RAM compatible with 3930K and ASUS P9X79 PRO + more

[Matthews Media]

Hello all-knowledgeable computer friends,          

I am taking the plunge and am about to purchase these parts via newegg for ~$2000 to complete my DIY Premiere Pro 6/AE video editing computer for DSLR footage. I would love any feedback possible. What do you love/what do you hate? What should I change?

Some questions:

-Can anyone double-check my RAM, motherboard, & CPU compatibility? 

-Should I invest in a cooling fan?

-Will 750w be enough for PSU?

-Which RAM should I go with, 1600 or 1866 with the 3930k? Ripjaws a good selection?

[MOBO]

ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS

[RAM]

I can’t decide between the 1600 and 1866? Will one be more compatible with my CPU?  Intel’s website lists the 3930k compatible with 1600 only I think? Anyone know? G. Skill seems like a good option for my configuration (unless anyone thinks otherwise please let me know).

-G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) 32 GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q2-32GBZL

• Vs.

-G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9Q2-32GBZL

[CPU]

Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K

[GPU]

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI

[DRIVES]

What is the best configuration with these drives? I’m think SSD for programs, etc. but then what? Should I RAID0 the two 1TB?

Plextor M3 Series PX-128M3 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

(x2) Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[PSU]

I am still trying to figure out this one? Anyone have any recommendations? I have an old 750w PSU that I think may work?

[CARD READER/DVD]

Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

DVD-RW from old computer

[CASE]

I have a large Antec case from previous computer.

Thanks for your help!

[ChrisLeeDallas]

Jim, Thanks for the reply. I didn't realize he was running CS5 or the 5 HDD Raid. That will definitely make a difference.

I have tweaked Windows quite a bit. I didn't mean tweak CS, but Windows and hardware to get the most out of CS.

[Bill Gehrke]

When looking at our PPBM5 test results the first thing that should be done is filter it to look at the correct CS version as each are different as far as scoring goes

[iammykyl]

Hi All.

Can anybody tell me why, in this thread, there is a big down on Macron?

[Bill Gehrke]

If you mean Micron, it is because they were not delivering low voltage chips as required by the LGA 2011 CPU's.  Maybe by now they have "seen the light".

[iammykyl]

Thanks guys for your response.

[ECBowen]

Compatibility issues are the reason Micron is such a problem lately and PSC is also a problem. Keep in mind most of this has only revolved around the Socket 2011 platform

Eric

ADK

[Animation Guy]

How important is it to buy an Nvidia card with 4 Gb of video memory ?

I read a comment on one of the threads, that you may run out of VRAM if you have too many things happening on the time line in PP,

which is a bit concerning to me.

Just how much stuff can we load up on the time line without running out of memory ( with 2 Gb )  ?

Do the majority of you, who bought any of the new video cards ( 670, 680 ) have any issues with "just" 2 Gb of VRAM ?

At the moment, cards with 4 Gb of VRAM are hard to find, and I'm guessing that most of you have no problems with cards

with 2 GB of VRAM.

Any thoughts ?

Dave.

[ECBowen]

Unfortunately the amount of Vram used is a Fluid data set. This is decided by allot of factors including effects used, codecs of material, frame resolution and frame rate. Last I checked which has been a while ago Premiere was not really using up to the 1.5GB of ram on allot of the 500 series cards. I would have to check again with CS6. Others can check by downloading and running GPU-Z. Keep in mind though this info is going to be workflow and project specific. The 4GB cards though give far more headroom for future improvements and changes to Adobe. I always recommend the 4GB cards for future proofing if you have the budget.

Eric

ADK

[jetboy10]

Since 1.35v RAM is being recommended here and I can't seem to find the Samsung option in a kit with the memory size I'm looking for, what do you all think about the Mushkin blackline http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226329?

I don't plan to overclock. I just want things to work well. I don't care about the fancy heat spreaders. I'd prefer not having them so I can use a better cpu cooler.

I'm planning an Asus PX79 LE with a 3930k processor. The link above is for 32GB set but maybe I can live with 4x4 (16GB). I haven't picked the video card yet. I'm considering the Asus GTX 560 or 570.

