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RAM suggestions for i7-920

B

BeatCrazy

Member
Hello,

I've got everything I need for my build, except for the RAM. Here's what I've got so far:

i7-920 D0
EVGA SLI LE LGA1366 board
Antec TP-650 PSU
Intel X25-80 80GB SSD boot drive
WD 1.5TB WD15EARS HDD
Sapphire HD4870 1GB
various Samsung DVD+R burners
Blu-ray burner soon
Windows 7 Ult 64

I just need some RAM. 4GB is really fine, I suppose. Even though I know I should be looking at 3X2GB dimms. I will probably be doing some mild overclocking, so I guess my RAM will need to be up to the task.

I can wait for a sale, please give me an idea of some decent sticks to look out for and potential sale prices.
 
if you are only mildly overclocking, you really dont need more than 1333 MHz ram. Most boards come with a lot of memory divider options, so it is easy to OC even on budget RAM.

Of course, if you want some "faster" ram you will pay a bit more, and will give you more leeway, but wont make much difference in real life performance in the long run, unless you have an app that needs lots of memory bandwidth.

Also, get a decent cooler for that 920! 😀
 
Can I get a few more recommendations? The RAM is the last real component I need for this build.

I've pretty much decided on the Noctua NH-D14 cooler. I will be doing some mild OC'ing.

What timings do I need to look for? What about PC3-8500 vs PC3-10666? I'm leaning towards 2x2GB, I don't think I need 6GB now, or in the near future. Someone set me straight 🙂
 
As much as i like Noctua, that's a massive HEAVY cooler.
A bit too large/heavy for my liking in a vertical arrangment.

As for RAM, you don't need to go crazy for mild OCing.
As was mentioned, you can always use lower dividers, so RAM speed isn't really a huge deal on X58/P55/etc.

I don't know the best deals in the US, but from newegg, the below are examples of decent kits for "cheaper"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231225

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231304

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145286
 
Thank you for the suggestions PClark99 and n7. Looks like those 4 are very similar specs.

Seems like I could save ~$50 going with 2x2GB. Is that a bad idea?
 
No, since it's not all that uncommon to find the prices of 1333 and 1066 to be very close. I'm just saying that if you find a deal on 1066 don't rule it out completely if it's a good value.
 
I think hes bottlenecking if he gets anything lower then DDR3 1333Mhz

Try for a 1600 kit or DDR3 2000Mhz kit even, if you have the money. gl
 
BeatCrazy said:
Can you elaborate? If I'm really pushing it, wouldn't I be looking at 200x19?

Found this article and now leaning toward some Crucial 1066.
Click to expand...

Yes, but there are better memory multipliers available because the 920 CAN use DDR3-800 ram IIRC. Sadly I no longer have my 920 to elaborate further, but with the lower multiplier you can get plenty high enough with DDR3-1066. If you search here, this has been discussed MANY times over.
 
Most X58 boards will provide 6x, 8x, 10x, 12x, 14x, and 16x memory multipliers. So default Core i7 cpu has 133bclk. With default 6x memory multiplier = 133x 6 = DDR3-800Mhz speeds.
Click to expand...

http://i4memory.com/f55/announcement-overclocking-methodology-eva2000.html

Ok, I looked into this a little more and I finally remember the basics. With the 6x memory multiplier, that is stock DDR3-800 so at 200bclk you'd be running the ram at DDR3-1200 (200 x 6) which is a reasonably achievable clock on 1066 ram with a slight bump in voltage. If you want to keep it at stock voltage, then yes you'd be better off grabbing DDR3-1333 but even at that you can hit 180 bclk which would get you 3.6GHz on a 20 multiplier and keep the ram at DDR3-1080 (180 x 6).

If you can get the 21 multiplier, then you can hit 3780MHz while keeping your ram in spec and 4200 if you run the ram at DDR3-1200.
 
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SunnyD said:
1066 with CL7. I've heard that the i7 architecture is far more affected by latency than it is by bandwidth.
Click to expand...

This makes me lean towards 1066....

Gillbot said:
http://i4memory.com/f55/announcement-overclocking-methodology-eva2000.html If you want to keep it at stock voltage, then yes you'd be better off grabbing DDR3-1333 but even at that you can hit 180 bclk which would get you 3.6GHz on a 20 multiplier and keep the ram at DDR3-1080 (180 x 6).
Click to expand...

But since I'd prefer stock 1.5V, this makes me think 1333 is be better. 180bclk is about where I'd like to stay around with a 20X multiplier.

So confused!
 
BeatCrazy said:
This makes me lean towards 1066....



But since I'd prefer stock 1.5V, this makes me think 1333 is be better. 180bclk is about where I'd like to stay around with a 20X multiplier.

So confused!
Click to expand...

If your target is only 180 bclk on a 20 multiplier, that would run your ram at DDR3-1080 which is close enough to spec 1066 that you should be 100% fine. Nearly every 1066 stick of ram that i've seen has a slightly extended profile in the SPD for just over DDR3-1200 anyway so there is headroom built in.

EDIT: Keep in mind though that if you can get 1333 for close to the same price, I would obviously suggest getting the 1333!
 
Gillbot said:
If your target is only 180 bclk on a 20 multiplier, that would run your ram at DDR3-1080 which is close enough to spec 1066 that you should be 100% fine. Nearly every 1066 stick of ram that i've seen has a slightly extended profile in the SPD for just over DDR3-1200 anyway so there is headroom built in.

EDIT: Keep in mind though that if you can get 1333 for close to the same price, I would obviously suggest getting the 1333!
Click to expand...

Most of the 1333 I see is 9-9-9-24, how common is it to be able to manually set to 7-7-7-20? I'd rather use 1066 with 7-7-7-20 and bump it up to 1080.
 
BeatCrazy said:
Most of the 1333 I see is 9-9-9-24, how common is it to be able to manually set to 7-7-7-20? I'd rather use 1066 with 7-7-7-20 and bump it up to 1080.
Click to expand...
You should be able to do this with most any 1333 or 1066 ram. Keep in mind, almost all ram listed as 1333MHz is simply 1066 spec ram with loose timings - hence the 9-9-9-24. If you're looking for something truly special, you're looking for 1600MHz ram with 7-8-7-24 timings. But odds are they'll be spec'd at 1.65v, which means it's really just overvolted binned 1333MHz chips.
 
SunnyD said:
You should be able to do this with most any 1333 or 1066 ram. Keep in mind, almost all ram listed as 1333MHz is simply 1066 spec ram with loose timings - hence the 9-9-9-24. If you're looking for something truly special, you're looking for 1600MHz ram with 7-8-7-24 timings. But odds are they'll be spec'd at 1.65v, which means it's really just overvolted binned 1333MHz chips.
Click to expand...

Thanks. This is all starting to make a bit of sense now 😀
 
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