Gigabyte Mobo, Input/opinions needed... & a Q on ram for new build.

[Noahtuck]

I was looking at these 2 Gigabyte motherboards for my new build,
GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128510

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

(I tried to put the comparison link up but it did not seem to work)

And there did not seem to be any big differences between them, not for what i need anyways (Except 1 has 3 PCI-E slots and the other has 4 & 1 Vs. 2 PCI slots), but then i did see this on the Gigabyte website,

GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3
Up to 2 VGA cards are supported for either 2 way CrossFireX™
or 2 way SLI™ action (running at two x8 bandwidth)

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3
Up to 2 VGA cards are supported for either 2 way CrossFireX™
or 2 way SLI™ action (running at two x16 bandwidth)

So i decided on the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 as i am going to be running 2 EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB video cards in SLI.

Any input or opinions on which Mobo would be better ?


Now a Question about ram.

I am going to be using DDR3 1866 Dual Channel Ram.
(Obviously. seeing as AMD does not yet support tri or quad channel ram)

I am going to be starting out with 8gigs but may add another 8gigs.

My question is if i add another 8gigs for a total of 16gigs, will it still run in Dual Channel ?
I ask because i have read if you run 3 sticks it will NOT run in Dual Channel but i was not sure if it would with 4 matched sticks.

I know you can run 3 sticks for tri channel and 4 for quad channel with tri and quad channel kits but only in "newer" Intel cpu/boards.
Kind of like some mobo's you have to use ram slot 0 & slot 2, skipping slot 1 & 4.

I am looking at G.SKILL Sniper Series & G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 1866 ram.

Thanks for any input, experience with this ram, suggestions ?



I have everything except the CPU, Ram & Mobo which i will be ordering next week.

I will be getting a AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core


What i have so far is:
Rosewill ARMOR Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Ultra U12-40841 X4 Gold Edition Modular Power Supply - 1000W, ATX, 80 Plus Gold. (I have a couple of their PSU's and they rock!! Plus the lifetime warranty does not hurt!!)

CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

1 x EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB (Ordering 2nd one in 2 weeks, i have 1 now i just got this past week, I put it in my quad core to test out with my new monitor and it ROCKS!! Upgraded from a BFG GTS250 1gig)

1 x Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
(I bought the 750gig because it was a SHELL SHOCKER daily deal for 49.99 w/free shipping yesterday and i could not pass it up and i will be using it for my boot drive)

2 x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (Will be adding a couple more in a couple of weeks)

And i am recycling two of my optical drives from my quad core system and throwing in a new $20.00 LG sata dvdrw in my quad.

Thanks for any input!!

[jagabo]

I am going to be starting out with 8gigs but may add another 8gigs.

My question is if i add another 8gigs for a total of 16gigs, will it still run in Dual Channel ?

Yes. Assuming the second 8 gigs is two sticks, not one.

[Noahtuck]

I am going to be starting out with 8gigs but may add another 8gigs.

My question is if i add another 8gigs for a total of 16gigs, will it still run in Dual Channel ?

Yes. Assuming the second 8 gigs is two sticks, not one.

Yep, i am buying 2 - 4 gig sticks at the same time i buy the CPU and Mobo next week, then I will buy the exact same 2 - 4gig sticks the following month so it will be 4 sticks of the same 4gig ram, if i decide to go with 16gigs, but i probably will seeing as i can and it can't hurt.
LOL!!

I assumed it would be okay for dual channel but i wanted to make sure as there are so many options and variables now a days.....

And the way they change things every time they come up with something new and faster, i have read so many conflicting things about the new "Bulldozer" CPU my head has still not stopped spinning!!!
LOL!!!!

Thanks!!

Any other input from anyone on the Mobo and/or what ram will be good ?

The S.O.S, video encoding & gaming.

[budz]

I was gonna build a AMD 6 core PC too but decided to wait until I get more $$$$ to build a Intel 2500K system.
The Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 mobo looks like a winner. I like the black color. The GSkill ram is a good choice. I'd recommend Mushkin but they only have up to 12gb ram.

http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Desktop-Memory.aspx

[Noahtuck]

WOW!!!

No other experiences, advice, opinions, thoughts, ideas ?

