DDR3 RAM recommendation

airmark · 28 Feb 2010 at 14:15

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

airmark · 7 Mar 2010 at 12:29

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 · 7 Mar 2010 at 14:55

Mr Krugga said:
c) dual channel with 2x1GB

How much of a performance gain are we talking about? (in real world, not in RAM benchmarks)

airmark · 7 Mar 2010 at 19:59

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.

airmark · 7 Mar 2010 at 22:28

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?

airmark · 8 Mar 2010 at 11:23

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

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?

yours seems to have lower latency so i would say it's probably better given that the difference in bandwidth is very small.

airmark · 8 Mar 2010 at 17:08

thingemajib said:
google it.

i did and it seems it's compatible with another AM3 board, so I assume it's fine. We'll see, I bought it

airmark · 8 Mar 2010 at 17:10

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?

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

airmark · 10 Mar 2010 at 19:23

ocnoob123 said:
FYI airmark, i'll be using my PC for gaming.

I think that lower latency is better, no need to change them. Either way though there should be minimal difference, hardly noticeable in the real world, even for hardcore gaming.

airmark · 10 Mar 2010 at 19:31

thingemajib said:
good luck with the compatability anyways

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).