GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

[owr084]

I just purchased an EP45C-DS3R motherboard yesterday. I plan on using it in a home theater/server role.

I have an Intel Q6600 that I plan to overclock to ~3.2ghz.

I have not bought memory for the board yet. I am not sure about going with DDR2 or DDR3 - cost/performace will be a factor (i.e., is having more DDR2 memory because it's cheaper better than a smaller amount of DDR3). Since I want to overclock, what speed DDR2 and DD3 memory do you recommend?

Also, it was not until after I purchased the board that I noticed the "ATi Crossfire X Technology." Does that mean that the Nvidia 9800GT card I purchased will not work? Or does it mean that an ATI card will work better?

[Dweirdo]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

Q6600 multi is 8 right? i say of course if u have the money go for ddrIII, but for now ddr 3 is bull****, the extra little performance u gain is minor.
ill stick with a good mushkin DDR2 instead, Xp2\3 are the best, 4GB ddr2>>>>>>>2GB DDR III as far as i know.
if the multi is 8 as i remember and u plan to get to 3.2' u'll have no problem with DDR 2 800MHZ (400mhz*8) and if u push the FSB more it will be fine as well.
about the CFX thing, thx 9800GT will work for sure,and tbh its just bs :D cause the P45 mother boards do have 2PCI-Ex16 2.0 but linked they are 8X, so u wont have the best performance with crossfire,on the other hand the X48\X38 are great for cfx.
if im not mistaken, the CFX thing is just like on a PSU, "SLI READY" if its sli ready so does it mean it wont work with CF? XD
i hope u see my point :P

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

Ya, you would be better off with more DDR2, 6400 or 8500 would both be fine.

You can use your card as above mentioned, but only ONE of them. You cannot use crossfire/x with 2 nvidia cards, they must be ATI. But again, yes the card you have will run the same as it would on any board by itself

[owr084]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to go with most DDR2 I can get for my $$$. Any particular brands to consider or stay away from?

I'm not trying to build the ultimate gaming system, so just the one video card will do ;)

BTW - the response here was a lot faster than using the gigabyte site - my question still has not been read after two days

[Dweirdo]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

i experienced problems with corsair+gigabyte, just get a mushkin :DDD
btw what PSU do you have?
i recommend getting 4870! and not 9800Gt!in most of the game the 4870 is better than the 4850 in about 30%!!!!
and the 4850 is slightly better than the 9800gt, well not slightly, just better.

[owr084]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

I have not gotten a PSU yet. I figure on at least a 650W because I'll have four 1 terabyte drives in Raid 5 and a 640 gig boot drive in the case.

The 4870 is outside of my budget. The 4850 is comparable to the 9800GT, but I plan to use linux and the nvidia drivers are more stable for what I need (video playback).

[Dweirdo]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

I have not gotten a PSU yet. I figure on at least a 650W because I'll have four 1 terabyte drives in Raid 5 and a 640 gig boot drive in the case.

The 4870 is outside of my budget. The 4850 is comparable to the 9800GT, but I plan to use linux and the nvidia drivers are more stable for what I need (video playback).

i see.. well i think an ENERMAX 525W or corsair 550 will be enough for you,eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts
this is a good wattage calculator so u can plan it very well.

[bilbat]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

I agree with DDR2 - reviews I've read say latencies simply go up with speed, and you wind up with a few percent memory transaction speed increase for lotsa bucks:

NE 4G (2x2) cheapest kits:
Mushkin DDR2-800 $ 65
Mushkin DDR3-1333 $175

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45C-DSR3 Recommended Memory?

Mushkin, G.Skill, and Geil all tested on my end, several Models and variations, and they all work great with Gigabyte boards. I will soon be doing some Crucial Testing here in a week or so, but have not tested any with P45 as of yet.

Mushkin, the Black models are the best, Blue second best.

G.Skill models ending in K are the best, Models ending in Q are the second best

Geil, I am not sure about which are the better ones as I have only tested 2 sets myself

Yes, be sure you not only do not skimp on the PSU's wattage, also be sure you do not skimp in the Quality as well. A PSU is the most Important part of your setup, and no matter what you have heard or been told a Single Rail PSU is best