DDR3 Recommendations? I need 4-8gb...

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unixadm

Gawd
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Jun 13, 2002
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I just purchased a slightly used Asus P5E3 Deluxe motherboard since I got it for $199 and that seemed like a decent price for a complete with box board. I was going to go with the DFI X48 or the Asus P5E3 Premium, but this came along at a decent discount. I already have a Q9450 on pre-order, and now need memory. To round out my configuration I have a Coolmaster Stacker 832, Silverstone ST75F 750watt PSU, 8 x 750gb Western Digital drives in RAID5, Areca 1231ML Raid Controller, and a 8800GTX which I may sell and upgrade to a new 9800 series card. I may also swap out the PSU as I've been running it for over a 18 months now.

I'll be replacing my EVGA 680I and Xeon 3220, along with 8gb of Patriot PC-6400 memory. I'll transition my Ultra 120 Extreme to the new board and chip. I do a lot of work with virtual machines and run Vista X64 Ultimate, so I do use the memory. I have scaled things back tho and feel I could get by with 4gb out of the gate when switching to DDR3. I plan to offset some of the cost by selling 8gb of PC5300 FB-DIMMS that I've had sitting on my desk for months.

Does anyone have any solid recommendations on DDR3 memory kit that works well with the Asus X38/X48 DDR3 boards? I've read some issues about OCZ, so while I've used them in the past, I'm sort of steering clear of them for right now unless I hear differently. Also I want to go with 1333 or better at this point.
 
Would be cheaper to buy another motherboard and buy DDR2 to be honest. :( Sorry. I cannot in good conscience recommend that anybody buy DDR3, Even if they already have a DDR3 board.

Would save you hundreds. DDR3 isnt noticeably faster in anything and is only slightly faster in synthetic benches.
 
I'm having great fun, thanks. Also does $379 for 4gb of Patriot Viper DDR3 1333 = $1000 in your book? It sure does not in mine. I've been building computers for 17 years, trust me, these days it's CHEAP compared to when I started out. I think people forget that sometimes, and focus too much on present day values. New technology costs money, it might not be better - I really don't care. This is my 18 month upgrade and if costs a few bills more to get it done, so be it. If I wanted cheap, I'd buy a Dell.
 
I've had DDR2 since it was first introduced and guess what, it cost me then too. I don't regret it tho - I use my computer a great deal. I guess working with enterprise hardware on a daily basis makes me a bit numb to the differences in pricing. Too many people worry too much about other peoples money. The way I look at it is this - the DFI was $299 - I got this board for $199 and new it sells for $330. So I saved $100 right there, so I can lop $100 off the memory. So that takes it down to $279 for 4gb. I paid more than that for my 4gb of Patriot DDR2 a year or so ago in my current system.
 
unixadm said:
I'm having great fun, thanks. Also does $379 for 4gb of Patriot Viper DDR3 1333 = $1000 in your book? It sure does not in mine. I've been building computers for 17 years, trust me, these days it's CHEAP compared to when I started out. I think people forget that sometimes, and focus too much on present day values. New technology costs money, it might not be better - I really don't care. This is my 18 month upgrade and if costs a few bills more to get it done, so be it. If I wanted cheap, I'd buy a Dell.
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You can have 8GB of DDR2 and a new motherboard the same as 4GB of DDR3. I'm not trying to offend you or anything, just recommending that you save yourself some money.

For the tasks that you say you do, working with VMs and such, 8GB of DDR2 would benefit you infinitely more than DDR3. I would ask that you not get defensive and angry over a simple recommendation.
 
