DDR3 RAM recommendation

airmark

airmark

airmark

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I'm planning on upgrading my system and currently I'm leaning towards the MSI 770-C45 AM3 motherboard with an Athlon 235e CPU. The PC is a HTPC and I'm thinking of getting 2GB RAM to begin with, possibly upgrade to 4GB later (especially if prices come back to earth). So my questions:
a) If I go ahead and buy one 2GB module and in the future I want to get another one, does it have to be the exact same model?
b) Also, I suppose it makes sense to buy 1600MHz module. Is there a reason why I would want a slower one?
c) Is there a reason I would want to get 2x1GB modules as opposed to 1x2GB?
d) Any particular brand you would recommend? Mind you, I will not overclock (this is a HTPC after all), I mostly care about stability/reliability and to be reasonably future-proof.
Thanks
 
I'm leaning towards a Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 motherboard with a Sempron 140 (with potential to unlock to an Athlon II 140 effectively).
With that in mind, any particular RAM suggestion?
 
airmark said:
I'm planning on upgrading my system and currently I'm leaning towards the MSI 770-C45 AM3 motherboard with an Athlon 235e CPU. The PC is a HTPC and I'm thinking of getting 2GB RAM to begin with, possibly upgrade to 4GB later (especially if prices come back to earth). So my questions:
a) If I go ahead and buy one 2GB module and in the future I want to get another one, does it have to be the exact same model?
b) Also, I suppose it makes sense to buy 1600MHz module. Is there a reason why I would want a slower one?
c) Is there a reason I would want to get 2x1GB modules as opposed to 1x2GB?
d) Any particular brand you would recommend? Mind you, I will not overclock (this is a HTPC after all), I mostly care about stability/reliability and to be reasonably future-proof.
Thanks
Click to expand...

a) if you want to run them in dual channel mode then yes - and believe me, you want to, it's double the bandwidth
b) not really, as they seem to be a sweet-spot atm. Unless you compare a cheaper 1333MHz CL7 with 1600MHz CL9, there's no much of a difference price/performance wise.
c) dual channel with 2x1GB
d) imo all brands from the OcUK DDR3 RAM range are fine
 
bout 5% (yes im starting to stalk you now ;P).
if youre looking to use this for budget htpc/media server, go for whatevers cheapest.
the OCZ i have (see below) set me back £71 in the christmas hols. i think they're around 80 atm. I was gonna go with a 2 gig kit to save money, but they were around £50, and they just didnt seem like great value, seeing as i would eventually want at least 4gig anyways...
 
:)
They seem to be a bit cheaper on eBay, I can get individual 1333MHz 2GB modules for around £28-29 or a matched pair for £54 delivered.
To be honest 2GB is enough for me for my current usage so not sure if it's worth getting the matched pair and for the sake of 5% performance increase I don't feel like occupying two slots with 1GB modules.
So, let's say I get a single 2GB module with certain specs. If I later get another one from the same supplier, same brand etc., is there a chance it will not work with the first one because it wasn't a "matched pair" from the start? I don't quite get it.
 
dont quote me on this, but two different brands/capacities should work together in the same board. but i can almost guarrantee that they wont work in dual channel (double bandwidth).

I came from 1.5gigs before, thinking maybe i dont need 4gigs right now. but once i did the upgrade, about 500mb extra ram was being used just in the desktop (800 before, 1250 after) took me by surprise to say the least...
using w7 btw

edit: when you say a matched pair for £54, do you mean 2x2gb? if so, then that a bloody bargain...
 
Yes, 2x2GB Crucial 1333MHz. Manf Code: CT25664BA1339. Should I just grab it before it's gone?

Edit: It's described as Apple component and only mentions Apple compatibility. I suppose it's the same for PCs so it should work with an AM3 board/Sempron CPU, right?
 
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Guys, i have just bought 2 x Kingston 2gb Ddr3 1333mhz hyperx CL7 sticks,

but now i've noticed that the Kingston 2gb Ddr3 1600mhz hyperx CL9 is about the same price :eek:

But which one is faster or better for overclocking? :(

I hope i haven't made a mistake...:(

Also by having two same-brand 2gb sticks, will i get double the bandwidth?
 
ocnoob123 said:
Guys, i have just bought 2 x Kingston 2gb Ddr3 1333mhz hyperx CL7 sticks,

but now i've noticed that the Kingston 2gb Ddr3 1600mhz hyperx CL9 is about the same price :eek:

But which one is faster or better for overclocking? :(

I hope i haven't made a mistake...:(

Also by having two same-brand 2gb sticks, will i get double the bandwidth?
Click to expand...

yours seems to have lower latency so i would say it's probably better given that the difference in bandwidth is very small.
 
same brand 2gb sticks mean that it will work in dual channel, which does indeed double the bandwidth. how much real life perfoemance this translates into is not really much though.

you can use different sticks that have similar specs, and you MIGHT get lucky and your mobo will run then in dual, but chances are pretty slim.

and as for apple, i have no idea :S. my instinct says, apples are pretty much identical to PCs nowadays, so they should work.

but i really dont know. i wouldnt put it past apple to lock them down or something.

google it.
 
thanks airmark.

one more thing though. Does upgrading from 2gb to 4gb really make that much of a difference in speed of loading? what i'm trying to say is that 4gb really that necessary or is 2gb more than enough?
 
ocnoob123 said:
thanks airmark.

one more thing though. Does upgrading from 2gb to 4gb really make that much of a difference in speed of loading? what i'm trying to say is that 4gb really that necessary or is 2gb more than enough?
Click to expand...

Depends on what you do. In my case (HTPC) I never had problem with 2GB, so tbh buying 4GB now it's a bit excessive but this seemed a good deal, so I splurged :)
 
well if it does work, you'll be set for a long time. my only concern with 2gig was it wouldnt last long. good luck with the compatability anyways :)

now to sort your mobo out ;)
 
thingemajib said:
good luck with the compatability anyways :)
Click to expand...

Yep, RAM arrived, mobo arrives probably Monday, so I'll test everything next week.
These particular sticks (Crucial ct25664ba1339.16sfd) are in the compatibility list of an Asus AM3 motherboard, and after some googling, other PC users seem to have them and are quite happy (also good overclockers etc.) so it should normally work. I hope I don't speak too soon, but considering prices elsewhere they seem a bargain indeed, and FYI there's 2 more left in that same ebay auction (buy it now).
 
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