How do you choose your RAM?

[thornomad]

This is not really a Hackintosh specific question, I think, but I am curious: how do you choose which RAM to use in your system?

I used to (back in the day when I built my last machines) just go to crucial.com and take what they recommended me -- but I am thinking there are a lot more options now.

I was trying to build as close to the guides here as possible but some of that RAM is not available -- and pricing varies a lot as do the minor specs (like "timing" and "latencies") ... so, I am wondering if anyone knows of a good guide or explanation for making good RAM decisions?

I use my machine for CS4 and Video Editing and was looking at the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R board.

Thanks,
Damon

 

[bones123]

For me doesn't matter if I buy G.Skill, crucial, corsair I always get at least one bad stick if not DOA it fails in a week. I just drove myself crazy with building this i7 hackintosh. I had freezing to where everything stops, I started to think it had something to do with my 10.6.7 install and the ATI drivers I was using. So after setting the whole computer up for 2 days, I started over with 10.6.6 and it froze in the middle of the install.

Finally I ran memtest86 with one stick and it wouldn't run for more than 2 min. I swapped the stick with the other one and was able to run it over night with 10 passes. So I have one bad stick again.

So my two rules now are always run memtest86 on each stick one at a time before I put RAM into service and install the OS and set the timing manually per the specs without using AUTO

As far as picking RAM, I usually go by the motherboard specs and see what it will run. Than i go on newegg and search the results and find a nice balance between reviews, specs, and price. I got 8 GB (2x4GB) of G.Skill DDR3 1600 ripjaws for $75 I was happy with that even with the DOA.

Good luck,
Bones

 

[justr]

I check for price and specs. I don't think timings/speed make a HUGE difference, but I'll go for higher specs if the price difference is small. I look for deals.

I try to get RAM that doesn't have massive fins/heatsinks, so I don't have any issues with aftermarket CPU coolers getting in the way.

And for added confidence, I check the mobo manufacturer's website for the list of RAM that is certified (perhaps the wrong word) to work with the mobo.

In any case, I got 12 GB of Corsair XMS 1600 (6 x 2 GB), in part because they were super cheap at the time being on sale, and came with a $20 rebate (which just arrived!).

Definitely recommend setting voltages, timings, and clocks manually as 'auto' can do all kinds of screwy things (also, the more things on auto, the more difficult it is to suss out problems). And definitely recommend an overnight of Memtest at stock speeds/timings, and then any time I get an overclock setting that I want to verify is stable (in addition to prime/IBT).

 

[seanmcd72]

I scan for CORSAIR and or MUSHKIN brand ram on newegg.com/zipzoomfly.com/mwave.com and figure out which is the best all around performance for my monies. The end.

Most recently I found individual Corsair Vengeance 4gb 1600C9 sticks for $49. Two of them are working great on my H55 board.

 

[thornomad]

Hey everybody - thanks for those replies. I will definitely try out memtest. Sometimes having too many options is just confusing. Smile.

I was hoping to do 12GB of RAM ... COSAIR has some triple channel (which I assume is better than dual channel) such as:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233146
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... X6G1600C8D

Wasn't sure if they timings made enough of a difference to spend an additional $60 on the two sets of 6GB.

Thanks for your input.

 

[justr]

Hey everybody - thanks for those replies. I will definitely try out memtest. Sometimes having too many options is just confusing. Smile.

I was hoping to do 12GB of RAM ... COSAIR has some triple channel (which I assume is better than dual channel) such as:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233146
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... X6G1600C8D

Wasn't sure if they timings made enough of a difference to spend an additional $60 on the two sets of 6GB.

Thanks for your input.

Those Vengeance ones look like they'd give you a hell of a time trying to fit them under a heat sink if you get an aftermarket cooler.

I'd personally go with the cheaper ones. They are rated for 8-8-8 at 1.65 volts vs 9-9-9 at 1.5 volts... meaning that you could probably get 8-8-8 timings out of the Vengeance if you run them at 1.65 volts.

In other words, once you equalize the voltages at 1.65... those sticks look pretty similar regarding timing. IF I had to guess, the vengeance might overclock better... but not worth the $$$ unless you're really into benchmarking (in which case, you'd want more expensive, faster ram anyway...)

 

[thornomad]

Those Vengeance ones look like they'd give you a hell of a time trying to fit them under a heat sink if you get an aftermarket cooler.

