Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H RAM compatability issues?

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SLiGuy

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Well, I picked up one of these boards this morning in a combo deal at Fry's with a PII X4 945 for $150. I have some concerns after reading the specifications of the board on Gigabyte's website, though.

From the spec. list:

4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory (Note 1)
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Does this mean that I can only run RAM with a maximum voltage of 1.5V? I know that Core i7s have some issues with running above 1.65V, but I haven't heard anything regarding AMD. The note only mentions RAM addressing capabilities on 32-bit OSes, nothing about the voltage.

The RAM that I was planning to purchase for this build was either this Patriot Sector 5 kit or this set of Ripjaws. However, the Patriot RAM runs at 1.65V, and neither the Patriot nor the G.Skill RAM is on the memory compatibility list (PDF file) for this board.

I want to be 100% sure that the RAM I buy will work with my system as I don't want to have to go through the hassle of returning and RMAing parts. Has anyone had experience with this board? There are no reviews on Newegg, or anywhere for that matter. Are RAM compatibility lists strict and definitive, or are they more like general guidelines? Do I play it safe and get something at a list (which will be pricier than what I've picked out) or go for it and just try to get it to work with one of the sets I've been looking at?
 
theres no real voltage limit on ddr3 ram for AMD processors like intel has.. it might just be that the sockets only support 1.5v.. was going to suggest the newegg idea but looks like you already tried that..


oh thought of another idea.. try finding a cheap maybe 1gb or 512mb stick of ddr3 ram.. something that runs at 1.5v or lower, boot up into the bios and look at the overclock settings and see if it allows you to raise the memory voltage above 1.5v if it does then the ripjaws will work fine you will just have to manually set the ram in the bios after first boot most likely..
 
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sirmonkey1985 said:
theres no real voltage limit on ddr3 ram for AMD processors like intel has.. it might just be that the sockets only support 1.5v.. was going to suggest the newegg idea but looks like you already tried that..


oh thought of another idea.. try finding a cheap maybe 1gb or 512mb stick of ddr3 ram.. something that runs at 1.5v or lower, boot up into the bios and look at the overclock settings and see if it allows you to raise the memory voltage above 1.5v if it does then the ripjaws will work fine you will just have to manually set the ram in the bios after first boot most likely..
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Yeah, I was thinking that perhaps the sockets only go up to 1.5V. It is a mATX board after all and the 880G chipset wasn't exactly designed with gaming/OC'ing in mind, which is what I'm using it for (got it in a Fry's combo with an X4 945 for cheap).

Well, crisis averted, though, at least for now. I took another look at the support memory list and found that this kit was on there. It's faster than both the Ripjaws and the Patriot kits I linked to earlier, and with the $10 off code for it, it actually becomes cheaper than the Ripjaws, and the Patriot kit has an MIR, which I despise. Went ahead and bit the bullet on this one.
 
good choice.. and its not really the chipset thats the limitation.. it actually has 0 effect on overclocking.. the problem will be the mosfets and whether or not they can handle the voltages required for overclocking.. that has always been the downfall to matx AMD boards.. the 880g is a good chipset for a budget build and single card gaming.. has all the same features its big brothers have as well.. well except in this case since this board is insanely budget and doesnt come with any sata 6gbps or usb 3.0..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
good choice.. and its not really the chipset thats the limitation.. it actually has 0 effect on overclocking.. the problem will be the mosfets and whether or not they can handle the voltages required for overclocking.. that has always been the downfall to matx AMD boards.. the 880g is a good chipset for a budget build and single card gaming.. has all the same features its big brothers have as well.. well except in this case since this board is insanely budget and doesnt come with any sata 6gbps or usb 3.0..
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How much of a difference does SATA 6GB/S and USB 3.0 make? I actually have no clue about anything regarding this since I'm relatively new to tech (stopped keeping up for awhile, my last build was in 2005!). I just picked up this board because it came with an X4 945 for cheap ($150 for the CPU+board at Fry's) and I needed something ASAP. If it makes any difference, I'm only going to be using this build for general use and moderate/medium gaming at 1440x900; mostly WoW, perhaps some BC2 and SC2, no crazy multi-GPU/super high-res/multi-monitor setups lol. I probably won't even overclock.
 
1.5v is the recomended voltage, doesnt mean 1.65+ wont work. It might even be the minimum it will go.