[DeePeeBee]

jetboy, I am using two sets of GSkill ripjaws 4x4 GB 1600 ram sticks for a total of 32 GB. The two sets were purchased separately over a year apart and they are running just fine. My box is currently 4th on the CS6 ranking.  I do however overclock. Going from 16 to 32 GB made a considerable difference in PPBM5 speed (before overclocking, I haven't run 16 vs 32 since I overclocked).  Newegg has a 32GB set on sale for $159 if you use code EMCNBNC43, G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Sorry, but the code expires TODAY.

Note that the latency and timing are different from the Mushkin set.

Good luck, Dorothy

[jetboy10]

Thanks Dorothy, (sorry to you and everyone else for the jetboy name - I try to be anonymous on the web if that's even possible). The g.skill ripjaws seem to be recommended a lot around the web and it's good to know they work when you have all 8 slots filled. that's a good sign. The only downside to me is the fancy heat spreaders (I know. The mushkins I linked to has them too).

I wonder why several people in this thread seems focused on LV RAM. Is this really better for consistent stability. Besides individual experiences, are there any links to where this was tested or where Intel discusses the 1.35V benefits?

[ECBowen]

We tested it extensively when the platform first released and only went to 1.35V ram when the 1.65 and 1.5V was showing data issues(heat and voltage levels) or compatibility. Some of the manuals with the boards use to have a warning recommendation for LV for Full population on the X79. That has since changed in the manuals. Intel is not going to release information or a position that will alienate half of the ram partners. They Officially don't support any ram above DDR3 1600 on that platform. Some 1.5V ram is working now fully populated and has been linked in the Adobe forum. Look for those if you have concerns besides the known good 1.35.

Eric

ADK

[jetboy10]

Thanks Eric. I decided to go with the samsung 1.35V 4GB memory sticks (sold in pairs). I can get the 32GB if I populate all 8 slots or maybe I only need 16GB. I currently use 12GB now with an X58 board so 16GB of RAM (plus an P9X79 LE board and a 3930k processor) should be a noticable improvement. I'm also going to get an ASUS GTX-570 GPU card for this build. 

[Guest]

jetboy10 wrote:

Thanks Dorothy, (sorry to you and everyone else for the jetboy name - I try to be anonymous on the web if that's even possible). The g.skill ripjaws seem to be recommended a lot around the web and it's good to know they work when you have all 8 slots filled. that's a good sign. The only downside to me is the fancy heat spreaders (I know. The mushkins I linked to has them too).

I wonder why several people in this thread seems focused on LV RAM. Is this really better for consistent stability. Besides individual experiences, are there any links to where this was tested or where Intel discusses the 1.35V benefits?

It runs colder.  That's about it, lol.  I've had nothing but reported problems with low voltage ram since some boards say they support it but then can't seem to detect it properly and send in the wrong voltage.  You often times have to set the voltage and the speed and timing manually, which isn't the end of the world but it's annoying.

I would stay far away from low voltage memory even if you're packing every single slot.  Basically if you're not using a top notch board and power supply, the voltage could drop too low on the circuit that powers the RAM for a tiny amount of time and your RAM won't work properly.  Low voltage memory is extremely sensitive to that because they already had to jump through hoops to get it to run at such a low voltage.  Basically they're more sensitive to slight voltage dips.  If you think heat is a problem if you've got 8 sticks in a row, it's not.  They're like 2-3W each or something and most come with excessive aluminum coolers attached anyway.

I've never had a problem with any RAM at standard voltage in any system ever but I also only buy from 2 vendors, both that give lifetime warranties and are known for being the absolute best.

Also, someone back a ways in this thread said just the speed, not the timings are important and you should just ignore the timings.  WHAT?!?!?!?!  The speed is the number of cycles per second the RAM runs at and the timings are how long they take to do an operation.  The lower the timings, the faster the memory.  You should always get the lower timings that seem cost effective.  It will get much, much higher WEI ratings and benchmark numbers if it has lower timings.

People have had problems with nonstandard timing memory though not booting or not being recognized in their BIOS.  Well, that's simple.  Regardless, turn on XMP profiles on the motherboard or yeah, it won't work so well.  Otherwise:

1. buy really good, high rated, no reported compatibility problems RAM like for example GSkill.  Remember, 7 out of the 10 top rated RAM sets available for sale right now are from GSkill.