I'm not angry so I apologize if I came across that way. I came here asking for a recommendation on DDR3, not a recommendation on how to save money tho. This is an enthusiasts forum right? Some people have to move forward at some point with newer stuff and to me I'm doing a 18-24 month upgrade right now, so why not. I didn't really care if I used DDR2 or DDR3 and still don't at this point, but I bought the board and I'm moving forward with DDR3. I'm thankful people look out for others, but I've already moved forward with the purchasing, now I just wanted some tips on DDR3. I also had a Mac Pro which used FB-DIMMS - the price of that stuff 12 months ago for 8gb was higher than DDR3, but I still made the purchase and don't regret it at all.

I already have 8gb of DDR2 if you look at my signature. I'm wanting to move up to to a new 45nm CPU, and the 680I I have will not support 45nm Quads. I'm not expecting night and day differences in performance, only to migrate over. I will be selling off my current hardware to offset some of this 'refresh', so I'm not out of pocket on everything here. I have a stack of 8gb of FB-DIMMS, that will cover just about 4gb of my DDR3 now. I got the FB-DIMMS for free from a server job I did for a friend.

I'm 30 now - 10 years ago I had to nickle and dime everything. I bought the bare minimum and overclocked like a mad man. I had the bubble boy monitor, the cheap computer store cases, heck I even had a 5-1/4" floppy! These days, after establishing a good career, I can afford to spend a bit more - but with that said I don't upgrade nearly as often as I did back in the day. I knew I'd get some flak over DDR3, but I was just hoping a few of the rebels would make some recommendations. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I did some additional research and found the Patriot Viper 1333 4gb kit from Clubit for $379. Price wise, that was close to the best deal I could find. Newegg had the same kit for $474... ouch. I went ahead and purchased that kit to get me started and if I like it, I'll purchase a second kit once I have it up and running.

I also purchased a Toughpower 1200watt from ClubIT, and a Areca backup battery for my raid controller from eWiz.
 
unixadm said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I did some additional research and found the Patriot Viper 1333 4gb kit from Clubit for $379. Price wise, that was close to the best deal I could find. Newegg had the same kit for $474... ouch. I went ahead and purchased that kit to get me started and if I like it, I'll purchase a second kit once I have it up and running.

I then went over to Ewiz and bought a battery for my Areca controller, and a 1200 watt Toughpower.
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hmm you found a nice deal there.

Theres ppl that buy Extreme Cpu and then you compare to 2FPS (games) less for a 5 Times price less CPU.. lol. Who cares ^^ he s not on budget.
 
Once you get everything worked out I would like to see your build as well.

I am in a similar situation where I don't have to worry about saving at the expense of performance. I realize DDR3 is not a big jump but its the new platform and if you can afford it why build last years platform to save 100$ if 100$ is not an issue.
 
I'll post back once I get the system up and running. I should have the board in about a week, the memory and Toughpower 1200 should be here by mid week, and the CPU is supposed to ship on the 17th. There was a time when I had to save every dollar, and the thought of buying a high end part for my computer, or car, or what not was not a possibility. However after establishing a 12 year career in Information Technologies, I have a bit more financial freedom these days. If I get the CPU on the week of the 17th, my target date to swap the parts over will be the 22nd.

Is DDR3 expensive? Yes and I won't argue that fact. Is it a significant upgrade? Nope. But at some point, people need to start buying into the technology. That in itself helps lower the prices down the road.

K. Back to my BMW 335I hunt. :)
 
Hmm... didn't corsair hit the 2ghz mark with their ddr3's? Maybe shoot for those? ^^

*edit: bah, it's still in the making.. =.= I re-read Kyle's article.. hehe.. out sometime this year..

In any case, why not settle for the Corsair 1800mhz ram? If it ever has problems, there's lifetime warranty to save the day ^^ http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA24348 And yes.. this is quite an expensive piece of memory, but just like expensive cars, "it's not meant for everyone" ^^
 
I believe there is 4GB DDR3 1600 of G.SKILL Memory at newegg for just over $500. Are you sure you want that kind of memory? That's some serious cash.
 
I already bought 4gb of Patriot Viper 1333 from ClubIT for $379. That should cover me for the next six months or so.
 
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