RAM questions

Bob:

You got me---I actually looked up "antipodean". I had often wondered what the name was for the location diametrically opposed to any particular position on the earth and now I know. But I see the word is also used to informally describe those down under--maybe that is how you meant it. At any rate, you get rep from me.

http://www.antipodemap.com/


Back to the point. As far as I know, the OP has no interest at all in overclocking RAM and bought 1600 purely out of ignorance--as one might buy a "200 watt stereo" rather than a "100 watt stereo", figuring there must surely be an advantage to the larger number.

But I could be wrong.

Fellers,

Yep, I bought the RAM out of pure ignorance......well, the mate who built this comp for me suggested that particular RAM.
I had previously only bought complete systems, (and been summarily ripped off), from "reputable dealers", so this was my first attempt at a build. Like riding a bike I suppose, you gotta fall off a few times before you get it right. Lessons learned and thanks from the Antipodes for your help and advice guys :)

Harry

lffoar said:

Fellers,

Yep, I bought the RAM out of pure ignorance......well, the mate who built this comp for me suggested that particular RAM.
I had previously only bought complete systems, (and been summarily ripped off), from "reputable dealers", so this was my first attempt at a build. Like riding a bike I suppose, you gotta fall off a few times before you get it right. Lessons learned and thanks from the Antipodes for your help and advice guys :)

Harry

Why would your mate suggest that type of RAM if you are not overclocking? He should have known the voltage limits of the i7 architecture.

Hi Frostmourne,

Only incidental but to explain. I'm no great shakes where comps are concerned and this mate of mine has built plenty, has proved pretty good at fault finding and fixing with a few friend's comps. He was plumping for an AMD based system but my preference has always been intel, so I bought most parts on his recommendations, albeit I substituted intel and an Nvidia graphics card. Quite frankly before I watched this monster being built I hadn't even seen the innards of a case, let alone understood the difference between 940 - 1156 - or 1366 sockets, 32 and 64 bit, DDR2 or DDR3, Volts, RAM speed etc etc.

That may explain some of my "stupid" questions......I've learnt lots in the last month or so since I got this comp up and running and looking to learn and understand more :)

And yes, I reckon he should have advised me better on the right RAM and/or other components.
Also in hindsight, with better advice, I may have stayed with 32 bit for the time being rather than jump in without all drivers being available etc.
Having said all that, I'm happy thus far

Thanks for your input

lffoar said:

Hi Frostmourne,

Only incidental but to explain. I'm no great shakes where comps are concerned and this mate of mine has built plenty, has proved pretty good at fault finding and fixing with a few friend's comps. He was plumping for an AMD based system but my preference has always been intel, so I bought most parts on his recommendations, albeit I substituted intel and an Nvidia graphics card. Quite frankly before I watched this monster being built I hadn't even seen the innards of a case, let alone understood the difference between 32 and 64 bit, DDR2 or DDR3, Volts, RAM speed etc etc.

That may explain some of my "stupid" questions......I've learnt lots in the last month or so since I got this comp up and running and looking to learn and understand more :)

And yes, I reckon he should have advised me better on the right RAM and/or other components.
Also in hindsight, with better advice, I may have stayed with 32 bit for the time being rather than jump in without all drivers being available etc.
Having said all that, I'm happy thus far

Thanks for your input

No problem, and 64-bit drivers should easily be available for your system - I would have gone with AMD though, here is a system I built a few weeks back:

Excellent gaming performance in 7

It would have been quite a bit cheaper than an Intel one with enough performance as you can see. Either way, RAM like that is for overclocking and the difference in games is barely 1FPS - if that. Anyway, enjoy the PC, and maybe next time, consider the Red option. The setting up 7 guide may also be useful to you.

Yes, I checked that link before. Good stuff :) You must be a busy lad doing all that, but it is appreciated by many I'm sure. One more question re this RAM thing
I'm still concerned (paranoid???), about the voltage of the RAM but as everything is set on auto in the BIOS I can't find out the true voltage. I don't want to damage the CPU and I'm not game to enter any changes in manually. A couple of weeks ago was the first time I had dared enter BIOS and God, to make a change anywhere, huh huh!! I know in the CPU-Z SPD chart it says 1.5v, 1.5v and 1.900v but I don't have a clue what all the gobbledegook means. Humour me, is there an easy way to recognise RAM voltage??
Txs
Harry

Harry:

Lookie here:

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

It's the Asus download site. Choose your board and Win 7 64 bit from the dropdowns.

That will bring up a list of categories. Choose Utilities.

That will bring up a list; scroll down a bit and download "PC Probe II".

It is supposed to reveal RAM voltages at any given moment.

Maybe you already have it via Asus CD?

You should be able to find same info in BIOS, but you are right to be careful in there.

Navigation is generally done with arrow keys.

Choices are generally made with enter key after highlighting the choice by arrow key.

Lots of subcategories, so who knows where anything might be found.

If you think you made a bad or mistaken choice in bios, go to exit screen and choose "exit WITHOUT saving changes" and PC will reboot.

If you really foul up in bios, you can typically get out of the jam by opening case and removing CMOS battery for a while--minutes. It's round and resembles a coin and has to be pried out gently.

CMOS battery will gradually go bad--typical symptom is clock can't keep time.