RAM and other queries (prices and specs). Help!

ekzchan said:

I'll check my budget first if I can go with X3. It's a $25 difference between X2 and X3.

Anyway, I'm planning to buy 2pcs of (Newegg- Kingston HyperX Blu 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333) instead of G.Skill. This seems more cheaper. And all the review is 5/5. What do you think?

Also, I am planning to have a Windows 7 Enterprise OS. Is it good? What's the best windows 7 OS for you?

Thanks! :)

If you are located where you can buy from Newegg, use their memory selector. The Asrock board that you've chosen is included. I suggest buying a dual-channel kit, for which there is no price premium.

The cheapest:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNS

cheap DDR3-1600 (will run at 133 unless you use an XMP profile):

Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BA160A

something from Corsair:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9

and the least expensive dual channel HyperX:

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model KHX1333C9D3B1K2/4G


As regards overclocking, it's hardly a normal thing to do. I tend to overclock as a matter of course, but the following considerations apply:

You may need a better heatsink/fan than stock ($$$).

An overclocked PC may be happier if the room is not warm.

The life of the CPU and other components may be shortened.

The stability of the PC may be reduced.

Your warranty may be affected.




As for using Win7 Enterprise, how do you intend to acquire it? (You probably shouldn't respond if it's to be pirated.) It's not available at retail. It's basically the same as Ultimate. I'm not sure what it lacks compared to Ultimate. (Language packs, probably.)

ignatzatsonic said:

Absolutely OK not to overclock. I'd guess over 90% of PCs are not overclocked. I don't overclock. It's done mostly by gamers and people who like to experiment. It's like hot-rodding a car. It is risky to some extent and is not something you learn to do overnight.

If you don't overclock, just get ordinary speed RAM--probably 1333 or 1600 in your case. No heat spreaders needed, no extra fans needed, no overclocking to be done.

Now that just clear things up. Thank you so much. :)

bobkn said:

If you are located where you can buy from Newegg, use their memory selector. The Asrock board that you've chosen is included. I suggest buying a dual-channel kit, for which there is no price premium.

The cheapest:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNS

cheap DDR3-1600 (will run at 133 unless you use an XMP profile):

Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BA160A

something from Corsair:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9

and the least expensive dual channel HyperX:

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model KHX1333C9D3B1K2/4G


As regards overclocking, it's hardly a normal thing to do. I tend to overclock as a matter of course, but the following considerations apply:

You may need a better heatsink/fan than stock ($$$).

An overclocked PC may be happier if the room is not warm.

The life of the CPU and other components may be shortened.

The stability of the PC may be reduced.

Your warranty may be affected.

As for using Win7 Enterprise, how do you intend to acquire it? (You probably shouldn't respond if it's to be pirated.) It's not available at retail. It's basically the same as Ultimate. I'm not sure what it lacks compared to Ultimate. (Language packs, probably.)

I thought newegg can ship internationally. Too bad, they don't. They were the cheapest online store I've ever found.

Anyway, I'm looking for a CL7. I've read that the lower cast latency is the better. How much speed difference a CL9 from CL7 would be? I mean, if it's not that big different I will go with a CL9.

As regard with Win7 Enterprise, I didn't knew that it's not available at retail. My friend just told me that I can have his Win7 Enterprise.

Thanks again for your response. :)

ekzchan said:

Anyway, I'm looking for a CL7. I've read that the lower cast latency is the better. How much speed difference a CL9 from CL7 would be? I mean, if it's not that big different I will go with a CL9.

There is very very little difference. In day to day use, it's highly unlikely you could tell the difference. It might show up in a benchmark, but not in real life.

Save the money and spend it elsewhere---a better CPU or a tasty sandwich.

ignatzatsonic said:

There is very very little difference. In day to day use, it's highly unlikely you could tell the difference. It might show up in a benchmark, but not in real life.

Save the money and spend it elsewhere---a better CPU or a tasty sandwich.

I see. Thanks for that. :) I thought CL7 would give more speed in your PC performance than CL9.

ekzchan said:

ignatzatsonic said:

There is very very little difference. In day to day use, it's highly unlikely you could tell the difference. It might show up in a benchmark, but not in real life.

Save the money and spend it elsewhere---a better CPU or a tasty sandwich.

I see. Thanks for that. :) I thought CL7 would give more speed in your PC performance than CL9.

This is for the Intel "Sandy Bridge" memory controller, but it may be of interest:

AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling: Choosing the Best DDR3

(Basically, the difference between CL7 and CL9 is small in synthetic benchmarks. For real applications, the difference is smaller.)

bobkn said:

This is for the Intel "Sandy Bridge" memory controller, but it may be of interest:

AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling: Choosing the Best DDR3

(Basically, the difference between CL7 and CL9 is small in synthetic benchmarks. For real applications, the difference is smaller.)

The price really differ. Thanks for that.

Ok. I have another query. I found this from AMD official website. I'm confuse about this.

Type of Memory Supported:
X2 - Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066MHz)
X3 and X4 - Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3 10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)

Does this mean to say I can't go for a DDR3-1333MHz in AMD II X2 CPU? I'm planning to have X2 CPU for now because the budget is really tight. But I'm also planning to have a DDR3-1333 for my X2 CPU. I'm really confuse about this things.