PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Case - Antec Titan (to fit Scope Pro)

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ (Yorkfield - 45nm)

CPU Cooler - Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775)
Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan - 3 Pin

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2

Hard Drives - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache x 2

RAM - 2 x Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2x1GB) 1066MHz DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered Non-ECC CL7 DIMM Memory (KVR1066D2N7K2/2G)

Graphics - Gigabyte 8600GT GV-NX86T512H (fanless model)


I am having probs with the memory - I want the fastest (bang for bucks) memory the Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 can take - I'm not sure about this voltage thing - the motherboard has 1.8v memory slots but most of the fast RAM is at 2.0-2.2V - the OCZ stuff above is recommened by Gigabyte but I have heard G.Skill memory is really good and tweakable.
I am going for 4Gb - (this is to be used by Kontakt 3)

if the motherboard requires 1.8v, then you MUST use 1.8v.

intel motherboards are also this way. i've had excellent results with regular old kingston value ram. they make the fast sticks in 1.8v. there are others, but you'll have to shop carefully. the mainthing is to just buy from a reputable manufacturer and you shouldn't have problems.

Thanks Garyb , I went on Kingston's website and they had the gigabyte motherboard listed with the RAM which was compatible

I have edited the listing above

I went on Crucial and Corsair website and they listed compatible RAM with the above exact motherboard but some of the RAM was rated at 2.0-2.2V. Even compatible RAM listed on Gigabyte's website have different voltages - perhaps the voltage needs changing on the BIOS - or there is no problem?

perhaps. if the motherboard requires 1.8v, then i wouldn't bother with anything else, for stability's sake.

the other ram manufacturers would normally be the first one's i went to, but really, the kingston will work just great and it exactly meets the required spec, no?.

I'll start the build when I can get hold of the new Intel Processors (it's out 15th March).
I'll post how I'm getting on...I'm off to the pub now

I remember I avoided that problem changing the mother board. Intel boards, with all the good things they give you, have this problem. They rarely support more than 1.8 volts, which is so strange to me, as the best ram sticks of the market start from 2 volts and up.
Perhaps there are already Intel boards supporting more than 2 volts, I don’t know. But if you can, swap your board for a new one that suits high voltage ram.
Well, don’t get crazy about it either… it all depends on what you want to do. If it is ONLY for audio, you don’t actually need more power that the offered by the 1.8 section, particularly if you are not willing to tweak your system at all. Now, in my case, I do some hard video editing, so I need a perfect ram work. And I know that in the future I will take advantage of the 2.2 volts I have now, because I’m planning to accelerate the ram a bit, they are meant for it.

now that sounds really reassuring to me
choice...the magic word

Of course it is reassuring: use 1.8 sticks for 1.8 mobo and 2.2 sticks for 2.2 mobo, any simpler?

I'm going for pretty similar setup. Although, I chose IP35 PRO S775 as motherboard and OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum XTC Dual Channel is the best memory I could find.

Well, and different graphics card and hard drives... but hey, at least we are for the same CPU

the mobo seems ok, for the ram I think the voltage is not an issue, 1.8 is the reference voltage stated by the jedec standard for ddr2, so this is reported in the specs to say "it is compliant", but most mobos and modules will just work at 2 and above (this what is done regularly to oc the ram frequency, in that case the problem is for the memory modules, it is not the mobo that will be fried... ).
The voltage is set by the mobo: memory, if it can, will follow. If it cannot, it will not work at all or *fry*.
Over-volting memory is necessary to obtain higher frequencies/lower timings for certain modules (so, oc'ed and out of standard jedec specifications), i.e. if your module is certified to work at 5-5-5-14 @ 667MHz/1.8V it'll probably work at 4-4-4-12 @675MHz/1.9V.
BUT, if your module is already rated at 4-4-4-12 @ 675MHz and 1.8V it will not require overvolting to work in that situation.
For example you could use modules rated at a higher frequency that, at your mobo frequency, will work under-volted, ddr2-1033 down to ddr2-800, this way the voltage required will be reduced. For these values you should read the specs for working modes of the specific modules by the vendor.

More voltage = More heat = More instability.

So, usually - obviously looking at the price - it is preferable not to buy "value" ram, which is certified for lower frequencies and longer timings but higher performance ram which exhibits better timings at the *same* voltage.

Take into account that shorter timings or some more MHz won't benefit for more than some 3-5% of the total performance depending on the pc and on the particular task, so - especially for a daw - there will be hardly some noticeable difference.

Kingston is a well known brand, probably Corsair or OCZ should offer better price/performance ratio.

cheers
Fede

Can't do the build yet - the CPU still not availble -out of stock.

I would like a nice graphics card - are there any QUIET graphics cards (apart from the fanless ones) - how easy is it to change the fans on them if the fans are crappy?

What's wrong with fanless gfx cards? I just got me a Sapphire 3870 "ultimate", which comes with a nice passive heatpipe design, with the cooling fins on the backside of the card. and it _is_ quite a fast gfx card for a decent price, methinks. Only downside, the cooling fins bring the heat closer to the cpu, so that is some degrees warmer than it would be otherwise, but with a half decent cpu cooler, there's still rich plenty of margin of any critical temps. just make sure your altogether case venting is generous and don't move to a desert, then it should be fine.
cheers

I did actually want to order a fanless card but clicked the wrong link and ended up with a graphiice card with a 'silent' Zalman cooler fitted that was £40 less. So I'll try that - if it's too noisy (I think unlikely) I'll get the ASUS EN9600GT SILENT - this is the fastest slient card i've seen

http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l ... odelmenu=1

Got the memory now! The build is on!