OC a i7 920 w/6 DIMMS?

Mr. Baz

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I'm debating between 6GB and 12GB of RAM on my new build.
I want to be able to OC the 920 to about 4GHz (I'd be happy with 3.8GHz).
Would using 6 DIMMS limit how stable or how far I can go?
 
From reading other users experiences, when 6 Dimms are in use they don't get as high of an oc. Has something to do with the memory controller. The best be would be 6gigs. I doubt you would even use or have a use for 12gigs.
 
if you're considering 12gb, you really have to think about why the hell you'd need that much ram. possible use cases are high res photography, video editing and virtual machines. if you're not doing stuff like that, it's not worth gimping your OC and costing a fortune to get a few ego points. more ram ceases to make your pc more responsive after a certain point unless you have specific software uses that actually require it.
 
I'm debating between 6GB and 12GB of RAM on my new build.
I want to be able to OC the 920 to about 4GHz (I'd be happy with 3.8GHz).
Would using 6 DIMMS limit how stable or how far I can go?
It depends on the other components in your system. My board overclocks just as well with 12GBs as it did with 6GB. I don't know how often I use anything above 6GBs, but I bought my ram when the market bottomed out and 6GBs of DDR3 memory cost less than $100. With 6GB kits now at $150 I don't know if I would make the same decision.

I guess the deciding factor (assuming cost isn't an issue) would be how much it would limit your overclock. If its 50 MHz then the few tasks where more than 6GBs of RAM is useful would probably be of more benefit to you than the extra clockspeed. If its 200 MHz the extra clockspeed may be more beneficial.
 
It really depends. With 12GB of ram, you might not be able to run it at rated speeds, unless the all the DIMMs are from the same kit and are tested to work together at the rated speed/timing.

You may also need more QPI/DRAM voltage.

As far as 12GB vs 6GB goes, 6gb is more than enough. 12GB may limit your overclock, but not by much and it may just be that you cant run the ram as its rated, but can still achieve a high overclock on your cpu.
 
I have 6 dimms-12 gb... [email protected] and my ram runs at 18 something right now, but i have heard others can't get close, just luck of the draw.
 
The reason for the 12GB of RAM is for VM and CAD work.

I currently only have 4GB of RAM on an old 2.2GHz Athlon X2. CAD work is painfull. :(

I also game a little, but that isn't going to soak up 6GB of extra RAM.
If you think the 8 threads on a core i7 (hyperthreading) with 6GB of DDR3 in triple channel will more than meat my needs I will toss that extra 6GB of RAM out of the build sheet.
 
I run 6gb of my office and would recommend that as a bare minimum for doing VM work. If you do VM + CAD I could see the use for the extra space, but maybe not if you aren't doing both at once...

Careful if you're using VMWare Workstation though, some versions of that product are gimped to only work on 8gb of RAM or less.
 
I run 6gb of my office and would recommend that as a bare minimum for doing VM work. If you do VM + CAD I could see the use for the extra space, but maybe not if you aren't doing both at once...

Careful if you're using VMWare Workstation though, some versions of that product are gimped to only work on 8gb of RAM or less.

Doubt I'll be doing both at the same time.
 
I've gotten up to 4.5ghz in windows but cant get it stable. I am using this for rhino/digital project(catia) cad stuff and was running out of ram on my last system (8gb) so 12gb was a no brainer.
 
It can be done, but does take a lot more time than you would think ... and some luck. Kyle's OC with Dominator (video above) was the reason I made the choice of that RAM over any other. At least someone had gotten it to OC. For what I do, I had to have 12 GB RAM ... the OC is a nice extra. Does ASUS' QVL show any RAM qualified for all 6 slots, much less OC-ed? I looked up it once but am too lazy today; I remember that it was not at all helpful & was discouraging at best. Kyle's the man!

Win 7 64 bit, ASUS P6X58D Premium i7-920 D0
12 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR TR3X6G1600C7D 6 7 7 18
XFX Radeon HD 5770, Seasonic X750
Swiftech Apogee XT block, Indigo Extreme TIM
Swiftech MCR220-QP Radiator, Eheim 1040 pump, 1/2" ID Tubing

OC-ed 4.41 GHz 24x7
 
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