CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 with MSI 990FXA-GD80?

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to build a new rig quite soon (as of "early january" probably, mostly for gaming/video edit purpose) from scavenging my current config (case, PSU, dvd...).

I thought about some mid-budget rig with decent performance :

mobo : MSI 990FXA-GD80 (AM3+, 4 dimm slot DDR3 up to "PC3-17066 - DDR3 2133 MHz")

Proc : AMD FX 4300 Black Edition (3.8 GHz) (Quadcore "only" but probably good enough ?)

Graphic : MSI GeForce GTX 660 N660 TF 2GD5/OC (yeah, not the latest 690, but coming from a SLI 2x "NX8800GTS 512 OC" I guess it's gonna be a whole new world... without the flying carpet.)

PSU : Corsair TX750 ("scavenged" from this PC) Enough ? seems so on the PSU finder tool.

HDD : My current Seagate 2Tb 7200.14, Possibility of investing in a small SSD (Corsair I suppose ?) for system, depending on how it goes.

and here's the big question :

RAM : I want to put 16Gb in that new computer.

I've been looking with the memory tool, and on my usual online shop (I guess I should keep the brand out, as it's not important.) and while the shop has some "black" vengeance series 2x8Gb CL9 (part# : CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 , PC3-14900 / 1866 MHz / CL9 (9-10-9-27) / 1.5V)

I cannot find it on the compatibility tool, which also only suggest 4x4Gb modules for the mobo.

So the questions here are :

1) is that CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 a fake or have it just been forgotten in the tool ? (which would means the tool isn't up to date ?)

2) Is the tool right in only letting me choose 4x4 modules ? I mean, the mobo is able to handle 8gb per slot, in dual channel... and you know the drill, "better to keep some room for future upgrades" and/or "less slots to populate the better" (is that still important nowadays ?)

+ the fact that the heatsink/fan might take some space nearby (unconfirmed)

And as a bonus question, what do the pros think of such a config ? (if you got some spare time of course ;) ) with Windows Seven ultimate 64bits.

Taking any advice btw :)

Not all the memory they carry is in the configurator tool so , thats no big deal.

1) yes they are genuine, corsair part number.

2)

I mean, the mobo is able to handle 8gb per slot, in dual channel... and you know the drill, "better to keep some room for future upgrades" and/or "less slots to populate the better" (is that still important nowadays ?)

Not necessarily is it correct But "the drill" really no longer applies. If your planning to max out memory you should just get a matched 32 gig kit right off the bat. Corsair does not suggest or support the mixing/combining/ adding as second kit later, because of the different issues that can come from it. There is no way to guarantee correct operation or rated speeds when you use any two random kits. But you can use 8 gig modules in that MB so something like CMZ32GX3M4A1866C9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233390,

or really,

CMZ32GX3M4A1600C9 , would be a better choice with all slots filled

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233303

You may also want to look at this sticky here concerning AMD memory speeds .

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=110428

Yes, less populated slots is still the better way to go. Less slots=less stress on the memory controller and may mean higher overclocks, if thats what your planning.

Your config is fine as long as get all your memory from one single matched kit. I can't stress enough the importance there. Threads start daily with people trying to use two sets of the same exact memory and getting mixed results. But , it's that way with any memory manufacturer. Nowdays the practice of adding memory later isn't the best way to go. When they moved the memory controller from the MB to the CPU , the game changed.

Thank you for your reply, it put a lot of questions out of the way.

So you're telling me to get some 1600 since it probably "won't go higher" considering the amd sticky BUT that the 1866 could be OK since the mobo allows it (or might allow it that is), Or that the 1866 is OK with only 2 dimm slots (2x8) ("less populated less stress") ...

About the matched sticks, I knew since I read a bunch of post here lately, but I wonder if going above 16gb will prove useful ?

Anyone having a "user point of view" he'd like to share ?

I don't really plan on going Skyrim + planetside2 + "whatever big hit 3D game" at once... I am merely a human with 2 hands and 1 head, so the biggest usage I could do would be "Having a single player game going on, switched to the background because I've received an invitation in lol/dota (or such game) without enough time to save the single player game before the multiplayer game starts"

or "Rendering/compressing a video while in a game" which until recently my phenom and 4-Gb (32bits) was okay with.

There is probably people out there with more knowledge (than me) of the "required" amount of RAM the developpers are planning to use in their apps/games for the next few years , so I'm taking any advice about it :)

Concerning that particular memory ( CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 (2x8) or CMZ32GX3M4A1866C9 (4x8) ), there is a post by "Androx72" :

Problems with CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 E Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7

Which is actually stressing me out :sigh!:

same chipset, different maker, yet problem with the same memory...I think I'll be following his thread too.

(What would happen if I ordered a 32gb (4x8) kit only to find out it won't work... My wallet wouldn't ever pardon me, and most likely, would develop killing intents toward me.)

Concerning the AMD limitations, is it :

"you go X slots, so you have to set it to Y speed with Y memory or better"

or

"you go X slots, so you have to go Y speed (instead of Z speed) with Z memory"

(or in other words, is going 4x 1866 sticks at 1600MHz needed, or is going 4x1600 at 1600Mhz the same ?)

And last question for pros :

Heat dissipation. Those vengeance series seems to have decent heat spreaders, enough for such a config ? or would they need some sort of fan or specific case solution ?

(the case i'm gonna use currently has corsair AF120 fans (1 under the PSU(TX750), standard extraction point, and 1 on the front, lower part "in front of the HDD rack" (air entry, with the dust filter etc)

I don't suppose they'll turn glowing a bright red either, but i'd like to avoid stupid issues :)

So you're telling me to get some 1600 since it probably "won't go higher" considering the amd sticky BUT that the 1866 could be OK since the mobo allows it (or might allow it that is), Or that the 1866 is OK with only 2 dimm slots (2x8) ("less populated less stress") ...

