RAM voltage and power consumption
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 4:58 am
I need to buy 8GB DDR3 for my new motherboard (MSI 990FXA-GD80) and was wondering if there's any significant benefit in terms of heat or power consumption with 1.65v vs 1.5v vs 1.35v?
I've got to get low-profile RAM as rather stupidly the 990FXA-GD80 forces you to use slots 1 (nearest the CPU) and 3 for dual channel operation, and the Corsair Vengeance I bought last month won't fit in slot 1 under the fan on my TRUE rev.C.
The 1.35v RAM I saw is the Mushkin Blackline at £36 http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Oth ... perSpecial
The 1.65v Corsair XMS3 is a bit cheaper (£30) http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4 ... -9-27-165v
The 1.5v Corsair XMS3 (and other 1.5v) is the most expensive at £41.76 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4 ... 9-9-24-15v
I've seen some 1.5v Crucial Rendition, which would be the cheapest at £26 for 8GB, but I think I'd prefer something with some sort of cover/heat spreader http://www.ebuyer.com/291000-crucial-4g ... 1264ba1339
I realise the Rendition is 1333Mhz whilst the rest are 1600Mhz, but the tests I've seen don't seem to show much benefit and there's no guarantee anything would run at 1600Mhz with a Phenom II X4 (which only officially supports 1333Mhz). If I recall correctly, running 1333Mhz with tighter timings (i.e. tighter than 9-9-9-24) gives more of a boost, but of course I don't know if that's going to work with the Rendition either.
I've got to get low-profile RAM as rather stupidly the 990FXA-GD80 forces you to use slots 1 (nearest the CPU) and 3 for dual channel operation, and the Corsair Vengeance I bought last month won't fit in slot 1 under the fan on my TRUE rev.C.
The 1.35v RAM I saw is the Mushkin Blackline at £36 http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Oth ... perSpecial
The 1.65v Corsair XMS3 is a bit cheaper (£30) http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4 ... -9-27-165v
The 1.5v Corsair XMS3 (and other 1.5v) is the most expensive at £41.76 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4 ... 9-9-24-15v
I've seen some 1.5v Crucial Rendition, which would be the cheapest at £26 for 8GB, but I think I'd prefer something with some sort of cover/heat spreader http://www.ebuyer.com/291000-crucial-4g ... 1264ba1339
I realise the Rendition is 1333Mhz whilst the rest are 1600Mhz, but the tests I've seen don't seem to show much benefit and there's no guarantee anything would run at 1600Mhz with a Phenom II X4 (which only officially supports 1333Mhz). If I recall correctly, running 1333Mhz with tighter timings (i.e. tighter than 9-9-9-24) gives more of a boost, but of course I don't know if that's going to work with the Rendition either.