RAM Choices for Sandybridge, Mushkin or OCZ?

viewaskevv · 16 Feb 2011 at 12:48

Hi guys, I'll be ordering a new SB setup on the 27th of Feb and am in two minds about what Memory to grab.

The OCZ Intel Extreme XMP 4GB kits on O/C's for £29.99 this week only offer look mind-blowingly cheap and almost too good to be true so I am highly tempted to order two kits of these.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-188-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

But I've also read pretty good reviews and like the look of some Mushkin Ridgeback 8G kits on a competitor site.

So some questions:

Timings on the OCZ Ram is 8-8-8-20 and the Mushkins are 9-11-9-27. Which would you choose? (Although I've head timings dont really make much difference in real word performance)

Which Ram would you pair with an I5 2500K and a Gigabyte P67-UD5 or UD7?

Will having 4 2GB sticks reduce performance in any way as opposed to 2 4GB sticks?

Thanks for the help guys!

Redmint · 16 Feb 2011 at 14:31

If I was going for 8GB RAM then I'd definitely want to go for the 2x 4GB option just in case I ever needed to upgrade again in the future, also less memory sticks puts less of a strain on the memory controller.

Jupiter · 16 Feb 2011 at 16:30

DennisMenace · 16 Feb 2011 at 23:16

I'm in the same boat as you, planning a SB build, though probably not until April. From what I've gleaned here and elsewhere, there are quite a few "ifs and buts":

1. Generally speaking, 8Gb kits don't overclock as well as 4Gb kits. They also 'interfere' with CPU overclocking, even when the memory is running at stock.

2. For gaming, 8Gb is plenty. For Photoshop, video rendering etc, it's not. Ideally, buy all 4 sticks together, whether you get 4x4Gb or 4x2Gb. They will still be 2 pairs, but hopefully from the same batch. Upgrading later makes this less likely (even if you can still get the same kits). And don't forget OCZ no longer make RAM, which is why there are so many good deals around (especially at OcUK!).

3. RAM is dirt cheap at the moment, so now is as good a time as any to max out all your DIMM sockets. People say the market hasn't bottomed out yet, but I can't see prices getting more than 5-10% lower than they are now.

Without knowing your exact setup (HTPC/server/gaming etc), some, all or none of the above may apply. I guess you'll be overclocking as you've gone for a K-series CPU and high-end P67, in which case I'd recommend reading Gibbo's guide before you decide on the RAM:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18227647

Finally, I'd seriously consider getting some higher speed memory. 1333MHz is OK, but both UD5 and UD7 support 2133MHz, so I'd at least aim for 1600MHz, which is only a few quid more:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-192-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-221-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517