Need Some RAM Advice for Fatal1ty AN8

[whoster69]

I'm getting ready to build a new system. I'm probably going to buy an ABIT Fatal1ty (hate the name) AN8 because it will do lazy man's overclocking and has the features I want. Where I'm having trouble is picking out the RAM. I've been out of the loop for the last two years so I'm not up on the latest. I want a little headroom for a little overclocking but I'm not a huge overclocker.

I've had this stuff: http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16820231006 recommended to me, but christ, it's almost $300! and I wonder if my money would be better spent on some of the value RAM mention in this article: http://www.anandtech.com/memory/show...px?i=2392&p=16 It runs about $80, much cheaper. I'm really looking for the best value for my money plus a little headroom for a little overclocking in case I want to push it up sometime.

What would people recommend?

Also, does anyone know of any good articles that I can read up on to get up to speed on this? I feel I'm too much behind the curve these days....

Thanks in advance.

Whoster

[whoster69]

Does no one have any ideas?

Please?

[Sierra_abx]

I have the G.Skill in your link. If you're not doing heavy-duty overclocking, you probably don't need to spend that kind of money.

The G.Skill LE uses TCCD chips which are becoming increasingly scarce. Samsung has decided not to make it anymore. Many RAM company are replacing TCCD with TCC5 which is similar.

Here's an alternative, Mushkin XP3200 "V2". Used to use TCCD, but newer modules have TCC5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146355

[Eldonko]

I agree, if you are not a hardcore OCer, don't blow the cash on GSkill. OCZ3200Gold is also a good choice. It runs 200Mhz @ 2-2-2-5 and if you feed it some volts can reach 260+ at the same timings. Link to RAM

I also recommend going DFI not Abit. Even with a budget DFI board you have all teh OCing options available to you Link

$260 you can get the RAM and MB, and its cheaper than just the GSkill alone hehe.

[whoster69]

Originally Posted by Eldonko

I agree, if you are not a hardcore OCer, don't blow the cash on GSkill. OCZ3200Gold is also a good choice. It runs 200Mhz @ 2-2-2-5 and if you feed it some volts can reach 260+ at the same speeds. Link to RAM

I also recommend going DFI not Abit. Even with a budget DFI board you have all teh OCing options available to you Link

$260 you can get the RAM and MB, and its cheaper than just the GSkill alone hehe.

Apart from the DFI being cheaper and supporting higher RAM voltages, what advantages does it have over the Fatal1ty AN8?

Thanks for the advice both of you. I'll check those out.

[Clevor]

Whoster, the Abit NF4 boards are so far uncharted territory. Moreover, experienced overclockers are jump-on-the-bandwagon types, and you rarely see them venturing far from the beaten path.

I do have a AN8 Fatality-SLI on the way, and hope to give some insight on this board soon. I mainly waited for Abit to issue a 3.55 VDIMM board. A no-brainer is get the DFI NF4.

Other good boards are the 9NDA3+ (NF3) which has an easy VDIMM mod, or the 9NPA+ Ultra (NF4), with an easy 3.3 volt VDIMM mod. Even without the VDIMM mod, the board goes to 3.1. The Rebelhaven forums have a lot of info on the mods.

As for TCCD, I think FB mentioned some cheap OCZ stuff on another thread. Normally I would recommend PQI, but they are only $25 cheaper than GSkill.

GSkill has suffered from a bit too much hype. I tried just one set of 2x512 Vitesta PC600 (finest TCCD in the land on BP PCB), and from the gitgo it does 307, 2.5-3-3-6. I'm not gonna tell how many sets of LEs I've tried, but none was 3D stable at 300 (one set managed 301 Memtest clean).

[Goldenfarmb]

You may want to try some Crucial BallistiX PC4000. It gives some good headroom and comes pretty cheap compared to some of the others. I have 2 pair (Request for return denied by vendor but credit was issued anyway ) and have thoroghly enjoyed them. I am able to run them at 2-2-2-5 @ 2.8v on my old p4p800-D.

