Hi, I have a question regarding Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and RAM. In the specification it is written that this mobo supports DDR3-1333MHz and DDR3-2000MHz but not DDR3-1600MHz. I have heard that you can manually adjust voltage and memory multiplier so this mobo will use all the bandwidth of 1600MHz. Is it hard to adjust those settings manually and if there is any risk involved? I wouldn't like to fry it on the first day of usage. This computer will be for gaming and work (text documents), so is it worth buying 1600MHz instead of 1333MHz - will the performance gain justify choosing 1600MHz over 1333 in the latest games? On the other hand, maybe you have a better suggestion for a core i7 mobo in the price range of GA-EX58-UD5?
Hi, that is a nice motherboard, good brand Gigabyte, I wouldn't go for another board but that one. The motherboard DDR3 tripple channel 2000mhz + so you can stick whatever ram you want in there e.g 800mhz, 1600mhz, 2000mhz etc but make sure it's 1.5V ram nothing higher also your best off buying tripple channel memory kit. It is always best to go for the higher memory speed and lower CL (cas latency) ram because basically your memory speed is your memory controllers bus frequency and your CL is how long it takes the ram to respond to the cpu's request, higher the memory speed the more bandwidth the cpu can request and lower the CL less time it takes for the cpu's request. For example if you bought a tripple channel kit of ddr3 1600mhz PC3-12800 ram your cpu can request upto 38.4gb/s of bandwidth (12800x3) since it's tripple channel you tripple the amount. so more it can request the better performance. but also depends on other factors such as system bus frequency but in your case doesn't matter because your system bus is QPI and the memory controller is located on the cpu. hope this kind of clears things up for you. btw: I would also add in a SSD drive to that setup as well if it's within your budget
Thanks for the input BoBBYI986. Are there any charts that can help with adjusting memory settings or perhaps general guidelines on how to do it? Also, do you think that in the newer versions of the bios the 1600MHz memory will be properly supported?
you won't have to update your bios as it already supported it can support anythin speed ranging from 800mhz - 2000mhz + are you planning on overclocking your memory speed?
I'm not planning on any overclocking, at least for now. There is also one more thing, on the memory compatibility table for this mobo (Gigabyte website) - according to the Intel specification memories above 1600MHz are 1 DIMM per channel only so that means that I will only use 3 mem sticks max on the mobo if I will go for 1600MHz and above. What happens when I decide to expand in the future? What will happen if I will put 2 1600MHz DIMMs per channel? Will it run at all? Did anyone else tried that? Or maybe I should just buy 1333MHz memory now and save myself from the headache later? Do you know any good site with information on how to set up the memory parameters?
you've got 6 dimms on your motherboard. you will be able to use all 6 dimms, so go for the 1600mhz ram tripple channel config and in the future you've got another 3 dimms available for another tripple channel kit.