BruceMac Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Hey, I'm planning my new build. I really want 8 GB so I can run multiple VM's. I've read all the problems getting 4 sticks to work reliably. Of course, I'd like "fast" memory but I need 100% stability (not planning to OC). Would running, e.g., 4 sticks of 1066 Dominator (e.g., 2 x TWIN2X4096-8500C5D) @ 800 MHz in a P45 board be a safe bet? Or to get 100% stability with all 4 DIMM slots populated is it necessary to use FB-DIMMs, like the latest Maximum PC dream machine? I wasn't planning on spending the $ for a 2-socket motherboard though. Is DDR3 any better or worse in this regard than DDR2? I need to decide between DDR-2 and -3 as well. Would an X48 board be better with 4 DIMMs than a P45-based board? I haven't bought a mobo yet, so I'm trying to make a smart choice now and not box myself into a corner or have grief down the road. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I run 8GB on a P5K-Premium with a Xeon 3110 running at 4.0Ghz and use this machine for virtualization. I have found that 4 X 1066Mhz and 500MHz FSB X 8 works solidly stable. Many don't make this though and have to drop to 450 X 9 for the 4.0Ghz. Stable both ways though. Even so, this does not mean you will get what I did on the DRAM. I feel lucky to have made 1000Mhz with 8GB but the P5K-Premium is a VERY good board for DRAM. My virtualization machine is: P5K-Premium Xeon 3110 3.0Ghz @ 4.0Ghz 4 X 2048 8500C5 --> Twin2X4096-8500C5DHX @ 1000Mhz http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=189361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMac Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 Thanks DerekT, Any idea if DDR3 changes things re: running 4 sticks? I'm thinking of a Q9550 which at 1333 MHz FSB ought to match well with DDR3 @ 1333, but I don't know if I'd have any better luck with 4 DIMMs of that, than e.g., running a 1066 MHz CPU with DDR2 @ 1066. I was hoping to stay away from having to overclock on this machine. I want something very stable for work, and to stay with air cooling. Cheers, Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 If you do not want to overclock, then you wan to buy DDR3 DRAM that does not require a concurrent CPU FSB raise to run. For a 333Mhz FSB processor, you want 1333Mhz DDR3. For a 400Mhz FSB processor, you want 1600Mhz DDR3. If you run with 4 slots, then 1600Mhz DDR3 dropped to 1333Mhz should be the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMac Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 OK, so even for DDR3, you think I need to buy faster DDR3 and downclock it to 1333 to get stability with 4 slots? I was hoping to get away with DDR3-1333 -- DDR3-1600 seems quite a bit more expensive. :roll: Thanks again, Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted October 17, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted October 17, 2008 Yes that is true if you want to run 8 Gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMac Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Thanks for your help guys! OK, just one more question then ... Do you think an X38/X48 board give me a better chance of success than a P45 board? I'm looking at perhaps an Asus P5E3-Deluxe (X38) vs. the P5Q-Deluxe (P45). The Asus P5E3-Premium (X48) is quite a bit more money, although the Intel "Bonetrail" X48 board isn't much more than the Asus P5E3-Deluxe. Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to pull the trigger on this new build and don't want to paint myself into a corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Thanks for your help guys! OK, just one more question then ... Do you think an X38/X48 board give me a better chance of success than a P45 board? I'm looking at perhaps an Asus P5E3-Deluxe (X38) vs. the P5Q-Deluxe (P45). The Asus P5E3-Premium (X48) is quite a bit more money, although the Intel "Bonetrail" X48 board isn't much more than the Asus P5E3-Deluxe. Sorry for all the questions, but I really want to pull the trigger on this new build and don't want to paint myself into a corner. I would go with P35 with DDR2 and X48 with DDR3 personally. I am not at all big on the Intel boards as their memory translation throughput on benchmarks are not as robust as ASUS. Research HEAVILY! Do NOT be apologetic for research. This IS the best method to forestall the plethora of possible issues that can arise. My advice is not to go with state of the art. I advise to drop down to the more mature hardware that has gone through revisions. The P5K-Premium (P35) (Black Pearl - third iteration) board is the most stable Core 2 board I have ever seen, bar none! It runs with Micron D9, and any DRAM I have ever put in it works. It is my testing bench board. I have worked with all chipsets. X38/48 is more problematic than many chipsets and I am not at all pleased with it but that is due to overclock issues and DRAM inconsistencies. The issue with a four DRAM slot population is irrespective of the mainboard, chipset and DRAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMac Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thanks again Derek. So is it OK to run the memory asynchronously from the CPU? For example, on a P35 or P45, to run 4x2GB (DDR2) @ 800MHz, with the CPU @ 1333 MHz? From what I can figure out, to run both memory and CPU at 1333, I'm looking at $500-$600 for 8 GB of DDR3-1600 running at 1333, + $400 for a good Asus X48 mobo (the P5E64 WS EVOLUTION looks like it might be good, although it doesn't seem to be well known). By comparison, the P5K-Premium is under $200, and 8 GB of Dominator DDR2-1066 is < $300 with MIR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Of course it is fine to run asynchronously. Synchronously would be 533Mhz DRAM with a Core2 266FSB processor. 667Mhz with a 333Mhz FSB processor and 800Mhz with the Newest Quad Extreme. Anything above those speeds for those processor is asynchronously. That's why it is better at this time to go with DDR2 and low latencies than DDR3 and higher latencies. The difference is mainly theoretical anyway. It's your money, but the difference between P5K-Premium and 1066 @ 5-5-5-15 and P5E3 with 1600 @ 9-9-9-24 is not worth the money. If you populate with four DRAM slots it is advised that you drop the bandwidth anyway. Might as well drop with the less expensive DRAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceMac Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thanks for the good advice Derek. I'm going to buy 8 GB of fast DDR2 and downclock as necessary to get stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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