore, I'd strongly recommend going for low-profile memory, so your memory doesn't limit your choice of CPU coolers. Don't worry that these modules run hotter than the ones with large slabs of metal - DDR3 1.5V modules run very cool even with small (or no) heatsinks.

Looking at your previous thread you will be going for a LGA 1155 system and will be mainly gaming. With this in mind I would recommend going for the cheapest good brand, low profile, 1600MHz (since faster doesn't help), 1.5V, 8GB (2x4GB) kit you can find on a quality reseller. This would be my choice at the current moment (though keep an eye out for price changes and temporary deals).
 
Impressive =D Looking at my previous build and suggesting a set of RAM specifically for it, that's very nice of you.

It also answers the question I guess, I'm not really into the "looks" of RAM but with the case I'll have I thought I'd go for a middle ground between the cheapy end basics and the high end coloured parts etc. The one you've linked to will definitely do for now.
 
The Kingston Hyper X Genesis Grey looks a popular line - however a recent post on this forum suggested that the 4Gb 1600MHz memory did not overclock well.

For an i5 2500K and Z68 MoBo is this likely to limit the ability to overclock?

If so, is the next speed up - 1866MHz - a good move?
 
The sweet spot for Sandy Bridge platform is 1600MHz C9 1.5v.
The choice would depend more on whether you're using a big ass air cooler, low profile, i.e no tall fins.
Or looks if you're using ALC or custom water loop, i.e ones with big snazzy fins.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
The Kingston Hyper X Genesis Grey looks a popular line - however a recent post on this forum suggested that the 4Gb 1600MHz memory did not overclock well.

For an i5 2500K and Z68 MoBo is this likely to limit the ability to overclock?
Click to expand...

Yea, the Kingston kit may not "overclock well" in themselves (ie increase the memory speed past the rated 1600MHz). However this in no way limits the overclocking of the CPU - as with the LGA1155 platform CPU and memory overclocking are totally de-coupled.

Also, please bear in mind that due to the efficient nature of the sandy bridge memory controller buying RAM (overclocking it) past 1600MHz just isn't really worth it - since the performance gains are so small, especially if you are mainly gaming (please see here).
 
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