G-Skill RAM, quick question.

Anesthetize · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:08

First off, I don't know much about hardware, still learning, so bare with any stupidness.

Anyway, I'm on the verge of building my first PC, and originally I was going to go with 'RipJ's 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz' but decided I'd rather bump that up to 8GB. But looking around, there's an 'X' series which has been designed specifically for Sandy Bridge motherboards.

But here's the thing, the X series, and non-X series are the same price looking at them on New(oval-shaped food with a shell).

So my question is, is there some kind of performance boost from using the X series on a Sandy Bridge mobo as opposed to the non-X series? (their 'timings' are the same arn't they? not sure what the '2N' is though) because if not, what's the point in it?

And yes, I'm getting a Sandy Bridge mobo

Thanks for any help!

jbloggs · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:17

is there some kind of performance boost from using the X series on a Sandy Bridge mobo as opposed to the non-X series?

No performance boost for the x series, both of these memory kits will use the same chips and both will work fine with Sandybridge...

what's the point in it?

The "X-Series" is good marketing hype.

Plec · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:18

As above.

Anesthetize - you need to delete any reference to the retailer plus the links or the mods will delete you post.

EDIT: link - to the forum rules.

Anesthetize · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:23

jbloggs said:
No performance boost for the x series, both of these memory kits will use the same chips and both will work fine with Sandybridge...

The "X-Series" is good marketing hype.

Got it, cheers mate

Plec said:
Anesthetize - you need to delete any reference to the retailer plus the links or the mods will delete you post.

EDIT: link - to the forum rules.

Can't change the title for some reason, but the links and references are gone from the post. Probably should have checked the rules shouldn't I?

Sowwy mods!

Plec · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:29

The title is fine - it was just a friendly 'heads up' and you've deleted any trace of competitors very quicky.

Anesthetize · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:32

Plec said:
The title is fine - it was just a friendly 'heads up' and you've deleted any trace of competitors very quicky.

Yeah, it's no problem. Cheers

Surveyor · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:37

Plec said:
The title is fine - it was just a friendly 'heads up' and you've deleted any trace of competitors very quicky.

Apart from the name of the competitor which is still there.

Plec · 16 Apr 2011 at 14:42

?

Title looks fine on my screen.

Ah, see what you mean - Anesthetize you missed a mention - 4 rows down.

Anesthetize · 17 Apr 2011 at 18:50

Got another question, I was told that because I wasn't adding anything new to this PC for a while after it was build, if I could (which I can), I should go for 'RipJ's X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz (PC3 10666).'

The 'timings' on the RAM I was going to get is 9-9-9-24, and the 'timings' on this other RAM is 7-7-7-21. Now I know pretty much nothing about timings, but am I right in assuming the lower the numbers, the faster it is?

Also, the 7-7-7-21 RAM is 1333MHz as opposed to 1600MHz which is what I was originally recommended. So what I think I'm asking is, when looking at RAM, is it more important to look at the MHz or the timings?

Plec · 17 Apr 2011 at 19:52

Yes, the lower the timings the better but don't worry about these figures too much as you wont notice the difference in day to day use.

However, most people would recommend you get 1600MHz memory (PC3 -12800) Corsair XMS3, G-skil, GeiL - take your pick - it's cheap and is pretty much the recommended standard in a sandy bridge setup. You ideally want it running as close to 1.5V as possible.

Anesthetize · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:03

Plec said:
Yes, the lower the timings the better but don't worry about these figures too much as you wont notice the difference in day to day use.

However, most people would recommend you get 1600MHz memory (PC3 -12800) Corsair XMS3, G-skil, GeiL - take your pick - it's cheap and is pretty much the recommended standard in a sandy bridge setup. You ideally want it running as close to 1.5V as possible.

The thing is, the 1600MHz version of 'RipJaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-21' which appears to be this: 'Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 8-8-8-24' has higher timings.

I'm trying to get information on this from a few different places, just to maximize my chance of getting answers, and on another site, they said the timings are more important than the MHz speed.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just find the different answers I'm getting confusing!

So, simply put, these:

'G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL (9-9-9-24)

wouldn't run noticably faster than these:

'G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-21'

Even though the timings are lower, right? Bare in mind RAM is going to be for a rig meant almost exclusively for gaming.

Thanks for the help so far!

Plec · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:20

It's swings and round abouts to certain degree - certain apps/games will benefit form tighter timings (i.e. how efficient the memory will operate) and other apps/games will benefit form higher bandwidth/memory frequency.

Games 'i think' benefit from tighter timings (but don't quote me) where apps tend to favour the larger bandwidth.

Personally i would go for the higher frequency - or you could buy these as a compromise - link.

Your other option is to buy the G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz and clock it - it's very possible that it will get close to 1600MHz - EDIT: although this probably would compromise your timings and would negate the exercise.

Your choice really but i suspect you would be more than happy with the PC3 12800 - and there's also the chance you may be able to tighten the timings...

I bet you're really confused now

Decision, decisions eh?

Anesthetize · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:45

Plec said:
It's swings and round abouts to certain degree - certain apps/games will benefit form tighter timings (i.e. how efficient the memory will operate) and other apps/games will benefit form higher bandwidth/memory frequency.

Games 'i think' benefit from tighter timings (but don't quote me) where apps tend to favour the larger bandwidth.