Yes, 1866 with only two slots filled would be the max you could run the memory with an FX based processor. 1600MHZ with all four filled. Considering the AMD chart.

About the matched sticks, I knew since I read a bunch of post here lately, but I wonder if going above 16gb will prove useful ?

Anyone having a "user point of view" he'd like to share ?

I don't really plan on going Skyrim + planetside2 + "whatever big hit 3D game" at once... I am merely a human with 2 hands and 1 head, so the biggest usage I could do would be "Having a single player game going on, switched to the background because I've received an invitation in lol/dota (or such game) without enough time to save the single player game before the multiplayer game starts"

or "Rendering/compressing a video while in a game" which until recently my phenom and 4-Gb (32bits) was okay with.

So light gamer /rendering video...16 gig I would say would be plenty. The greater capacity may speed up your rendering times depending on how much RAM your actually using . I know users on these forums that render/ 3d models and such and run out of memory with 64 gig's*shrugs*

But if your old system kept up with what you were doing and you were okay with it then 16gigs should be plenty.

Concerning that particular memory ( CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 (2x8) or CMZ32GX3M4A1866C9 (4x8) ), there is a post by "Androx72" :

Problems with CMZ16GX3M2A1866C9 E Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7

Which is actually stressing me out

Don't let it. This is a support forum. No-one ever stiops by to say things are going great...know what I mean. Even at that, your going to see issues with ANY combination of MB and RAM there is. Punch any combination of the two in to google and you'll find something about it.

Granted, you do have cases where certain brand memory doesn't like a certain board. It does happen from time to time, with the majority of them just needing some slight adjustments to the BIOS. (how, I don't understand . All the memory manufacturers get their chips from the same basic pool of vendors. )

"you go X slots, so you have to go Y speed (instead of Z speed) with Z memory"

(or in other words, is going 4x 1866 sticks at 1600MHz needed, or is going 4x1600 at 1600Mhz the same ?)

Would be the same. There is also no sense in buying 4 1866mhz sticks if your limited to 1600mhz by the memory controller when using 4 sticks. So yes again 4 sticks of 1600mhz or 2 sticks of 1866mhz memory would be best.:) You won't notice any real world performance between 1866mhz and 1600mhz in real world applications. You would have to run a benchmark and compare the number to actually "see" it. Thats just my two cents worth though. It's your system.:)

And last question for pros :

Heat dissipation. Those vengeance series seems to have decent heat spreaders, enough for such a config ? or would they need some sort of fan or specific case solution ?

(the case i'm gonna use currently has corsair AF120 fans (1 under the PSU(TX750), standard extraction point, and 1 on the front, lower part "in front of the HDD rack" (air entry, with the dust filter etc)

Your not going to come anywhere close to getting those hot. The modules will take up to 2.0 volts before damaging the modules. Overclocking them past the rated speed and having to add voltage will add heat, but again very little.

They won't run any hotter at 1866mhz than they would at 1600mhz. If they get luke warm , you would be lucky!

(What would happen if I ordered a 32gb (4x8) kit only to find out it won't work... My wallet wouldn't ever pardon me, and most likely, would develop killing intents toward me.)

Thanks for all the infos. All hail to the peanutz !

Now i'm gonna have to decide... So I guess i'll be looking at all the corsairs available at my store...

Based upon what you told me the 2x8 would be great already, and in the meantime if anyone is having examples of what going 16gb to 32 changed for them...

Probably slightly slower in term of memory, but quite faster in heavy calculation as rendering/compression.

I guess most gamers would go for a 16GB atm (more money left for game$$$:cool:)

And suddenly, a wild bonus question appears !

The heatsink on memories are interfaced to the chip with thermal compound, right ? Since we get to change the CPU's after some time, Wouldn't it be normal to do the same with memories' ?

I've never heard yet of anyone doing this for his ram sticks... yet it would be quite logical... unless the RAM stick manufacturers have some sort of special thermal pasta that holds very well in time... or special ceramics maybe ? quite fragile then...

The heatsink on memories are interfaced to the chip with thermal compound, right ? Since we get to change the CPU's after some time, Wouldn't it be normal to do the same with memories' ?

I've never heard yet of anyone doing this for his ram sticks... yet it would be quite logical... unless the RAM stick manufacturers have some sort of special thermal pasta that holds very well in time... or special ceramics maybe ? quite fragile then...

The heatspreaders are permanently attached to the memory with a thermal tape and/or adhesive, but not anything that would need any sort of attention.. Removing them would void your warranty. Set it and forget it! :) They really don't generate much heat anyway. Like I said you would be lucky if they became warm to the touch.

Based upon what you told me the 2x8 would be great already, and in the meantime if anyone is having examples of what going 16gb to 32 changed for them...

Probably slightly slower in term of memory, but quite faster in heavy calculation as rendering/compression.

I guess most gamers would go for a 16GB atm (more money left for game$$$)

Yuppers, that would be correct. If your worried about how much memory you would really need you could always monitor your memory usage while rendering/compressing your video and judge from there. But i think you'll do just fine with what you have.

This is where doing your homework pays off on what you want your system to accomplish and how fast. The gamers benefit from smaller capacities at faster speeds, because that equates into faster smoother frame rates in games.

The video artist(as I call them) benefit from greater capacities vs speed. Often rendering/compressing data uses huge amounts of memory. Having enough so you don't run out to leave enough left for the OS and anything else you have running to operate is the key.This way there is no bottle neck to slow the system down.