2. before you buy, look up the motherboard's QVL (qualified vendors list) which contains a list of many specific memory modules that were thoroughly tested by the manufacturer and certified to work with your board.  That eliminated 100% of the problem.  If your perfectly matching RAM doesn't work, it's you doing something wrong in that case.  If your motherboard doesn't have QVL, you're buying the wrong brand

[JCschild]

1) QVL seriously?  please do tell me how the motherboard manufacturers test? and with how many sticks.. cant wait for this answer...

2) so is 1.5v /1.6v good for all 2011? are the memory controllers the same on all 2011 processors?

3) using the default XMP just works huh? so do you think that ram is running @ 1600? sigh....

4) do you even know what chips are bieing used by gskill?

EL Plates.. make sure you buy Samsung original 1.35V ONLY.. this will ensure compatibilty.. socket 1155 is not near as problematic as 2011..

Scott

ADK

[Guest]

I'm not sure I follow much of that.  They run an extensive custom RAM test for hours plus their own special back end diagnostics before certifying that memory works.  Every manufacturer does it differently but respectable ones do it that way.  Asus for example not only ran an extensive test but re-ran it 2 months later to add additional RAM that had been released since then.  Check it out:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77M_PRO/#MSL

Not really sure what you mean by the XMP thing either.  Since JEDEC SPD standards only officially go up to 1333 9-9-9-24, if your memory is 1600, then you better have XMP turned on.  And if you do turn it on, it will be 1600.  In fact, look in the RAM timing section and verify it.  Or run CPU-Z from Windows and verify it.  It really, sincerely is running at 1600 if it's rated for 1600.

And what chips are inside?  I don't care.  That's an awfully roundabout way to go about things. I'm pretty sure they're made by GSkill themselves but I don't go with theoretical brand problems.  I know Hynix and Elpida and several other actual chip makers suck so I avoid them for example but it's a lot faster to just see if the other thousand people that bought the RAM you're looking at had any problems with it.  GSkill ram has lifetime warranties, a perfect track record, and well, what's the difference between these customer ratings:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

and these customer ratings

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178238

Ooooh, good job, PNY lol

If people have any DOA sticks, any problem configuring them, any system stability, or any problems at all, they do not hesitate to go give it a low rating on newegg.  So since GSkill DDR3 is the highest rated memory on the entire site and almost every individual speed category, there's the one to buy.

[JCschild]

“””I'm not sure I follow much of that”””

Exactly my point..

What about the memory controllers on socket 2011? Still waiting on an answer to that…

“”””Not really sure what you mean by the XMP thing either. “””

Exactly my point..

Eric?

Care to educate the boy?

Ahh newegg again… you are way toooo funny..

[ECBowen]

VHC-CO-IT wrote:

jetboy10 wrote:

Thanks Dorothy, (sorry to you and everyone else for the jetboy name - I try to be anonymous on the web if that's even possible). The g.skill ripjaws seem to be recommended a lot around the web and it's good to know they work when you have all 8 slots filled. that's a good sign. The only downside to me is the fancy heat spreaders (I know. The mushkins I linked to has them too).

I wonder why several people in this thread seems focused on LV RAM. Is this really better for consistent stability. Besides individual experiences, are there any links to where this was tested or where Intel discusses the 1.35V benefits?

It runs colder.  That's about it, lol.  I've had nothing but reported problems with low voltage ram since some boards say they support it but then can't seem to detect it properly and send in the wrong voltage.  You often times have to set the voltage and the speed and timing manually, which isn't the end of the world but it's annoying.

I would stay far away from low voltage memory even if you're packing every single slot.  Basically if you're not using a top notch board and power supply, the voltage could drop too low on the circuit that powers the RAM for a tiny amount of time and your RAM won't work properly.  Low voltage memory is extremely sensitive to that because they already had to jump through hoops to get it to run at such a low voltage.  Basically they're more sensitive to slight voltage dips.  If you think heat is a problem if you've got 8 sticks in a row, it's not.  They're like 2-3W each or something and most come with excessive aluminum coolers attached anyway.

I've never had a problem with any RAM at standard voltage in any system ever but I also only buy from 2 vendors, both that give lifetime warranties and are known for being the absolute best.