[Sierra_abx]

Originally Posted by Clevor

Whoster, the Abit NF4 boards are so far uncharted territory. Moreover, experienced overclockers are jump-on-the-bandwagon types, and you rarely see them venturing far from the beaten path.

I do have a AN8 Fatality-SLI on the way, and hope to give some insight on this board soon. I mainly waited for Abit to issue a 3.55 VDIMM board. A no-brainer is get the DFI NF4.

Other good boards are the 9NDA3+ (NF3) which has an easy VDIMM mod, or the 9NPA+ Ultra (NF4), with an easy 3.3 volt VDIMM mod. Even without the VDIMM mod, the board goes to 3.1. The Rebelhaven forums have a lot of info on the mods.

As for TCCD, I think FB mentioned some cheap OCZ stuff on another thread. Normally I would recommend PQI, but they are only $25 cheaper than GSkill.

GSkill has suffered from a bit too much hype. I tried just one set of 2x512 Vitesta PC600 (finest TCCD in the land on BP PCB), and from the gitgo it does 307, 2.5-3-3-6. I'm not gonna tell how many sets of LEs I've tried, but none was 3D stable at 300 (one set managed 301 Memtest clean).

Being different for the sake of being different is, well, not always the best course. People use G.Skill because it works. Sure, there's plenty of hype. But is that a reason to stay away, if the product gets the job done? I don't see the logic there.

Being stable at 300 is not as hard as you think. G.Skill LA does it pretty easily, even at 2.5-3-3-6.

[whoster69]

Originally Posted by Clevor

Whoster, the Abit NF4 boards are so far uncharted territory. Moreover, experienced overclockers are jump-on-the-bandwagon types, and you rarely see them venturing far from the beaten path.

I do have a AN8 Fatality-SLI on the way, and hope to give some insight on this board soon. I mainly waited for Abit to issue a 3.55 VDIMM board. A no-brainer is get the DFI NF4.

Other good boards are the 9NDA3+ (NF3) which has an easy VDIMM mod, or the 9NPA+ Ultra (NF4), with an easy 3.3 volt VDIMM mod. Even without the VDIMM mod, the board goes to 3.1. The Rebelhaven forums have a lot of info on the mods.

As for TCCD, I think FB mentioned some cheap OCZ stuff on another thread. Normally I would recommend PQI, but they are only $25 cheaper than GSkill.

GSkill has suffered from a bit too much hype. I tried just one set of 2x512 Vitesta PC600 (finest TCCD in the land on BP PCB), and from the gitgo it does 307, 2.5-3-3-6. I'm not gonna tell how many sets of LEs I've tried, but none was 3D stable at 300 (one set managed 301 Memtest clean).

Thanks for the info (from you and others). I'll check into these different memory types.

As to overclockers being jump on the bandwagon types, I sadly have to agree. Many seem to be. On another forum there were a bunch of people bashing the ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 SLI. They hadn't tried the board, and most of their arguments made no sense. They also weren't willing to acknowledge the faults of the DFI. It was as if DFI could do no wrong and everything else was bad because it wasn't DFI. While the DFI may be a fantastic board, as someone who is looking for objective information, this doesn't leave me feeling very comfortable.

As I've continued to look around I've also started looking more closely at the SLI version of the AN8. It seems to come with better options, more stuff, and hardly cost anymore.

[CanadianDude]

Originally Posted by whoster69

Thanks for the info (from you and others). I'll check into these different memory types.

As to overclockers being jump on the bandwagon types, I sadly have to agree. Many seem to be. On another forum there were a bunch of people bashing the ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 SLI. They hadn't tried the board, and most of their arguments made no sense. They also weren't willing to acknowledge the faults of the DFI. It was as if DFI could do no wrong and everything else was bad because it wasn't DFI. While the DFI may be a fantastic board, as someone who is looking for objective information, this doesn't leave me feeling very comfortable.

