Question concerning DDR3 when not overclocking

[zatch]

Hello everyone,

I'm not an extreme user by any means, but I do appreciate a decent amount of power without overclocking.

I game a bit (DotA, SC2 and occasionally a MMORPG or FPS) and I do some web/graphic design and development (Adobe Creative Suite).

I have purchased:

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5
CPU: Intel i7 930 ($200 at Micro Center, couldn't pass it up)

I like that I have the beginnings of a strong machine on it's own without having to overclock anything and I like the fact that I have the possiblity to in the future.

With that said after reading the Memory Scaling on Core i7 post by Gary Key and taking into consideration that I won't do any overclocking off-the-bat, I figured the best bet would be something along the lines of 1066 or 1333 with low latency (5-7), since the performance falloff isn't too extreme.

But since I do not plan on overclocking right away, could I get away with some 1600 with a latency of around 6, pushing 1.6-1.65ish volts?

Do you primarily tell people to stay close to 1.5 because you assume they will be pushing the memory harder than I will be?

I have found some 3x2GB 1600 C6 Mushkin and G.Skill kits that don't seem too terrible at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226124
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231352
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226121

Granted they are around 1.6 or 1.65 volts I wouldn't be overclocking so I thought it might not be a bad idea.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this.

Thanks.

 

[Blain]

Save your $$$. "Low latency" is almost meaningless in terms of real world performance benefit.
If you're not OCing but still want high quality memory (holds up for the long haul)...
Balance these three characteristics - Voltage rated at 1.5v or less, Latency rated as low as possible and clock speed rated as high as possible.

Something like this G.Skill PI Kit.

 

[zatch]

Thanks for the quick response Blain. I'be been basing most of my evaluations on one of your earlier posts. Low volt + low latency + high clock speeds is quality memory.

I did actually check out this memory earlier today and now I can't see why I didn't include it in my original post. 6gb 1.5v 7cl. It is def. a better deal.

Thanks again for pointing this memory out again for me.

 

[DNyholm]

Funny thing is the 3x1GB kit and the 3x2Gb kit with the similar model numbers have different voltages! One at 1.6v and the other at 1.5v. Is this mislabeling or is the 3x2Gb really that different?

 

[Emulex]

the 1.6V chips failed at 1.5V so they are marked "1.6V" - binning - the best chips are the super low latency overclock stable at 1.5 standard.

if you have no plan to overclock or overvolt - or plan to use in OEM (hp/etc) machines stick to stock jedec 1.5 voltage.

misleading to say the least.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Funny thing is the 3x1GB kit and the 3x2Gb kit with the similar model numbers have different voltages! One at 1.6v and the other at 1.5v. Is this mislabeling or is the 3x2Gb really that different?

It's also very possible that the 2 kits are built with different ICs which may necessitate the extra voltage.