Questions regarding GIGABYTE mobo and RAM add.

[profdlp]

Here's three choices I came up with quickly:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz (3.1GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52300
Newegg.com - Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK

Great suggestions.

FredeGail, that amounts to only $350 dollars for the works and will give you a system you'll enjoy for some time.

 

[FredeGail]

Thanks guys,
I'd consider some of your ideas!

Repped both of you,
FredeGail

 

[DeaconFrost]

Don't take my choices as final. There are plenty of good Gigabyte boards to choose from, as well as processors and memory. That was just a quick search.

 

[FredeGail]

Don't take my choices as final. There are plenty of good Gigabyte boards to choose from, as well as processors and memory. That was just a quick search.

I will start earning a couple of bucks, and then buy what I need later on.

It's not that the performance is cracky and cranky, I can definitely live with it.

Thanks for all your support,
FredeGail

 

[DeaconFrost]

That's even more reason to hold out a little longer for a much larger upgrade. If you were running a Pentium 4 right now, then anything would be a nice upgrade. I would just rather see you spend your money one something you'll feel is a big improvement, than something you'll feel is the same as where you were before the upgrade.

 

[Darryl Licht]

FredeGail:

I'd have to say I agree with Deacon... but I do have a question before I commit. When you said you swapped in your bros RAM sticks of the same speed... were his the same capacity in GB??? BTW... all the Gigabyte 775 mobos that support ddr3 only take a max of 4GB!

I would hate to see you upgrade to a mobo that can take your current cpu, and only 4GB max of ddr3 ram! It would also tie you to that socket 775 CPU.

Hell, that Asus P5Q PRO mobo is still a great mobo... and it will take up to 16 GB of ram! Perhaps try finding someone who has older DDR2 ram and buy it used! Or do like I am, keep that Q9550, and make the move to a SSD!

 

[FredeGail]

FredeGail:

I'd have to say I agree with Deacon... but I do have a question before I commit. When you said you swapped in your bros RAM sticks of the same speed... were his the same capacity in GB??? BTW... all the Gigabyte 775 mobos that support ddr3 only take a max of 4GB!

I would hate to see you upgrade to a mobo that can take your current cpu, and only 4GB max of ddr3 ram! It would also tie you to that socket 775 CPU.

Hell, that Asus P5Q PRO mobo is still a great mobo... and it will take up to 16 GB of ram! Perhaps try finding someone who has older DDR2 ram and buy it used! Or do like I am, keep that Q9550, and make the move to a SSD!

Well umm, yeah the perfomance improved, with the same MHz, different Clock, and both of them were 4GB.

Yes, I could of course do that, oh and, I have an SDD already!

Thanks,
FredeGail

 

[Darryl Licht]

Well umm, yeah the perfomance improved, with the same MHz, different Clock, and both of them were 4GB.

Yes, I could of course do that, oh and, I have an SDD already!

Thanks,
FredeGail

FredeGail:

Well then since you already have a SSD, I'd go ahead and spend the approx. $150-170 USD and get 8GB of DDR2 matched. Perhaps you currently do have a bad stick. 8GB of good memory could enable you to use that socket 775 and Q9550 for a few more years! Additionally, you could later turn that old system into a great media server... that's my plan when I finally upgrade again! But I have my sights set on the new octal core Intel CPUs due late this year! Although I wont buy one till they have been out at least a year, the price drops, and they are proven!

Heres a link to DDR2 800MHz PC2 6400 RAM: Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Memory, Desktop Memory, 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM, DDR2 800 (PC2 6400), 4GB (2 x 2GB)

 

[DeaconFrost]

If it was a bad stick, he'd be seeing errors, BSoDs, and program crashes. A run of Memtest will be sure, but I don't think the memory is bad.

 

[Darryl Licht]

If it was a bad stick, he'd be seeing errors, BSoDs, and program crashes. A run of Memtest will be sure, but I don't think the memory is bad.

I am assuming this due to OP's report of a difference in performance, as he stated it is the same speed, same quantity, different clock.... so how else could he realize a "seat of the pants" performance increase?

I highly doubt anyone could tell a difference between 2 sets of RAM where the only difference is the the timing. Therefore I say something is bad, or going bad. He shouldnt even notice a difference!

 

[DeaconFrost]

I agree, and I think it is more of a placebo effect, that something new or different "feels" faster. I was just commenting that typically when memory is bad, it isn't going to run or act slower....it will be giving off errors and lead to app or system crashes. The only other thing I could think of is some error on the motherboard's side to determine the speed form the SPD chip on the different sticks, but even then, it would have to run at a drastically different speed to even be withint the noticeable realm. I wouldn't even expect a noticeable difference between DDR2 and DDR3 if all other compnents stay the same, so it is more unlikely to see a difference in two types of DDR2.

 

[Darryl Licht]

I agree, and I think it is more of a placebo effect, that something new or different "feels" faster. I was just commenting that typically when memory is bad, it isn't going to run or act slower....it will be giving off errors and lead to app or system crashes. The only other thing I could think of is some error on the motherboard's side to determine the speed form the SPD chip on the different sticks, but even then, it would have to run at a drastically different speed to even be withint the noticeable realm. I wouldn't even expect a noticeable difference between DDR2 and DDR3 if all other compnents stay the same, so it is more unlikely to see a difference in two types of DDR2.

FredeGail:

On the newegg link in my previous post there are several 2x2GB kits for $50 USD... so an upgrade to 8GB would only be $100 USD... that's not that bad! Now if only those DDR2 4GB sticks would drop!

Deacon:

Yes... I agree... and either DDR2 to DDR2, or DDR2 to DDR3... he should "feel" a difference! Frede, you may want to fiddle with RAM settings in BIOS and have you run memtest?

 

[FredeGail]

I agree, and I think it is more of a placebo effect, that something new or different "feels" faster. I was just commenting that typically when memory is bad, it isn't going to run or act slower....it will be giving off errors and lead to app or system crashes. The only other thing I could think of is some error on the motherboard's side to determine the speed form the SPD chip on the different sticks, but even then, it would have to run at a drastically different speed to even be withint the noticeable realm. I wouldn't even expect a noticeable difference between DDR2 and DDR3 if all other compnents stay the same, so it is more unlikely to see a difference in two types of DDR2.

FredeGail:

On the newegg link in my previous post there are several 2x2GB kits for $50 USD... so an upgrade to 8GB would only be $100 USD... that's not that bad! Now if only those DDR2 4GB sticks would drop!

Deacon:

Yes... I agree... and either DDR2 to DDR2, or DDR2 to DDR3... he should "feel" a difference! Frede, you may want to fiddle with RAM settings in BIOS and have you run memtest?

Thanks for your links!

Actually, today I did a benchmark and compared the two sticks, it was quite the same, the Corsair did a little bit better though. When I entered a game, the lag wasn't so bad as it was. Still a little in the beginning, but overall, smooth. This could of course explain the GTX 280 installation I did the other day.

I think nothing is wrong really, if the spikes will appear again, i'd consider a makeover.

Thanks.