Also, there is no point at all in going for ram on the "compatability list". All companies use the same ICs in different kits of ram. So OCZs 1600Mhz 7-8-7s and Gskills and Corsairs are all likely the same chips. Sure there may be two or three different chips in those specs from different companies, but the same ones are being used by many OEMs. Most will use the same ICs in there different speed classes too. Most 1600Mhz kits are actually just OCed 1333Mhz ICs.

Any kit of DDR3 should work. There "might" be one or two out there that doesnt, but frankly I have never had a memory compatability issue, and havent heard of one since DDR, which is a different story.


SATA3 and USB3 wont matter to you unless you are doing some serious RAID0 arrays, or happen to have a USB3 device that doesnt have eSATA.


Anyway, I recomend this kit,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

No trouble running 1800Mhz 7-8-7-24 1.4v. Can bench them at 6-7-6-18 1675Mhz as well.
 
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Cecil said:
1.5v is the recomended voltage, doesnt mean 1.65+ wont work. It might even be the minimum it will go.

Also, there is no point at all in going for ram on the "compatability list". All companies use the same ICs in different kits of ram. So OCZs 1600Mhz 7-8-7s and Gskills and Corsairs are all likely the same chips. Sure there may be two or three different chips in those specs from different companies, but the same ones are being used by many OEMs. Most will use the same ICs in there different speed classes too. Most 1600Mhz kits are actually just OCed 1333Mhz ICs.

Any kit of DDR3 should work. There "might" be one or two out there that doesnt, but frankly I have never had a memory compatability issue, and havent heard of one since DDR, which is a different story.


SATA3 and USB3 wont matter to you unless you are doing some serious RAID0 arrays, or happen to have a USB3 device that doesnt have eSATA.


Anyway, I recomend this kit,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

No trouble running 1800Mhz 7-8-7-24 1.4v. Can bench them at 6-7-6-18 1675Mhz as well.
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Coincidentally, the kit you recommended is on the compatibility list :p

Considering that I won't be overclocking and that I'm trying to build on a budget, is the kit you linked to me THAT much faster at stock speeds than the one I picked out, which will end up being about $15-20 cheaper with that $10 off code? I'm not trying to slam your decision or anything and I appreciate the advice, I'm just honestly curious if it's worth the extra dough.

Sorry on my part as well, I should have mentioned that I'm budget-conscious with this new build of mine. My bad.
 
To me it would be, since tight timings is very helpful with AMD. Even if you arent going to OC, if you have tighter timings and a decent NB speed it would give a healthy boost in performance.
 
Cecil said:
To me it would be, since tight timings is very helpful with AMD. Even if you arent going to OC, if you have tighter timings and a decent NB speed it would give a healthy boost in performance.
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in benchmarks probably but in reality there isnt much difference.. the use of ram timing died with DDR2.. about the only timing that actually matters anymore is the CAS timing.. other then that you wouldnt see a difference except in synthetic benchmarks.. the limitation for AMD is the DDR3 IMC.. though i alot of that could also be caused by the DDR2 IMC being on the same chip.


SLiGuy.. unless you give a crap about a program loading .0001 seconds faster then go with the ram you were planning to go with.. if you want to overclock then just drop the multiplier on the ram to ddr3 1333 and overclock the crap out of the processor..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
in benchmarks probably but in reality there isnt much difference.. the use of ram timing died with DDR2.. about the only timing that actually matters anymore is the CAS timing.. other then that you wouldnt see a difference except in synthetic benchmarks.. the limitation for AMD is the DDR3 IMC.. though i alot of that could also be caused by the DDR2 IMC being on the same chip.


SLiGuy.. unless you give a crap about a program loading .0001 seconds faster then go with the ram you were planning to go with.. if you want to overclock then just drop the multiplier on the ram to ddr3 1333 and overclock the crap out of the processor..
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Thats true if you are talking 8-8-8 vs 7-8-7 or 7-7-7, but 9-9-9 to 7-8-7 will make a noticable difference in memory intensive apps. Raring and un-raring files is one I can think of that will see a difference.
Also, tRCD means more then Cas latency with AM3. Its also the hardest to get low, which is why you see so many sets with a higher tRCD then the rest.

Also, 1600Mhz bandwith shows a decent improvement over 1333 when the NB is turned up high enough to releave the bottleneck.
 
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