Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

[Technophile]

Hello,

First time poster long time site reader.
My question has to do with running 4 dimms in either the GA-790XTA-UD4 or GA-790XTA-UD5. I am looking at the boards because of the Sata 6Gb and USB 3.0 to protect my investment for longer.

I have never run 4 sticks before and recent perusal of the net tells me it will strain the memory controller and force a lower bus speed. ie 1333 becomes 800 on some boards.

I am wondering , both what i can expect with these board or if I can cheat and buy faster ram and have it clocked back less. The thinking was if the 1333 would clock back to 800 then maybe the 1600 would clock back to 1066 or 1333. In specific i was looking at the G.Skill eco series ram modules.

-G.Skill Eco (4x2GB) DDR3 1333
-G.Skill Eco (4x2GB) DDR3 1600

The other nice thing about this ram is the voltage is 1.35 so it should leave alot of head room. As i understand it the ram is designed with Intel in mind but the Mainboard manual states voltages between 1.275 and 2.445 are available and i seen a few reviews with 2 ecos on AMD so I think it should work.

In short, i suppose i am asking the max memory bus speed with 4 dimms.

Other system stats would be something like:
AMD phenom II black quad
ATI 58XX video card (sorta hoping those 6 port cards drop soon)
Win 7 64
some hard drives while i wait for 6gb SSD's

Thanks in advance for any help or insight anyone can provide.


P.S. - Someone may want to update the "what year is it" security question.

[artdrivers]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

If you are purchasing Gskill you will want to go to the ram configurator. Then select motherboard manufacturer and model then select one of the memory modules from the list. This will insure you get a supported memory for the motherboad you choose. Here is the Gskill Ram configurator. ----> G.SKILL-Search

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

Right, well its not in that list. This ram is designed for use with i5 and i7 chips,as stated above, hence the lower voltage.

It's also not on this list from Gigabytes site.(Edit: I mean the supported memory list available on that page, it does show 10 G.skill dimms in the list)

One review for this board on Newegg states:

Runs 8GB of Patriot 1600 at 1333 using 7,7,7,20 without any modifications.

Also, a TechReaction user has posted a review of this ram working with One of the two boards i am looking at...though only 2 dimms.

this ram requires a tad more voltage on AMD platforms to acchieve rated speeds however this is not all to uncommon with porting ram tuned for a diff plaform - Chew* (1.424v was his setting)

I apologize if i was unclear in my questions. I will restate them.

1. If 4 dimms of 1333 clocks to 800 would 1600 clock to a higher frequency(1333 or 1066) or could i still expect it to clock to 800.

2. What is the max memory bus speed i can expect from a Gigabyte board with 4 dimms installed.

If you would like to make a recommendation for my build I would consider your advice.

[artdrivers]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

Runs 8GB of Patriot 1600 at 1333 using 7,7,7,20 without any modifications.

"Runs" (using 7-7-7-20) is a timing adjustment, and may or may not stress test without errors. The bios for that motherboard will set the voltage on the memory to 1.5v.
The memory controller is in the cpu. Not the motherboard. So to correctly answer your question it would depend on the cpu. Phenom II cpu's are rated to run at DDR1333 Athlon II's are rated to run at DDR1066. These are the maximum ratings. It is possible to get them to run at higher speeds but you are overclocking the memory controller. Sometimes this is obtained by adjusting voltages and or timings. This is sometimes, (not always) with good results. I would recommend getting memory supported for the motherboard. This will insure success on installation.

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

I can understand it may or may not stress test with out errors but wouldn't these sticks hit 7-7-7-20 on their own? I also understand that reveiw leaves a lot to be desired but i don't see any reason to doubt its authenticity. Yes, these are patriot sticks but they show that what i want (4x2 1333 at good latency) is possible, i just want to try it at better voltages.

I understand the MB will set the voltage to 1.5 but also that it can be adjusted.

I have no idea why i figured the memory controller was on the north bridge, i read alot of tech stuff and that must have got jumbled along the way. I see now that it was unnecessary to seek-out a forum dedicated to gigabyte for this matter as it seems to have little to do with the board it self.

As mentioned in the post above i am planing on using a phenom ii and according to wiki they should all will run DDR3 at 1333 on AM3, which this board is. I may have not mentioned it, but the goal was always to run 8Gb at 1333 with low latencies and low voltages. I never had plans to run at 1600. The only reason 1600 was in my mind was to clock it back and go for better latency, which I am not even sure is possible, hence asking.

I was under the impression that i would be able to run this ram at near 1.5v and 1333 with good latencies thereby not needing to go over the JEDEC spec for DDR3 which i assumed would be better for the system in the long run.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

[artdrivers]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

I believe you mean GA-790XTA-UD4 or GA-790FXTA-UD5 I'm sorry for my confusion.

The bios for that motherboard will set the voltage on the memory to 1.5v.

I misquoted I'm sorry. I got my motherboards mixed up. (GA790XT-UD4P and GA-MA790FXT-UD5P is the board I quoted from.) I was misleading you here. My mistake.
DRAM Voltage Control for GA-790XTA-UD4 & GA-790FXTA-UD5 motherboards.
Allows you to set memory voltage.
Normal Supplies the memory voltage as required. (Default)
1.275V ~ 2.445V The adjustable range is from 1.275V to 2.445V.
Note: Increasing memory voltage may result in damage to the memory or reduce the useful life of the memory.
I don't know whether the intel based memory will or will not work properly first hand. I do know that I have seen alot of posts in this forum with issues with intel based memory in an AMD system. Anywhere from no boot to constant BSOD's and reboots. More on the AMD790xt chipset than the AMD790FXT chipset. But these were not the GA-790XTA-UD4 & GA-790FXTA-UD5 motherboards.
This has just been observed in my research here.
If you install memory which is designed and supported for intel P55 series motherboards. You may be asking for more problems than you want with an AMD based system. Someone really should contact GSKILL and have them update the list for this new line of motherboards. Their memory configurator does not include the newer GA-790XTA-UD4 & GA-790FXTA-UD5. It does however include the older GA790XT-ud4p and GA-MA-790FXT-UD5P Again I'm sorry. Here is Gskills phone number. It may be better if you contact and ask them directly. Please be sure they are aware that this is a new line of motherboards by Gigabyte. ----> Tel : 886-2-2766-7889 (USA Technical support phone number 1-9095986860)
G.SKILL-Products

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

I do not understand the need for your apology.

