Does RAM matter?

[rdsn]

I am assembling a very limited budget system and I am wondering if it matters what sort of RAM I have. Will I notice any difference between 1333 Kingston ValueRam sticks and 1600 Mushkins or any other brand?

 

[chimaxi83]

Not if you're not into overclocking and/or need the memory bandwidth. Barely a discernible difference in a typical Sandy Bridge system from 1333 up to 2133, for example.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Nah. I'm using two sets of budget RAM ($39 on sale each) and they can OC to 1866 speeds with 1.47v (1.35v stock). If you're not going to overclock this becomes an even smaller thing to nitpick about.

Now, if you try to shove some DDR3 sticks into some DDR2 slots, then yeah, that's an issue.

 

[chimaxi83]

Nah. I'm using two sets of budget RAM ($39 on sale each) and they can OC to 1866 speeds with 1.47v (1.35v stock). If you're not going to overclock this becomes an even smaller thing to nitpick about.

Now, if you try to shove some DDR3 sticks into some DDR2 slots, then yeah, that's an issue.

would that happen to be the Samsung ultra low profile RAM by any chance?

 

[chubbyfatazn]

would that happen to be the Samsung ultra low profile RAM by any chance?

Hell yeah! This stuff is amazing. Got the first set on sale from Fry's since I didn't want to wait for anything in the mail (I'm impatient). No worrying about voltages or clearance. Probably one of the most underrated sets of DDR3 I've seen.

None of that heatsink garbage either to waste space too, lol. The day that RAM manages to overheat will be the day everything in my case spontaneously combusts and sets my apartment on fire.

 

[Topweasel]

Hell yeah! This stuff is amazing. Got the first set on sale from Fry's since I didn't want to wait for anything in the mail (I'm impatient). No worrying about voltages or clearance. Probably one of the most underrated sets of DDR3 I've seen.

None of that heatsink garbage either to waste space too, lol. The day that RAM manages to overheat will be the day everything in my case spontaneously combusts and sets my apartment on fire.

These RAM heat spreaders are all about Peacocking these days. I hate the fact that you actually have to specify "low profile ram" like its going into a half height adapter slot in a case. I call that "the highest it was supposed to be" sometimes with an imbecile at the end.

Wanna tell me that some kind of CAS 9 or 10 2133 ram, might get hot enough that having the sink be raised a bit might serve a purpose. Sure I can buy that. But if you are trying to tell me that nearly the same chips in a value ram with not spreader at all, magically needs to have 6 inch spike sticking out of it actually serves a purpose, well I am not buying that.

 

[chimaxi83]

Nice, my Samsung ram will be here tomorrow. Looking forward to playing with it, my 3 inch high Vengeance doesn't overclock worth a damn lol.

Heatspreaders for these things is just for show, definitely.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I don't even buy the 2133 argument lol. I put 1.55v through to get 2133 speeds at CAS 10 and nothing went wrong. It's all a big joke.

Great, good luck. Should have no hitches in getting to 1866 speeds, CAS 9. Maybe more if you're ambitious.

 

[Topweasel]

I don't even buy the 2133 argument lol. I put 1.55v through to get 2133 speeds at CAS 10 and nothing went wrong. It's all a big joke.

Great, good luck. Should have no hitches in getting to 1866 speeds, CAS 9. Maybe more if you're ambitious.

Again didn't say I believed it. Just saying that I can support the idea of the highest rated memory in speed and latency desiring some extra cooling. But I just bought some 1866 cas 10 stuff for a Llano m-ITX build I am doing and I almost choked when I saw it labeled "low profile". Man, to me its these other sticks that should be labeled "larger then they need to be for e-peen and buyers confidence reasons".

 

[rdsn]

Never overclocked RAM before. How high do you think I can get these and would the difference be noticeable?
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Patriot G2 Series Division 4GB 1X4GB PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 1.5V XMP Memory[/FONT]

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Again didn't say I believed it. Just saying that I can support the idea of the highest rated memory in speed and latency desiring some extra cooling. But I just bought some 1866 cas 10 stuff for a Llano m-ITX build I am doing and I almost choked when I saw it labeled "low profile". Man, to me its these other sticks that should be labeled "larger then they need to be for e-peen and buyers confidence reasons".

Wasn't disagreeing with you... apologies if it was read that way.

Never overclocked RAM before. How high do you think I can get these and would the difference be noticeable?

Rather than worry about that, I'd focus on getting a dual channel set. If 4GB is all you really want, then look for a 2x2GB set. Unless you intend to add another stick down the road... but with prices expected to creep up I'd just tell you to get an 8GB set now.

 

[rdsn]

I will be getting two of them for 8G total

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I'm getting a price of $25 shipped for one of those sticks on Newegg. If you can just tack on $15-20 more right now you can get a full set. In fact an 8GB set of that memory you listed is running for $44 shipped on NE.

If you're really concerned about overclockability, I'm again going to recommend those Samsung sticks. They may look budget, but as already mentioned heatspreaders are just a gimmick anyway. Believe in them if you want, but the majority of people don't need them.

 

[chimaxi83]

Samsung sticks ftw. Check the threads on them on overclock.net and xtremesystems.org

 

[rdsn]

I can get those 4GB sticks for 20 each so two would be cheaper than those Samsung sticks. In any case I live in Canada so that is a good deal for me. How much performance would I gain from overclocking RAM though.

 

[Blain]

How much performance would I gain from overclocking RAM though.

Are you asking about noticeable real world performance or benchmark performance?

 

[rdsn]

Noticeable real world performance when doing serious multitasking.

 

[Blain]

no

 

[chubbyfatazn]

no

No.

Just get them if they're $40 total. Glad I don't live in Canada anymore...

 

[icanhascpu2]

As other have said, no it doesnt matter in the context of bottlenecks and priorities to open them. Invest in a m4 64GB SSD. RAM is dirt fucking cheap again and the cheap shit is still enough even for quality gaming.