I was gonna build a AMD 6 core PC too but decided to wait until I get more $$$$ to build a Intel 2500K system.

I was thinking of waiting and getting a Bulldozer when they come out next month, but then i thought, well the new mobo will support the Bulldozer (8 cores), from what little i have read on it, and i could move my 6 core CPU to my current quad core system, and pass my quad core down to my son who has the same mobo as my qaud system and upgrade him from his dual core.....

Decisions decisions..... LOL!!!

The Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 mobo looks like a winner. I like the black color.

I was debating between that one and the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5 but i did not see enough of a difference for the extra $40.00 and i would rather have 2 - PCI Express x 1 rather than 5 - PCI Express 2.0 slots.

The color was not a major factor in my decision for a mobo

The GSkill ram is a good choice. I'd recommend Mushkin but they only have up to 12gb ram.

http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Desktop-Memory.aspx

Yeah but you could just buy 2 - 2 x 4gb kits and have 16gb's in 4 ram slots.

I am going to start out with the G.Skill 2 x 4gb dual channel ram then maybe a couple of weeks later add another 2 x 4gb dual channel ram kit to the other 2 ram slots for a total of 16gb's of ram.
Like i said earlier, if i go to 16gb's of ram, it will probably be more of a "because i can" thing than a real necessity.... LOL!!!

[redwudz]

It sounds great to me. I would probably recommend a Raptor for boot or a SSD if you have $$ to spare. You would improve your boot speed quite a bit. I like the 150GB Raptor for boot as it's plenty big enough for a boot drive on most any OS, especially W7 and it seems very stable and easier to work with than a SSD. A smaller boot is much easier to defrag and keep in good condition, in MHO.

Read the Gigabyte MB info carefully concerning RAM. Especially if you plan to OC. My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet. I will try 2X4 GB sticks to see if that's an improvement over four 2GB sticks for my W7 64bit setup.

[jagabo]

My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet.

The additional capacitive load increase the rise/fall time of the signals, requiring the addition of wait states. Fortunately, RAM speed is of hardly any consequence in real world applications.

[Des]

I'm a little late tot he party; what else is new, but I'll give my 2 cents.
Last year I built a quad core system and purchased the Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H and an AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, 4 gbs of RAM and could not be happier!
I'm thinking after the first of the year of upgrading the CPU to 6 cores.

I don't often do real complex work: mostly simple video editing, rendering and conversion. Some audio and a lot of Photosho and 'slide shows' and I have never gotten bogged down.

I know it's not technical help, but in terms of customer satisfaction I am quite satisfied...for now.


--dES

[Poppa_Meth]

I'm a little leery of Gigabyte at this point. The last two boards I got from them had glowing reviews. Then I started having issues and when I went back to Newegg the reviews had dropped to 1 or 2 eggs in the two months since I'd owned them. It seems like Gigabyte from time to time swaps to lower quality components on a board and you get a revision that isn't nearly as good as the previous builds. Maybe I just had bad luck on those two accounts. I've goth other GB boards that are fine.

[TBoneit]

It sounds great to me. I would probably recommend a Raptor for boot or a SSD if you have $$ to spare. You would improve your boot speed quite a bit. I like the 150GB Raptor for boot as it's plenty big enough for a boot drive on most any OS, especially W7 and it seems very stable and easier to work with than a SSD. A smaller boot is much easier to defrag and keep in good condition, in MHO.

Read the Gigabyte MB info carefully concerning RAM. Especially if you plan to OC. My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet. I will try 2X4 GB sticks to see if that's an improvement over four 2GB sticks for my W7 64bit setup.

I'm not sure where you get a SSD is harder to work with?? I have set up SSD systems and all that is needed to do is be sure AHCI is enabled and if using Win7, Done. No need to defrag. Plus they set up faster, boot quicker and Applications load faster.....

[Noahtuck]

I would probably recommend a Raptor for boot or a SSD if you have $$ to spare.
You would improve your boot speed quite a bit.

my Quad system boots in under a minute so boot times are not a major factor at this point seeing as I am upgrading CPU, RAM, MOBO, HDD's, Etc.

