GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.0) correct memory ?

[icgaln]

Trying to upgrade my memory on a GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.0) mobo, been looking around online and I’m starting to get a headache trying to figure out if 1600mhz with cl9 is better then 1066mhz with cl7 and what exactly is best for the price. I’ve settled on going for a high mhz and low cl and paying more for it just to stop the headache.

But am now left scratching my head as to whether the memory I want, OCZ3RPR1600LV6GK will work in my current mobo GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.0) ?

Any help appreciated.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi
Personally I am not a great lover of OCZ memory as recently it seems to have gone downhill in quality. I prefer Corsair Dominators and find them hard to beat. Don't worry too much over the spec of the different speeds of memor as you won't notice any real world difference when you are using it. I would say go for the 1600 and you can always run them at a lower speed and tighten the timing if you want to. Unless you are planning some serious overclocking there is not much to choose between them.

[icgaln]

Hey thanks for the reply.

Taking on board what you have said which of these would be best then:

CMP6GX3M3A1600C8 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator, DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), CAS 8-8-8-24, DHX, XMP, New connector, 1.65V

CMP6GX3M3A1600C7 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator, DDR3 PC3-12800(1600), CAS 7-8-7-20, XMP, DHX, New Connector, 1.65V

CMT6GX3M3A1600C7 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator GT, DDR3 PC3-12800(1600), CAS 7-7-7-20, DHX, XMP, Connector, DF, 1.65V

What is the real difference that makes the first one £111 and the last one £176 and is it worth it?

What I would like is to buy some new ram at the speed it says it is, so far my experience with ddr3 memory has not been a pleasant one. When I put a stick of ram in my computer and I buy it advertised as 1600mhz I expect that when I boot up my computer for it to run at 1600mhz out the box, not 1066mhz. I also do not expect to in essence have to use my mobo to overclock the ram to the settings it should have. I then also don’t want the ram to lose its timings once I have got the ram working at its correct speed in the bios.

I want the old days back that when I brought 400mhz ram that’s what my computer said it was on first boot up and no settings or tweaking was needed to get it run at the speed it should be. Whats got me even more frustrated is there is so many ddr3 memory models out there with different speeds, timings, voltages etc all varying in prices I have no idea what ones give me the best bang for my buck. Some look the same but have £50 difference while others look great but are a lot cheaper which makes me wonder why.

But I now know that all this is mostly irrelevant, what I need to know is will the 3 models above work at there advertised speed and timings in my GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.0) mobo and if not does anyone know what the best timing and speed memory that will working in this mobo is?

[Dark Mantis]

The problem is what you are asking for is impossible. Let me explain.

The speeds and specs of memory are agreed on by JEDEC they are a joint commitee to oversee this. The standard that they issue everyone has to conform to and there is no 1600Mhz standard. Therefore if you want to run your memory at anything over 1333 you have to "overclock it" in essence. That is why many modules come with an XMP attached which basically makes it all easy and nearly automatic.

As to which memory to pick the cheapest one would do you fine unless you want to overclock your system and screw the last bit of performance out of it.  You are just paying extra for beter quality.

[icgaln]

Ok thanks for the explanation.

So if  this is the case am I any better off in terms of real world performance or gain getting 1600mhz over 1333mhz?

Would buying 1333mhz at the lowest timing I can find not give better performance and be cheaper then OC’ing 1066mhz memory running at an un-standardised standard forcing it up to 1600mhz with higher timings?

I’m not a fan of OC’ing especially considering most mobo manufactures void your warranty if you overclock them, unless that’s changed with the ddr3 mobos?

[Dark Mantis]

I totally understand where you are coming from and don't run my system overclocked either. On the other hand running the memory at 1600 isn't classed as overclocking by the manufacturers as it is only using the settings that are included. I am using Corsair Dominator 1600 memory and just use the XMP setting with no problems at all. This is what I would recommend. There probably won't be that much difference in price between the two anyway.

[Lsdmeasap]

These are the better sticks, but I'm sure they will also cost you the most too 

CMT6GX3M3A1600C7

[Dark Mantis]

Quite right Lsdmeasap, those are definitely the best of the bunch but as the OP isn't planning to overclock and just wanted some "decent" RAM that is why I recommended the others.

[icgaln]

CMP6GX3M3A1600C8 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator, DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), CAS 8-8-8-24, DHX, XMP, New connector, 1.65V

I brought this, put it in and loaded up the xmp profile and soon as windows loads it makes the comp restart.
Works fine as 1066mhz with no xmp but not as 1600mhz when using the xmp profile.

[Dark Mantis]

What I suggest then is to remove the "Auto" setting and put in the timings manually.
8-8-8-24
make sure the memory voltage is 1.66V

[icgaln]

It does not like it at 1600mhz. The timings I can change to 8-8-8-24 but if I set it also to 1600mhz it will then get further in loading windows then with the profile enabled but soon as windows logs on and loads start up programs like anti-virus and such I get windows popping up about memory address errors and then 10 secs later a bsod freeze and I then shut it off. If I set it to 1333mhz its fine.

If I set it using the profile then just change the setting so it makes it 1333mhz instead of 1600mhz  it then also works that way too. But no matter what I do soon as I put it at 1600mhz it becomes unstable I even tried putting the timings at 9-9-9-24 but that did not work either.

I made sure the voltage was 1.66V.

[Dark Mantis]

If I set it using the profile then just change the setting so it makes it 1333mhz instead of 1600mhz  it then also works that way too. But no matter what I do soon as I put it at 1600mhz it becomes unstable I even tried putting the timings at 9-9-9-24 but that did not work either.

You would probably need to increase the 24 to maybe 27 or so if you are loosening up the timings like that. Have you also changed your Uncore and QPI/Vtt settings as well?

It might be advisable to try running Memtest86+ on the modules one at a time for ten loops each just to make sure they are ok.

[icgaln]

I’ve now tried it 9-9-9-27 @ 1600mhz and it gave me a bsod again.

I have not changed the uncore or QPI/VTT as I would not know what to change them too.

I think the memory is good because I put it in my brother’s comp which is newer then mine and it worked fine using the xmp profile, he played a few games for a couple of hours without issue.

[Dark Mantis]

I’ve now tried it 9-9-9-27 @ 1600mhz and it gave me a bsod again.

I have not changed the uncore or QPI/VTT as I would not know what to change them too.

I think the memory is good because I put it in my brother’s comp which is newer then mine and it worked fine using the xmp profile, he played a few games for a couple of hours without issue.

I think in your case I would advise you to run the memory at 1333 using the XMP setting as it is happy at that and the difference in real world speeds won't be noticable anyway.

The fact that the memory ran well in your brother's machine has no bearing on the fact that it may cause problems in your machine.

[icgaln]

I think in your case I would advise you to run the memory at 1333 using the XMP setting as it is happy at that and the difference in real world speeds won't be noticable anyway.

Yeah, this is what i have been running at for the last couple of days now and it is performing well so far.

The fact that the memory ran well in your brother's machine has no bearing on the fact that it may cause problems in your machine.

But surely it does mean the memory is ok?
If it works ok in one comp and not in the other then that would imply to me the memory is fine but something in my comp don’t work with the memory, Not that the memory is faulty?