As I've continued to look around I've also started looking more closely at the SLI version of the AN8. It seems to come with better options, more stuff, and hardly cost anymore.

I personally think you should go with the SLI version of the Fatal1ty AN8. For one, even though it is SLI, you don't need to use two video cards right away (as was mentioned to you on the Fatal1ty forum).

Next, unlike the non-SLI AN8, with the SLI board, you can set your vDIMM to 3.55 in 0.05 increments.

For the small price difference, it would be worth it. I am so glad I went with the SLI version as it also comes with a beautiful uGuru front panel that really does give a ton of information. Sometimes I feel it gives too much info lol. It's going to take more studying of the manual for the panel before I truly understand all the info the panel throws at me.

As far as RAM goes for this board, I would follow agree with Sierra. If you aren't going to do a lot of OCing, there really is no need to spend the cash on g.skill RAm, but it is excellent RAM. On the Fatal1ty forum, TicTac mentioned to you that either OCZ Gold or Mushkin RAM would also be good alternatives. I agree. I'm personally using my old Kingston Value RAM (PC3200) 512Mb on my board until next month when I'll go with 1024Mb of OCZ Gold RAM.

Make sure your case has a side window....when the leds placed all over the board light up, it really does look cool.

[whoster69]

Thanks CanadianDude. I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. It does look like a better option (the SLI).

I appreciate the feedback everyone!

[Eldonko]

Originally Posted by whoster69

Apart from the DFI being cheaper and supporting higher RAM voltages, what advantages does it have over the Fatal1ty AN8?

Thanks for the advice both of you. I'll check those out.

I have never owned a Fatal1ty but IMO advantages of DFI would include: voltage options, OC stability at > 300FSB, more tweakable secondary RAM settings. That and prolly 90% of the top benchers use DFI MBs.

[Clevor]

Originally Posted by Sierra

Being different for the sake of being different is, well, not always the best course. People use G.Skill because it works. Sure, there's plenty of hype. But is that a reason to stay away, if the product gets the job done? I don't see the logic there.

Being stable at 300 is not as hard as you think. G.Skill LA does it pretty easily, even at 2.5-3-3-6.

I have a scientific background, and I base my observations on empirical experience. I try so many sets of x sticks, and if none do 300 3D stable, I draw that conclusion. If the first and only set of LEs I tried did it, maybe I would be raving over it.

I gave another set of LEs a try and no matter what, I can't get them stable over 290 or so, so they go back. Eva2000 has also tried a lot of sticks, and while results are getting better, he's having the same luck as me.

[Clevor]

It's become rather fashionable now to knock the DFI board, due to the UTT dying and cold boot issues. I have not had any issues with my board, and it is cheaper than the AN8-SLI.

But I don't blame anyone for blazing their own path. I find the NF8 (abit S754) is a faster board that the DFI NF8 - at default BIOS settings. Unfortunately its saddled with 2.8 VDIMM.

[Sierra_abx]

Originally Posted by Clevor

I have a scientific background, and I base my observations on empirical experience. I try so many sets of x sticks, and if none do 300 3D stable, I draw that conclusion. If the first and only set of LEs I tried did it, maybe I would be raving over it.

I gave another set of LEs a try and no matter what, I can't get them stable over 290 or so, so they go back. Eva2000 has also tried a lot of sticks, and while results are getting better, he's having the same luck as me.

300 with what secondary timings? I can do 300 at 2.5-3-3-6 with loose secondary timings, but I prefer to run at 297 with very tight secondary timings.

300 is just a number. It doesn't really mean anything. My LE will go above that, but what's the point if I have to use loose timings?

3D stable means nothing to me. If I were into gaming or still doing 3D benching, it would. Each person has his or her definition of stability. Some insist on running 24 hours of Prime95. I'm not that fanatical.