What RAM plays best with the Asus Rampage Extreme?

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Shaitan00

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Dec 3, 2006
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I've been doing a lot of reading and realized that the Asus Rampage Extreme (motherboard I am waiting on) doesn't play nice with most RAM - now I am not looking to OC (much - maybe bring my Q9550 to 3.0ghz) but the last thing I want is to buy RAM that causes me issues...

That being said - typically I am a huge fan of OCZ (reaper kits looked really nice) - but before I go and buy anything I wanted to ask for some feedback/recommendations - hopefully from those already running the Asus Rampage Extreme and had gone through the pains I am trying to avoid (thanks guys ...)

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

(btw- looking to buy 2x2 gigs of RAM for my system - with Vista - hopefully that will be more then enough)
Thanks,
 
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supremelaw

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Mar 19, 2006
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813131284R

1600 MHz FSB

DDR2 SDRAM


Before choosing RAM, it's a good idea to decide first just how much
you intend to overclock -- either the CPU and/or the RAM.

You wrote:

"now I am not looking to OC (much - maybe bring my Q9550 to 3.0ghz)"

Accordingly ...

At stock settings and a 1:1 FSB:DRAM ratio, here is the current "sweet spot":

1600 / 4 (quad-pumped) = 400 MHz CPU bus speed

400 x 2 (double data rate) = DDR2-800 / PC2-6400

Thus, Corsair's DDR2-800 Dominator series, with their terrific
memory module cooler, should work just fine for you:
I believe there is a model with 4-4-4-12 timings too.

On the other hand, there are good deals on the next faster model:
DDR2-1066 / PC2-8500: here's the matched pair that we just purchased
from Newegg and it's working G-R-E-A-T in an ASUS P5W64 WS Professional:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145197


And, there is nothing sacrosanct about a 1:1 FSB:DRAM ratio:
modern chipsets work great too at other ratios, e.g. 5:6, 3:4
and so on.

Before choosing RAM for any motherboard that interests me,
I first search the Internet for competent reviews of that motherboard,
and I PAY ATTENTION to the RAM that is installed for those reviews.

As a general rule, Corsair DDR2 and DDR3 work very well in
late model ASUS motherboards.

I hope this helps.


GOOD LUCK!



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
Majic 7

Majic 7

Senior member
Mar 27, 2008
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The Extreme needs DDR3. From what I've read stay away from OCZ. Once again G Skill seems to work the most reliably on a Rampage board. 2X2GB set. http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=196683 Check this thread out. This is overclocked though. Not sure about how stable various brands are on stock settings. Very few people buy this board and don't overclock.
 
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Shaitan00

Member
Dec 3, 2006
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Thanks for all the info - seriously I've never even heard of G.Skill before today - used to OCZ and Corsair ...

Is it reliable and I've just been hiding under a rock for years or is it some no-name brand that recently surfaced?
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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> The Extreme needs DDR3.


OOPS! My apologies. Thanks for catching my error:

I failed to notice that Newegg had linked me to the wrong motherboard.

Here's the ASUS web page for the Rampage Extreme:

http://www.asus.com/products.a...l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0


Memory

4 x DIMM, Max. 8 GB, DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066/800 ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
*Overclock speed
- Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
- For the X.M.P. support, CPUs with FSB 1333 or above are recommended.
- When installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Hence, a total installed memory of less than 3GB is recommended.
- Refer to www.asus.com or this user manual for the Memory QVL(Qualified Vendors Lidts).

[end excerpt]


Thanks again for the heads up.



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
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Shaitan00

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Dec 3, 2006
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Thanks - I am more curious to try and find out what RAM works best (or at all) with this board ... Is there like a compatibility list or something lying around somewhere? :)
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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Also, the Corsair website has "Performance Reports" here:

http://www.corsair.com/testreports/report_list.aspx


They don't list the Rampage Extreme, but they do list the Striker II Extreme
which also requires DDR3.

Performance Reports are available for
the Corsair model TWIN3X2048-1333C9
and Corsair model TWIN3X2048-1333C9DHX .


Likewise, for the Maximus Extreme
Performance Reports are available for
six (6) different Corsair DDR3 models.


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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You can't go wrong, imho, choosing DDR3 that supports the XMP feature:
coupled with SPD, this XMP feature will come very close to optimizing your RAM settings:

http://www.asus.com/products.a...l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0

- Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
- For the X.M.P. support, CPUs with FSB 1333 or above are recommended.


Just be sure to double-check all latency and voltage settings
by accessing the BIOS and also by running CPU-Z.

There was a time when Corsair DDR2 worked best by
overriding SPD and setting timings manually; but,
that does not appear to be the situation with current
models of high-end Corsair DDR2 and DDR3 SDRAM.


