8GB or 12GB for ram???

[mark454]

Hi all
I am looking at getting a new PC with the:
2600K 1155 cpu
asus 580 GTX
P8P67 delux MB asus
Corsair vengence 8GB or Corsair 12GB vengence ram????
1TB WD black cavier HD
650 PSU
thermaltake black chaser case

Is there any advantage to getting 12 GB now or just get 8 GB to start with? Is there a certain number of GB's to use eg: 2, 4, 8, 12, 16. Should I get 2, 3, or 4 sticks of 4GB or what? And understanding the numbers when you find latency in 9 9 9 24, could anyone explain this?

I'll be using it for games, photoshop, cad drawing, downloading movies etc.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[glc]

1155 motherboards are dual channel, so buy your ram in pairs, not singles or threes.

I'd recommend a Z68 board instead of a P67.

[Masaki 7-11]

Ram is dirt cheap right now, might as well max out with 16GB of ram. You can get two sets of two right now for as low as $90 depending on the brand and model.

[glc]

$90? Not in Australia..........

Buy Cheap Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) Vengeance Low Profile Memory - PC3 12800

[Khalil]

I would not waste money on the i7-2600K and would get the i5-2500 instead.

[birddog_61]

If your gaming then 8gb is way plenty, I have never seen my memory usage go over 5gb and that was gaming with several other programs open. If your doing some major video editing or something like that then feel free to max it out.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by glc $90? Not in Australia.......... Buy Cheap Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) Vengeance Low Profile Memory - PC3 12800

hmm... that's really weird since last i looked the australian dollar was higher than both Canadian and American dollar.

Actually looked through the site and there are less expensive ram sticks, just from different brands.
Got a 8GB set of mushkin DDR3 for $52: http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-37140780...DR3_240_pin_DI (just checked again and it looks like they're sold out).

What's the deal with G.Skill? I used to use them many years back and they were fine, started using the Ripjaws recently since they're dirt cheap and haven't had any problems with these either.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 hmm... that's really weird since last i looked the australian dollar was higher than both Canadian and American dollar. Actually looked through the site and there are less expensive ram sticks, just from different brands. Got a 8GB set of mushkin DDR3 for $52: Buy Cheap Mushkin 8GB (2x 4GB) Dual Channel Mmeory Kit - PC3 10666 (13 (just checked again and it looks like they're sold out). What's the deal with G.Skill? I used to use them many years back and they were fine, started using the Ripjaws recently since they're dirt cheap and haven't had any problems with these either.

I have not trusted the RipJaws since the P55 chipset. Mushkin can be very finicky, I would only trust them if they are on the motherboards QVL.

[David M]

There is this idea out there that more RAM makes your computer run faster. What is true is that your computer will run slower if your processes need more RAM than is available.

[mark454]

Why the Z68 and not the P67?

I thought that if your going to overclock the Z68 is the way to go (aren't they a bit fiddly to sort out) and the P67 works just fine as I'm not going to overclock?

I'll probably stick with 2 sticks of 4GB of vengence and if need be get 2 more down the track.

[glc]

The Z68 is what the P67 should have been, and it's the other way around. The P67 has issues.

[jdeb]

The Z68 supports the Intel SRT (Smart Response Technology) that will allow you to use a small SSD (under 64GB) to cache application data to speed up the overall performance in boot and access time giving you performance that is close to that of a much larger SSD. The second feature on most Z68 boards is the ability to use the IGP (Intergraded Graphics on Processor). By allowing you to use the IGP you can use them for back up graphics and with the use of Lucidlogix Virtu software to switch between a dedicated graphics card and the Intel Quick Sync. This will give you best overall performance for the application on hand.

In terms of overclocking, both chip-sets are quite capable on the CPU side. The Z68 allows the IGP overclocking. From a benchmark perspective, the P67 chip-set is slightly faster but not noticeable in the majority of builds. However, I am using the P67 chip-set these days for workstation builds for CPU/GPU intensive applications. My preferred board is the Asus Sabertooth P67. On the AMD side, ASUS Sabertooth 990FX.

[mark454]

So I might as well look at getting the Asus P8Z68-V Pro, the P8Z68 Delux is about $100 more and I think more for overclocking. The V Pro should be enough for me at this stage.
So I'll get 2 X 4GB of corsair Ram and the asus V Pro MB.
Thanks for all your help.

[glc]

If you are only going to be running one video card, even the P8Z68-V LE is good enough.

[mark454]

If I did get another video card down the track would I be better off with the P8Z68-Pro or Delux versions?
I was thinking that I could get another 2 more 4GB sticks of ram and maybe another card to upgrade in a couple of years.
Any thoughts?

[glc]

The P8Z68-V is good enough for 2 cards - the Pro and Deluxe don't bring you any more to the table except features. However, the LE is not ideal for 2 cards.

For two 580's, you will need about a 1000 watt PSU.

[mark454]

I think I will get the P8Z68 Pro version and go from there, the information you gave me is food for thought and much appreciated.

thanks