I like the 150GB Raptor for boot as it's plenty big enough for a boot drive on most any OS, especially W7 and it seems very stable and easier to work with than a SSD. A smaller boot is much easier to defrag and keep in good condition, in MHO.

I have been looking at both drives, especially the SSD, but i will be using the Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s and then maybe in a month i will get an SSD 120GB or larger for a boot drive and clone the OS/C: Drive over to an SSD.

Read the Gigabyte MB info carefully concerning RAM. Especially if you plan to OC. My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet. I will try 2X4 GB sticks to see if that's an improvement over four 2GB sticks for my W7 64bit setup.

I actually ordered the G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 last night with the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard, so i will have only 2 sticks to start with then i will be buying another 2 sticks to upgrade to 16GB's.

My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet.

The additional capacitive load increase the rise/fall time of the signals, requiring the addition of wait states. Fortunately, RAM speed is of hardly any consequence in real world applications.

That does not seem to be accurate as per this review or post,
http://forums.legitreviews.com/post197612.html#p197612
Look at
Page 4 - x264 HD Encoding
Page 5 - Handbrake
But then they are talking about a different AMD CPU than what i am going to be using.

Last year I built a quad core system and purchased the Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H and an AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, 4 gbs of RAM and could not be happier!

I am currently running a quad core, 3.1ghz, with Kingston HyperX T1 Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066, all i did was take a EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 and drop it into my current quad core, replacing a BFG GTS 250 1 GB video cardand the difference with that alone was like night and day!!!

I can't even imagine what the difference will be like going to a 6 core with DDR3 1866 ram with 2 vid cards, from a quad core with 4GB's of DDR2 @ 1066 and a GTS 250 1 GB card.

My point is, i was extremely happy with my quad core and DDR2 ram and GTS 250 DDR3 vid card, and just the major improvement by adding the EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 video cardwas a major improvement, i can only imagine the further improvement with the new mobo, ram, cpu, etc.

I'm a little leery of Gigabyte at this point.

You must be the only one then.....

Because the last several mobo's i have used, i have never had a problem and looking at newegg reviews, the majority have been 5 eggs.

Although i have seen the occasional idiot who has given a bad review because their PC's have only recognized 3 gigs of their 8 gigs of ram, even though they were using W7 32 bit....
LOL!!!

I used to love ASUS mobo's, and was always an ASUS & Gigabyte mobo fan, 10 years ago, but i swear i have seen more bad reviews for ASUS mobo's than any other mobo over the last 5 years!!!

Thanks for everyone's input, opinions, thoughts, experience, etc!!!!
I always appreciate any feedback!!!

[redwudz]

I think you are doing the most important thing, examining all alternatives. It costs nothing, but should improve your final build. I've been happy with my setup, but that's only my experience.

[jagabo]

My MB says the best RAM performance is using two sticks. I haven't got that all figured out yet.

The additional capacitive load increase the rise/fall time of the signals, requiring the addition of wait states. Fortunately, RAM speed is of hardly any consequence in real world applications.

That does not seem to be accurate as per this review or post,
http://forums.legitreviews.com/post197612.html#p197612
Look at
Page 4 - x264 HD Encoding
Page 5 - Handbrake
But then they are talking about a different AMD CPU than what i am going to be using.

It will depend on how conservative the memory timing is to start with. If the design has a lot of headroom you won't have to add wait states. If the design is right on the edge it will have to add wait states. So it's not always the case that four sticks will have less performance than two, but it's often the case. If you look at the memory latency graph you'll see that the latency increases when you go from two sticks to four -- an indication of an additional wait state somewhere.

I don't know exactly what Sysoft does to measure memory performance. But with modern CPU designs, with three levels of cache, a GPU that's stealing memory cycles from the CPU, and many different aspects of performance (all reads, all writes, mixed reads and writes, all linear, mixed linear and random), it's very hard to design software that really measures what's happening at the memory interface. And it's hard to tell what the effect of having twice as much memory has on the benchmark and in real world applications.

The performance of real world applications in those benchmarks bears out my claim that memory speed is of little consequence. A 40 percent increase in memory speed (1333 to 1866) only delivers few percent increase in performance. So a few percent loss of memory speed due to an additional wait state would be unmeasurable in real world applications.