The XMP feature is designed to be almost totally automatic,
but there is a premium for it also.


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
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Shaitan00

Member
Dec 3, 2006
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Is the Asus XMP feature only available in DDR3 (new technology) or does it also exist for DDR2 P45 boards (for example)?

Just curious...
Not sold on the Rampage Extreme anymore given that the price in my area is around $450 (was expecting $350)....

Thanks,
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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Yes, I understand: I would purchase the ASUS P5Q Deluxe,
if I were building a brand new Intel workstation today:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131297


The P45 chipset is very competitive, less expensive than X38/X48 chipsets, and
the P5Q Deluxe also requires less expensive DDR2 --> double savings there.


I just did a quick search with Google for:

site:www.corsair.com +XMP

... and it looks as if the XMP feature is only available
on Corsair's DDR3 models:

http://www.corsair.com/partners/default.aspx?p=intel


I could be wrong about that, because I don't work for Corsair;
but, I also looked at Corsair's DDR2 models
and I couldn't find any models that feature XMP.


Some of Corsair's DDR2 models support NVIDIA's "EPP" standard, e.g.:

http://www.corsair.com/_datash...UAD2X4096-8500C5DF.pdf


If you read those product briefs at Corsair's website,
they usually itemize the settings recommended by JEDEC and EPP,
e.g.:
JEDEC standard 5-5-5-18 values at 800MHz
EPP standard 5-5-5-15-2T, 2.20V* values
for the latter DDR2.

And, of course, the Corsair Performance Reports are a good
source of stock and OC memory timings.


Whatever you do decide to get, be sure to download and
install the latest version of CPU-Z, because it now lists
all possible JEDEC and EPP settings. I just installed
2 x 2GB of Corsair's CM2X2048-8500C5D and
version 1.46 of CPU-Z reports the following:

JEDEC #1 270MHz 4-4-4-13-16 1.8V
JEDEC #2 400MHz 5-5-5-18-23 1.8V
EPP #1 533MHz 5-5-5-15-22-2t 2.100V

I checked with the BIOS in our P5W64 WS Professional
motherboard, and the highest DDR2 frequencies only appear
when the FSB Bus Speed is increased to 266 MHz or greater.

Right now, I'm waiting for a Q6600 to arrive, and
the D 945 requires an FSB Bus Speed of only 200 MHz;
thus, my BIOS does NOT show any memory speeds higher
than DDR2-800 as long as the D 945 is installed.


I hope this helps.


GOOD LUCK!


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
124
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71
> Why the P5Q Deluxe?


I'm very picky about expansion slots:

I prefer the P5Q Deluxe layout: 3 x16, 2 x1, and 2 PCI.

When I have the option, I want all 7 slots present; and,
I'm very interested in fast storage subsystems;
thus, I want one (or more) x16 slots with x8 lanes
to remain available for high-speed RAID controllers.

I don't do fancy graphics, so I would never need 2 video cards.


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice
 
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supremelaw

Member
Mar 19, 2006
124
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71
p.s. I'm working on applications to patent certain solid-state systems
that do NOT rely on flash memory. To illustrate, I just installed a
Highpoint RocketRAID 2340 w/ 16 ports, and I was able to route one set of
4 x SATA cables thru the right panel of a Thermaltake Armor chassis:

These cables are now able to reach an external storage chassis
which I plan to use for experiments with Gigabyte's i-RAM Box,
ACARD's ANS-9010 and the like -- depending on availability of
time and necessary funds.

So, having free expansion slots keeps my options open :)

x1 PCI-E slots aren't very exciting to me; thus, when it first became available
I did get very excited about the P5W64 WS Professional, and I bought one
as soon as I could afford it: it's been a marvelous workstation for me
(I'm writing this on that machine).


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

 
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eagle101

Member
May 29, 2004
154
0
71
MEMORY DDR3|"CORSAIR Dominator TWIN3X20481800C7DFIN" 2gigs with cooling fans $479.00 Newegg.
This is made for INTEL x38 x48 chipsets .....I just got it for my asus Rampage Extreme, top of the line ram....777-20.....i know big bucks

Im sure the Reaper will be fine...these are the mem mods for the Extreme Rampage board from OCZ:
2GB (2x1024MB) D/C Kit PN - OCZ3RPR16002GK 777-24

4GB (2x2048MB) D/C Kit PN - OCZ3RPR16004GK 777-24

OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 / 1600MHz / Intel Extreme Edition / XMP Ready Series / 2GB and 4GB Dual Channel 777-24

I talked on the phone to ocz and corsair techs about these mem mods and got it straight.
look at the reviews on newegg about the corsair ones i have.

Good Luck to You, this is a big choice

 
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