List of boards that will run 8GB of ram without problems

S

spectrumbx

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 2, 2003
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Guys,

Can we get a list of boards that will run 8GB of ram and a Quad-core without any issue?

I am planning on the upgrade of my HTPC/Backup VMware host (see sig).
The Q6600 is a no brainer for me, and 8GB is a must as my current HTPC with 2GB of ram makes a very poor VMware backup host.

Now, would I be able to overclock with 8GB? How much?
If no overclock, then I will get the cheap PC4200 instead of PC6400.

Confirmed boards:
EVGA 680I
ASUS P5K Deluxe (P35)
 
michaLcoughliN said:
8 gigs of ram.. if your willing to throw away your money, just send it to me :)
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What's with people on these forums always asking to have money sent to them? It's not clever, please stop it.

8gb is too much for daily stuff, but I assume OP has a good reason to be buying 8gb's.
 
Something with an Intel chipset should be able to do it. You can have PC-6400 ram and 8GB of it at that too. You don't need to drop to shit speed memory to accomplish your goals.
 
680i boards support 8 gig, as should many P35 boards (although I'd check the specs of individual P35 boards, as support may differ between them.)

Mark.
 
I run 8gb on my EVGA 680I at DDR800. The memory I'm using is Patriot Extreme LL 2gb modules.
 
Markyip1 said:
680i boards support 8 gig, as should many P35 boards (although I'd check the specs of individual P35 boards, as support may differ between them.)

Mark.
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That statement is rather broad and somewhat inaccurate. The fact is that many boards don't like running four modules. The 680i SLI board included. Not saying it can't be done, it surely can, but it's not quite as easy as that. The fact is thatis alot of variables in making it work.
 
My ASUS P5K Deluxe (P35), friends DFI Infinity P965-S and an original Intel P965 oem all handle 8GB of RAM without a problem. For that matter they all use RAM that call for 2V.
 
My 680i board runs four 1 gig modules (G.Skill DDR2 PC-6400 at 4-4-4-12,) and its never had any issues. It overclocks like a dream, it never had any stability hick ups, and I've never had any reason to believe that having four modules has held back the performance of any component.

If the box says it supports 8 gigs of RAM and you find that you're motherboard is having issues, first check to see if others are having issues with the specific RAM you purchased. If not, I'd RMA the board and try for another.

Good luck,

Mark.
 
Markyip1 said:
My 680i board runs four 1 gig modules (G.Skill DDR2 PC-6400 at 4-4-4-12,) and its never had any issues. It overclocks like a dream, it never had any stability hick ups, and I've never had any reason to believe that having four modules has held back the performance of any component.

If the box says it supports 8 gigs of RAM and you find that you're motherboard is having issues, first check to see if others are having issues with the specific RAM you purchased. If not, I'd RMA the board and try for another.

Good luck,

Mark.
Click to expand...

As I stated, I never said that the board in question couldn't handle 8GB of ram. It certainly can, but it won't handle 4 modules of any ram. This has always been my point in this conversation. It will not use 4x1GB OCZ Flex XLC PC2-9200 memory modules at speeds beyond DDR 2 800. You have to make alot of adjustments to get it to work in that type of configuration. This was verified by an OCZ rep as well in another forum. I have three EVGA 680i boards personally and I've built several machines for other people using those boards. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about and my results are consistent accross multiple boards.

On another note, I am considering going to a 4GB or 8GB memory configuration while the memory can be had pretty cheap. (This is how I ended up with 4x1GB OCZ Flex XLC PC2-9200 modules) So I'd like to know whos got a 2x2GB configuration or 4x2GB configuration and what specific modules you are using. (Part numbers and links would be appreciated as well.)
 
It's not at all uncommon for a board that says it'll support X amount of ram to not be able to do it w/all DIMM slots full... Mobos have gotten better about this in recent years but it's still not something that would only occur on a faulty board afaik. Once you throw some OC'ing into the mix, it gets even more complicated.
 
Impulse said:
It's not at all uncommon for a board that says it'll support X amount of ram to not be able to do it w/all DIMM slots full... Mobos have gotten better about this in recent years but it's still not something that would only occur on a faulty board afaik. Once you throw some OC'ing into the mix, it gets even more complicated.
Click to expand...

Actually they have gotten worse about it in recent years. In the i875P days and i965PE chipset days I could run four modules on every board without issue and the same held true with older boards. Even up to the 915 chipset and i925XE I think this was ok but after that it has become something of a lottery with 4 modules installed. This has of course been an issue with AMD processor based machines since the introduction of the Athlon 64, but on the Intel side there is no excuse for it.

As for the OC'ing complicating matters, it surely does and always has to some degree.
 
Dan_D said:
This has of course been an issue with AMD processor based machines since the introduction of the Athlon 64, but on the Intel side there is no excuse for it.
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I've never had a problem with an A64 but of course the memory controller is programmed to step down the bus speed & CMD rate to 2T.
 
BUFF said:
I've never had a problem with an A64 but of course the memory controller is programmed to step down the bus speed & CMD rate to 2T.
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The Opteron's (Socket 940) and the later A64's didn't have to lower the clock speed of the ram when using 4 modules. The Intel's never had to do this though the timings were reduced on the i875P chipsets as PAT was disabled. The difference was only around 3% though.
 
Dan_D said:
The Opteron's (Socket 940) and the later A64's didn't have to lower the clock speed of the ram when using 4 modules. The Intel's never had to do this though the timings were reduced on the i875P chipsets as PAT was disabled. The difference was only around 3% though.
Click to expand...

Most motherboards did lower to 2T with 4 modules installed.

The DFI expert did get around this, but I believe you were limited to DDR-400 speeds.
 
Spazilton said:
Most motherboards did lower to 2T with 4 modules installed.

The DFI expert did get around this, but I believe you were limited to DDR-400 speeds.
Click to expand...

Right but they didn't have to lower the clock speed of the ram to DDR 333MHz speeds like the first Athlon 64's did. The Opterons (Socket 940) didn't have to do that ever. They always did 400MHz with any amount of modules installed. At least both of my dual Opterons did. (Including very old steppings of the Opteron 246.)
 
Good to see in the latest [H] review,that the PBK Deluxe can handle 4 sticks and an oc.


Does anyone know when we can expect to see X38 boards out and available at places like NCIX / Newegg soon ? I'd hate to buy a PBK Deluxe come the 22nd,and then have something with SLI support from Intel hit the market a mere 1 or 2 weeks later... :(
 
Manny Calavera said:
Good to see in the latest [H] review,that the PBK Deluxe can handle 4 sticks and an oc.


Does anyone know when we can expect to see X38 boards out and available at places like NCIX / Newegg soon ? I'd hate to buy a PBK Deluxe come the 22nd,and then have something with SLI support from Intel hit the market a mere 1 or 2 weeks later... :(
Click to expand...

Give it a month or so.
 
Initial post updated with boards that have been confirmed so far.
EVGA 680I
ASUS P5K Deluxe (P35)

Any more?
 
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