Hi I have 2x1Gb sticks of Kingston Hyper X KHX14400D3K2/2GN DDR3 memory...I also have the Gigabyte Xtreme X58 core i7 motherboard.. I have seen this other speed of Kingston memory the "Kingston 'HyperX' 3GB (3 X 1GB) 'Intel® XMP' DDR3 2000MHz CL9 Non-ECC Triple Channel Kit (KHX16000D3K3/3GX" So here's my question to you computer parts people. Would I be able to use the 2x1GB sticks of "Kingston Hyper X KHX14400D3K2/2GN DDR3" volt 1.9 and the 3x1GB sticks of Kingston (KHX16000D3K3/3GX at the same time in the Gigabyte Xtreme X58 core i7 board in a 5x 1Gb arrangement? Thanks for any help info or pointers.........
NO NO NO. First off - NEVER put old DDR3 into a Core i7 board. i7 is designed to run with memory that has a MAXIMUM of a 1.65 volt draw. See that 1.9v on your old stuff? If you could actually get it to run at all, it would very easily fry your CPU. Memory manufacturers have had to basically redesign DDR3 from the ground up to get it to run within these specifications, because violating them is bad news. You'd be far better off sinking the money into a decent 3x2GB DDR3-1600 kit. That being said, if you actually had 5x1GB of DDR3 that fit the 1.65v max draw specification required by Core i7, it would be entirely possible to put them into one large arrangement. - Diosjenin -
Hi thanks so much for warning me on the volts 1.65 point..I did not know that.. Lucky for me I made this post and that you helped me out by replying otherwise I may have fried my 920 cpu and the x58 gigabyte.... The board and 920 cpu have just been sitting in their boxes for a few weeks now not got the dosh for a updated video card yet.So maybe that's a blesssing in disguise sort of thing. (Looks like I will have to go with getting a 3GB kit then) Do you think the 3Gb kit of Kingston (KHX16000D3K3/3GX) is a good kit to use? I have found a place selling it for £160.99 they sell it as made for icore 7..It has come down in price by £30...What do you think good buy or is there better? It runs 2000mhz.That's the fastest DDR3 speed available so far I think??
It is, but here's the thing about the i7's onboard memory controller. Even if you get RAM that runs at DDR3-2000, the speed it actually runs at is determined by your i7's base clock times the memory multiplier. If you're running your 920 at 4Ghz (200MHz Bclk * 20x core multiplier), the maximum speed you can get your memory to run at is DDR3-1600 (200MHz Bclk * 8x memory multiplier = 1600MHz), because the highest memory multiplier that the i7 920 and 940 provide is 8x. The 965 EE provides much larger memory multipliers, and is really the only CPU that 3-stick kits of DDR3 that run over 1600MHz are designed to work with. 920s and 940s are much better served by 6GB kits of DDR3-1600. - Diosjenin -
Hi Thanks Diosjenin, You've been a really great help to me thanks I appreciate it... I will stick with DDR3 1600MHZ, I found a place selling Geil 3x2GB 1600 kits for £143 total, so that looks like a good choice to go with combined with the good info you gave me I should get a small overclock out of it aswell...I'm glad I didn't try that 1.9volt kingston.Looks like that will be going on *bay....Thanks good luck.
I'd like to add that if you use any other configuration than 3 or 6 sticks, you will lose triple channel and that will result in a performance penalty.
^^ Actually, I've been reading up on that a bit since I saw you post about that supposed limitation somewhere else. It's true that the i7 920 and 940 are limited to a maximum of an x8 memory multiplier, but the final memory speed is still the base clock times that multiplier. Thus, if you can push your Bclk past 200MHz (200*8 = 1600MHz), you can, theoretically, go higher than DDR3-1600. The problem, of course, is that pushing past that barrier is no small feat at all... - Diosjenin -
It's no small feat. And you need a very capable mobo to go beyond 200 MHz. Also, even if you can theoretically go beyond 1600, I think we can safely assume that any increase would be minimal, and, in my opinion, not worth the risks and headache.