While the motherboard may have been unclear, the bulk of the advice remains the same (use ram on the supported list). The fact that this is a newboard that has not seen as much testing (yet) does not change that, it also does not change the fact that, no matter how stubborn i am, it is good advice.

I understand there may be compatibility issues, and that i could damage something playing in the bios. Having said that these sticks state " Intel core i5 & i7" yet G.Skill feedback never mentions that that should be an issue even for persons posting their use of AMD chipsets and boards.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that these are new boards and the eco series ram is fairly new too. It is also now marked as "Low voltage 1.35V DDR3 Dual Channel Eco friendly memory" and vender agnostic on newegg (not G.Skills site though)

I will contact G.Skill in the forums there about these new boards (there are three in the set) and post my learnings here.

This sticky from the G.skill forum seems to tell me that getting 1600 and dropping the speed would allow me to tighten the timings (providing i can get the ram i choose to run in the board i want).

Last time i bother you today.
Buying dual or quad sets of ram 2x2 + 2x2 = 4x2 unless that ram is paired/matched for optimum performance, right? ie. 2 dual channel kits should be as good as one quad channel set.

Once again you were never out of line and there was no need to apologize.
Thanks again.

[artdrivers]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

Well thank you.

Last time i bother you today.
Buying dual or quad sets of ram 2x2 + 2x2 = 4x2 unless that ram is paired/matched for optimum performance, right? ie. 2 dual channel kits should be as good as one quad channel set.

This is a fairly hard one for me to answer. Let me explain why. I have 2 sets of memory on this system which I purchased at different times. They were brand new and sealed packages. I am using now they all have the same exact part numbers, but are clearly different. More on this http://forums.tweaktown.com/f73/king...0-shows-32817/
As you can see they are clearly different with the same part number purchased at different times and have different trfc timings. You can buy ram at different times and with the same exact part number and get different memory. The real catch here is they work better than the replacement RAM from Kingston. So I sent the replacement RAM back. It was 4 identical sticks but 2 dual channel kits. I believe that they offer 2 dual channel kits and usually it is better to get them all at the same time. I do not see why 8GB's of memory supported for that motherboard should not work. I would definitely buy it in 4GB's each dual kit with any X86_64bit OS. Maybe my answer will be informative.

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

Hmm, i see...so what your telling me is it is a bit of a crap shoot.
Good to hear that 2x2+2x2 >= 4x4 though.

I tried joining G.skill forums and got " Your account has been activated but you are currently in the moderation queue to be added to the forum."
maybe i will call them after all.


Edit: Tried calling it were busy, left a post on the forum...no response yet
Edit: on a second look newegg does state "Designed Specifically for Socket LGA 1156 Intel Core i5 & i7 CPUs"

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

artdrivers it seems i should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry...you'll see why ahead.

I Rechecked the Motherboard support list provided by Gigabyte seems they do not like to list quad sets...these are the ones i could find on Newegg Canada that are listed for the UD4...I supose i should of listen to you from the start.

That list includes G.SKILL ECO Series (2 x 2GB) 1600 Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO

So, if the Mainboard makers say it works that doesn't mean it the specs are guaranteed i suppose.

Also no update from G.skill yet

And a good Thread for these dimms here.

Also an apology to everyone else for the double post.

[artdrivers]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

It's ok apology accepted.

So, if the Mainboard makers say it works that doesn't mean it the specs are guaranteed i suppose.

Memory QVL for a GA-790XTA-UD4 http://www.gigabyte.us/FileList/Memo...790xta-ud4.pdf
Gigabyte has a memory support list. This list shows memory modules they have tried. That they had on hand at the time. Sometimes they only try a single module and sometimes they try dual channel, and triple channel sets. They rarely if ever update this list. It is definitely an incomplete list. The memory manufacturers are coming out with new modules quite often. Alot more often than the motherboard manufacturers are. This is a big reason why we should use the memory manufacturers recommendations, or RAM configurator for that. That's providing it is not a new line of motherboards. This is why you would want to contact them directly, or use the motherboards memory support list. Some just role the dice on this which is where many errors and issues emerge.

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

I can understand that.

It seems as though they were trying to test one of each type of G.Skills current line up.

the list includes:
Pi
Trident
Perfect Storm
RipJaw
and NQ

SO i would guess most of the other modules in those series do work but after showing (edit:basic)compatibility with the series they move on.

[Technophile]

Re: Prepurchase Questions GA-790XTA-UD4 or UD5

Sorry for the double post

A G.skill tech got back to me on the forums:

It is hard to list qualified memory packages because it depends on the CPU as well. Certain AMD CPUs are limited to speed or number of modules. With the three motherboards you listed, any DDR3-1600 CL8 should work if you have a AMD Phenom II x4 965 for example. The ECO series can be used, but most AMD motherboards can't fully utilize its special 1.35V feature since default is set to 1.60V.

Any DDR3-1600 CL8 or DDR3-1333 CL7 would provide the best results.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Still not in the configurator.

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