Also, someone back a ways in this thread said just the speed, not the timings are important and you should just ignore the timings.  WHAT?!?!?!?!  The speed is the number of cycles per second the RAM runs at and the timings are how long they take to do an operation.  The lower the timings, the faster the memory.  You should always get the lower timings that seem cost effective.  It will get much, much higher WEI ratings and benchmark numbers if it has lower timings.

People have had problems with nonstandard timing memory though not booting or not being recognized in their BIOS.  Well, that's simple.  Regardless, turn on XMP profiles on the motherboard or yeah, it won't work so well.  Otherwise:

1. buy really good, high rated, no reported compatibility problems RAM like for example GSkill.  Remember, 7 out of the 10 top rated RAM sets available for sale right now are from GSkill.

2. before you buy, look up the motherboard's QVL (qualified vendors list) which contains a list of many specific memory modules that were thoroughly tested by the manufacturer and certified to work with your board.  That eliminated 100% of the problem.  If your perfectly matching RAM doesn't work, it's you doing something wrong in that case.  If your motherboard doesn't have QVL, you're buying the wrong brand

There so many incorrect points or assumptions here it's hard to find a place to begin.

1. The 1.35V ram was spec'ed and designed for the Quad Channel Socket 2011 platform. This was not spec'ed for the 1155 platform which you are referencing issues. The issue has nothing to do with the ram and everything to do with the XMP Profiles/voltage settings the board supports with the bios. If the board does not have charts for the low voltage ram, then you cannot turn on the XMP profile for the low voltage memory. That does not mean however you cannot run the ram on those 1155 boards at all. You just have to run the ram at the base 1.5V profile that almost all of the Low Voltage ram comes with. Those detect fine. Many of the ram Manufacturers are using DDR3 1600 profiles as their base profile such as Kingston, Samsung, and others.

2. The comments on Low voltage having issues with voltage fluctuation are completely backwards. The Low Voltage ram was designed to resolve this issue with signal attenuation and voltage level issues on the bus between the memory controller in the CPU and Ram in the slots. The manufacturers use higher grade chips such as those used for DDR3 2000+ to make the low voltage chips. These are the highest grade chips in the market which also give the best stability with varying voltage levels. This information however is not common knowledge outside the memory manufacturing engineers. You have to talk to one of the engineers to know. I talk to them in Taiwan all the time. Do you?

3.  Some of the Memory manufacturers are using a Hybrid model when manufacturing low voltage. They are using higher grade chips that are not as high as the DDR3 2000+ and then will raise latency timings some to ensure stability. This is a completely acceptable production method since Latency timings have little to no impact on ram/system performance in the DDR3 with the Intel Platforms. The current Dual channel performance on the Intel platforms is around 20GB/s and the Quad channel is 35GB/s. This bandwidth is so high and above what the current system requires, that the marginal difference in CL latency has little to no impact anymore. Latency was a concern in the DDR1 and DDR2 days when the ram bandwidth was under 5GB/s or 2.5GB/s. However all the testing done that I have seen by us or others shows little to no impact on high performance applications such as videoediting applications. The information you posted here is simply wrong and unfounded today.

4. Heat was most definitely an issue with the X79 platform and 1.65V ram. We tested this extensively when the platform released with many different methods. The method that displayed this issue the quickest was Pro Audio testing. The data would corrupt in the ram when playing a heavy Pro Audio plugin test that is very memory intensive. The result was complete audio distortion out of the audio interface. This showed up in all our testing with the 1.65V ram at 1600 until we cooled the memory. At that point all of the distortion went away and the test ran perfectly. This did not show up with 1.5V or 1.35V ram however. So your statement on memory and heat once again is completely inaccurate and shows a complete lack of any real world testing. Once again this was the X79/socket 2011 platform only. This had nothing to do with the 1155 platform. It also makes perfect sense if you have an understanding of electronic principles. Heat lowers resistance which lowers voltage. This is why you get signal attenuation.