Personally i would go for the higher frequency - or you could buy these as a compromise - link.

Your other option is to buy the G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz and clock it - it's very possible that it will get close to 1600MHz - EDIT: although this probably would compromise your timings and would negate the exercise.

Your choice really but i suspect you would be more than happy with the PC3 12800 - and there's also the chance you may be able to tighten the timings...

I bet you're really confused now

Decision, decisions eh?

I actually thought about overclocking the G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333MHz to 1600MHz, one person on another site has done just that, but I didn't realise doing do would affect the timings. At timings listed in the BIOS? if so, I should ask him where his sits now after overclocking.

Also, I was looking at the RAM you linked to, but I saw the volts were a little higher than 1.5v, wouldn't that give my mobo/CPU problems? (Asus p8p67 Pro/i5 2500k).

Plec · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:52

I would check back with your 'forum friend' it may be that his timings were not affected in the overclock - i was just adding a disclaimer (And yes, the timing are set in the BIOS). All hardware is different and there are no guarantees when it comes to clocking - even like for like for hardware.

As for the voltage issue lots of members have had success running their memory at ~1.5V. If you scan read the 'Sandy bridge 5GHz club thread' (look at the their sigs as well) you'll notice that a lot of members have had success at running their memory at 1.5 / 1.55V.

I'll get the link of the thread...

EDIT: here you go -link

Anesthetize · 17 Apr 2011 at 23:12

Plec said:
I would check back with your 'forum friend' it may be that his timings were not affected in the overclock - i was just adding a disclaimer (And yes, the timing are set in the BIOS). All hardware is different and there are no guarantees when it comes to clocking - even like for like for hardware.

As for the voltage issue lots of members have had success running their memory at ~1.5V. If you scan read the 'Sandy bridge 5GHz club thread' (look at the their sigs as well) you'll notice that a lot of members have had success at running their memory at 1.5 / 1.55V.

I'll get the link of the thread...

EDIT: here you go -link

Oh, I know running memory at 1.5 is fine, I just thought 1.55+ might not be ideal, and the 'compromise' ram you linked to specified 1.55/1.65, this is why I mentioned anything about volts. So 1.55 isn't much higher than 1.5, and should run just fine right?

And I might sound like I'm going in circles, but I'm shelling out quite a bit of cash on this rig, not monumental amounts, but more than I ever thought I would (seeing as I give up PC gaming back in 2005, and stated I'd never spend out on another rig...), so I just wanna make sure I'm buying the right stuff, which could also make me come across as a little paranoid! Bare with me

Plec · 17 Apr 2011 at 23:30

1.6V is the safest maximum for sandy bridge - but most memory will run below this 1.5 /1.55 being the apparent norm - XSM3 memory is particualry good at running at 1.5V voltage as too is the G-Skill (but again all sticks are different - but forum banter would suggest the the XMS3 are frequent hitters of 1.5V - mine included.)

What is the intended use of your new build - it may help fine tune your over all selection - and what is the rest of your build?

Anesthetize · 19 Apr 2011 at 12:01

Plec said:
1.6V is the safest maximum for sandy bridge - but most memory will run below this 1.5 /1.55 being the apparent norm - XSM3 memory is particualry good at running at 1.5V voltage as too is the G-Skill (but again all sticks are different - but forum banter would suggest the the XMS3 are frequent hitters of 1.5V - mine included.)

What is the intended use of your new build - it may help fine tune your over all selection - and what is the rest of your build?

It's strictly going to be a gaming rig. Umm, let's see.

Intel i5 2500k.
Gigabyte X560 1GB at 950MHz.
8GB RAM.
1TB HDD.
850w PSU.
Motherboard - still working out which I wanna get, was originally going with an Asus P8P67 Pro, but kept reading of problems people were having, now looking into Gigagybe and ASrock.
Cooler Master HAF X case etc...

Plec · 19 Apr 2011 at 12:59

Looking like a mighty spec.

Anesthetize said:
Motherboard - still working out which I wanna get, was originally going with an Asus P8P67 Pro, but kept reading of problems people were having, now looking into Gigagybe and ASrock.
Cooler Master HAF X case etc...

I've replied in your MB thread.

Anesthetize · 19 Apr 2011 at 17:34

Plec said:
Looking like a mighty spec.

I've replied in your MB thread.

Cheers.

And as I couldn't make my mind up on RAM between going for the set with lower timings, and lower MHz (7-7-7-21, 1333MHz) vs higher timings but higher MHz (9-9-9-24 2N 1600MHz), I thought these would be a nice inbetween:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-062-GS (8-8-8-24 2N, 1600MHz).

I may still decide to go with the 7-7-7-21 1333MHz set and overclock to 1600MHz, but if I decide against it, I'll probably go with the 8-8-8-24 set. Should be fine for a gaming rig anyway, shouldn't it?

Snapshot · 19 Apr 2011 at 18:52

That's exactly what I had delivered today to go in my replacement MSI P67A-GD65. There'll be some Corsair XMS3 in the members market soon.....
The RipJawsX runs at a lower voltage than the non-X - 1.5V against 1.65V so it's better for Sandy Bridge. I've had 4 x 2GB of the 1600MHz 1.65V stuff in my i7 860 rig, running at 1670MHz, for ages so I was happy to buy more.