Noob RAM question =\

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w35t

[H]ard|Gawd
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May 29, 2013
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I have this motherboard (X58, EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188068

It is paired with an i7 950 and the following RAM (G.SKILL 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

I've decided up to upgrade my RAM so I purchased this (Mushkin 2 x 8GB 2133):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226434&cm_re=mushkin_blackline_16gb-_-20-226-434-_-Product

I then thought to myself, wait, is this even supported by my chipset? Answers I've found online are mixed. The spec sheet on the mobo says it only supports 4gb/dimm, but I don't know if that's something that could have changed via bios updates. I'm also not sure if any speeds past 1600MHz are supported. And finally, did I make a mistake in buying a dual channel kit when my mobo supports triple channel? I thought this would be a simple upgrade but now I'm swimming in questions. Help?
 
1. It will most likely work with 8GB DIMMs.
2. You will lose a decent amount of throughput buy going from triple to dual channel
3. You can set the RAM to run at a speed lower than what it is rated for.
4. I would try the 8GB sticks.. and then if they work, purchase a 3rd.
 
Don't most newer chipsets only have 4 slots? And therefore only support dual channel? Why would that be?
 
The number of channels is based on the IMC (integrated memory controller). The RAM modules do not determine the number of channels.

1366 is a triple-channel platform, therefore it works best using sets of 3 RAM modules (3 or 6). 2011 is a quad-channel platform, and it performs best using sets of 4 RAM modules (4 or 8). All other consumer platforms are dual channel.
 
Gotcha, thanks for the replies.

Too bad I don't see where I can buy another single stick of this RAM.

I popped the ram in and it shows I have 16gb of RAM running at 9-9-9-24 and 1600MHz, so I guess this is ok. All I really care about with this computer is gaming performance. Will having a third RAM module help performance?
 
w35t said:
Gotcha, thanks for the replies.

Too bad I don't see where I can buy another single stick of this RAM.

I popped the ram in and it shows I have 16gb of RAM running at 9-9-9-24 and 1600MHz, so I guess this is ok. All I really care about with this computer is gaming performance. Will having a third RAM module help performance?
Click to expand...

For the 1366 platform. yes, a third will help.

The newer dual channel memory controllers are just as fast as the triple channel controller on the 1366 setup..

That being said, see how your system runs for you. It may be just fine.

I am not seeing the single sets for sale anywhere either.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I should have done some more research beforehand, looks like I would have been better off with a 3x4gb kit, I really don't need much. I haven't noticed any difference in regular tasks or gaming so far though. Guess I'll just see how it goes!
 
The alternative would be to get two more kits to run 6 sticks of RAM, though that is complete overkill and probably a waste of money.
 
cyclone3d said:
1. It will most likely work with 8GB DIMMs.
2. You will lose a decent amount of throughput buy going from triple to dual channel
3. You can set the RAM to run at a speed lower than what it is rated for.
4. I would try the 8GB sticks.. and then if they work, purchase a 3rd.
Click to expand...

1.) It most likely won't. Module densities greater than what the motherboard was QVL'ed for rarely work well.
2.) Specifically he'll lose around 33.3% (one third) of his memory bandwidth.
3.) Indeed.
4.) Since they are already ordered, sure. I wouldn't have ordered them in the first place given that the motherboard wasn't QVL'ed for it. 8GB sticks didn't exist in the consumer market when X58 launched. The CPUs IMC may not handle it well either.
 
Tsumi said:
The alternative would be to get two more kits to run 6 sticks of RAM, though that is complete overkill and probably a waste of money.
Click to expand...

The mobo supports a maximum of 24gb as well, so 2 more kits is a no go, and $300 anyway.

Dan_D said:
1.) It most likely won't. Module densities greater than what the motherboard was QVL'ed for rarely work well.
2.) Specifically he'll lose around 33.3% (one third) of his memory bandwidth.
3.) Indeed.
4.) Since they are already ordered, sure. I wouldn't have ordered them in the first place given that the motherboard wasn't QVL'ed for it. 8GB sticks didn't exist in the consumer market when X58 launched. The CPUs IMC may not handle it well either.
Click to expand...

It seems to be working fine so far, but I'm still considering sending the kit back to newegg and getting a 3x4gb kit. Although I am wanting to upgrade to a new cpu and mobo in the near future, but even then I'd be moving to a platform that supports quad channel and to get the most out of that i'd need a 4x4/8gb kit right? What's even the point of dual channel kits if not to supplement the one you already have?
 
I've seen people report that 48gb works on their boards just fine. But again, total overkill and mostly a waste of money. A second alternative would be to get one more set, use only one stick and keep the second as a spare for when you move to a dual or quad-channel system. Then again, DDR3 is EOL.
 
I decided to send the RAM back to newegg. I'm not going to purchase more until I figure out what cpu/mobo I'll be upgrading to.

I suppose I could wait for DDR4 prices to drop and consider broadwell.
 
One thing to keep in mind with the LGA 1366 platform is that there are sometimes issues when populating all memory slots. You may be able to overcome instability issues by increasing the memory voltage (this worked for me with all 6 slots populated on my old MSI motherboard).

You could purchase another 2x8GB kit and just use one of the sticks from it, leaving you a spare stick or 8GB of extra memory for another PC that supports DDR3. Alternatively, you could try your luck with two more 2x8GB kits and see what happens. Purchasing from a place with a good return policy is helpful in these scenarios.
 
You don't have to populate more than two channels on x58.

The bandwidth is plenty for four to six cores. Every real world test I have seen outside a server room shows memory speed/latency determine performance more than adding a third memory channel.
 
defaultluser said:
You don't have to populate more than two channels on x58.

The bandwidth is plenty for four to six cores. Every real world test I have seen outside a server room shows memory speed/latency determine performance more than adding a third memory channel.
Click to expand...

No one should expect the third memory channel to make much of a difference. And again as you basically said on the desktop side you'd be hard pressed to find an application that benefits from the bandwidth. And Z97 with a Core i7 4790K usually competes with or out performs a similarly clocked 5930K or 5960X based system in games depending on how many cores it utilizes despite having less than half the total available memory bandwidth X99 based systems do. (Multi-GPU based systems not withstanding.) So memory bandwidth isn't a huge deal. Still it seems a shame to neuter X58 by sticking to two channels when that was the main advantage that X58 had over other chipsets at the time.
 
I only used the memory for a few hours, but during that time I noticed no difference, I just had 16gb vs 6. 99% of the time 6gb is enough for me, I just maxed it out a couple times recently and figured it was time for an upgrade.

It was a waste buying memory that clocks to 2133MHz as the mobo doesn't support that. It was also a waste buying 8gb sticks in the first place since, assuming I go to a quad channel platform, 32gb is waaaay more than I need. For now, I think it's best to wait and upgrade when I change platforms.

EDIT: "I'm hoping to sell this combo and go z97 4790k, in which case I'll buy a fast 4x4gb kit." ....And then I'd be going to dual channel, and I should just keep this kit. So from what I can see it looks like platforms starting with Z (Z97, Z87, Z77 etc.) support dual channel, and if it starts with X (X58, X79, X99) they support more than dual channel.


I just read all three of these articles:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-Dual-Triple-and-Quad-Channel-Memory-Architectures/133/1

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-To-Know-About-DDR-DDR2-and-DDR3-Memories/167/1

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26/1

I am 100x more knowledgeable about RAM now, thanks to you guys too. :)
 
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