Heh heh. I worried about that.

The Vengeance are $159 for 12GB (3x4GB) whereas the 8-8-8-24 are only 6GB (3x2GB) ... I assumed the cheaper ones are actually better quality ... because it would cost $220 or so to get a full 12GB.

I am not sure what the 8-8-8-24 means is the thing ... smile.

 

[justr]

Those Vengeance ones look like they'd give you a hell of a time trying to fit them under a heat sink if you get an aftermarket cooler.

Heh heh. I worried about that.

The Vengeance are $159 for 12GB (3x4GB) whereas the 8-8-8-24 are only 6GB (3x2GB) ... I assumed the cheaper ones are actually better quality ... because it would cost $220 or so to get a full 12GB.

I am not sure what the 8-8-8-24 means is the thing ... smile.

I'm using two sets of these (total 12 GB)... and they are rock solid:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222&cm_re=corsair_xms3_6gb_%283_x_2gb%29_240-pin_ddr3_sdram_ddr3-_-20-145-222-_-Product

With the rebate, it's $110 for 12 GB, and they fit fine under my hyper 212+ CPU cooler.

The numbers (8-8-8 or 9-9-9 or x-x-x) refer to ram timing. Lower numbers are better, but outside of synthetic benchmarks or long-term 24/7 full load (in which case small changes add up in productivity over time; think: render farm), you're really not going to see any difference in real-world use. Same thing with clock speeds: 1066, 1333, 1600 will all feel the same.

When you see those numbers, that's just what the manufacturer says the ram will run at if you set it to those numbers-- they may not run at those speeds by default. In many cases, those numbers are conservative-- and if you tinker, you can run at "tighter" timings (lower numbers) and/or higher speeds (higher frequencies).

As for voltage, don't use anything above 1.65 (or 1.66) unless you know what you're doing. In general, the lower the voltage the better: Ram that runs at a given speed/timing at 1.5 volts will almost definitely run at tighter timings and faster speeds at 1.65 volts.

 

[thornomad]

I'm using two sets of these (total 12 GB)... and they are rock solid:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222&cm_re=corsair_xms3_6gb_%283_x_2gb%29_240-pin_ddr3_sdram_ddr3-_-20-145-222-_-Product

With the rebate, it's $110 for 12 GB, and they fit fine under my hyper 212+ CPU cooler.

The numbers (8-8-8 or 9-9-9 or x-x-x) refer to ram timing. Lower numbers are better, but outside of synthetic benchmarks or long-term 24/7 full load (in which case small changes add up in productivity over time; think: render farm), you're really not going to see any difference in real-world use. Same thing with clock speeds: 1066, 1333, 1600 will all feel the same.

When you see those numbers, that's just what the manufacturer says the ram will run at if you set it to those numbers-- they may not run at those speeds by default. In many cases, those numbers are conservative-- and if you tinker, you can run at "tighter" timings (lower numbers) and/or higher speeds (higher frequencies).

As for voltage, don't use anything above 1.65 (or 1.66) unless you know what you're doing. In general, the lower the voltage the better: Ram that runs at a given speed/timing at 1.5 volts will almost definitely run at tighter timings and faster speeds at 1.65 volts.

Thanks for the quick lesson - I've swapped out your recommendations on my build spec list. Got a few more pieces to find and then I will post it for full commentary.

Thanks again for all this info.

 

[Ice]

Hi All,

actually that's a question that's been bugging me for quite a while now, too.
I built two systems last year and for both I got a good quality mainboard and RAM. Unfortunately on neither of those systems I can get the RAM to run at more than 1066Mhz.
I've been searching my a.. off on the internet to find some explanation. Unfortunately the only answer I got was that it possibly had something to do with the cpu being "locked"?????

I'm still pretty new to all the CustoMac stuff, but I built my share of PC systems over the years. I never had problems like that before.
Maybe someone here can explain to me, why I can't get my RAM to run properly.
Here are the specs of my systems:

Mainboards:
- Asus P6T
- Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5

CPUs:
- Intel Core i7 920 2.66 Ghz, LGA 1366
- Intel Core i7 930 2.80 GHz, LGA 1366

RAM:
- Corsair CMX6GX3M3A2000C9, 3x2GB, DDR3-2000, [email protected]
- Mushkin REDLINE 3x2GB Kit, DDR3-1600, [email protected]

Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Thx.

Ice