5. The last comments on Non standard timings, XMP, and QVL show a text book answer without any real knowledge or experience with the problems people are running into with ram. It also shows a lack in real understanding of the ram production and component bidding market. The QVL lists were a large part of the problem. The motherboard manufacturers vary in testing method. However most test with just populating 1 or half the banks which is not completely qualifying the ram. There are many sub timing and compatibility issues that dont show up when testing with 1 stick or half the banks populated. You find this out often to late when calling the motherboard manufacturer for support and they ask you how many sticks are you populating. Then their support will say remove half or down to 1 and test again. If the problem goes away, they say contact the memory manufacturer  since the issue is theirs. However when you contact the ram manufacturer they say the issue is the Motherboard manufacturer since the board wont accept the ram fully populated. They didn't test it fully populated either. You have no idea how many times I fought with different memory manufacturers I was working with to test the ram with the boards we were going to use fully populated. They have to adjust sub timings to handle that. Once again if you talked to ram engineers you would know this. Now we finally have a manufacturer who does all their testing fully populated and our issues have evaporated since then.

The other issue with QVL's have to do with how often they are updated compared to how often the components in those same model ram change. The Ram bidding market is completely volatile. This means Manufacturer A may use PSC chips in 1 production run and Hynix in the next. Well the motherboard manufacturer originally QVl'ed with the PSC versions. The bios was updated for timing detection for those models based on that. However the Hynix modules require different sub timings and therefore the compatibility.detection charts will no longer work for those sticks even though their still on the QVL. I see this all of the time and contrary to your belief, most often with Gskill. Your predictions on eliminating 100% of the issues with memory timings by enabling the XMP profiles and following the QVL is once again completely false. I often do paid support and the ram manufacturer I see the most is Gskill. That is also the ram I most often have to set the timings manually because the XMP profile does not work at all and is far to aggressive. Once I set the timings manually, many times they will work. atleast at 1333 if needed. You may want to actually go through the motherboard manufacturer forums and actually see all of the XMP ram problems that are showing up. That will give a far more accurate view of the current QVL and ram issues.

Posting information that is neither accurate or has zero real world testing behind it helps no one. Instead that is setting up someone who is coming to the forums for help to experience serious problems that can impact their business, lives, and reputations. This is nothing to take lightly since they are relying on people who post to share information they just dont have and really dont have time to learn. They also dont have the time outside of the profession that supports their Families or lives to learn a second. They simply hope those who have the knowledge will tell them the best way to accomplish this. I have already had several paid support clients who have been disastrously misled by miss information in this forum which has cost them thousands in paid repair costs replacing hardware, rebuilding and lost production time not to mention the impact on their business reputation. This is not something anyone should play around with and shows a complete lack of responsibility or professionalism. Those Forum readers who are following this thread, also please take heed of this. There is allot of miss information currently going on in this forum. Be very careful what you believe right now. Please verify with other sources before you act.

Eric

ADK

[Jeff Bellune]

[Thread locked]

[DeePeeBee]

Chris, we have pretty similar builds, mine as set up for the PPBM5 benchmark is:

Asus P9X79WS

i7-3930K

Noctua NH-D14 cooler

2 kits of 4x4 F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL GSkill Ripjaws (DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24)

GTX 570 HD (2.5GB GDDR5)

120GB SSD for my OS

3 x 1Tb Caviar Blacks for everything,including Pagefile

A very sparse Windows7 Pro installation

All of Harm's Windows tweaks - no anti-virus, disconnected from internet after downloads

Premiere Pro (6.0.1) and Adobe Media Encoder  (6.0.1.31) from Adobe's cloud

I ran a few PPBM5 runs with 16Gb of RAM and then put in the second set - started up without a hitch even tho the new kit was way newer and even has a different physical setup. I was even able to squeak the new sticks in underneath the Noctua cooler by taking out one of the fans temporarily.

The PPBM scores went from 44, 119, 64, 46/5 to 44, 75, 52, 4 without any overclocking.

I've been trying out various overclocking modes - nothing I can do will let me operate with a 48 multiplier, yet I am quite stable at a 4.7 OC with the RAM set to 1600 and with my CPU Vcore Voltage in Offset mode set at +0.200

That gets my scores to 37,71,44,60/4 which I am very happy with! And I am enormously grateful to Harm, Bill and all of those who take the time to answer questions in this Forum - and to those who ask the questions that many of the rest of us have as well.

My guess is that you will have to bump up your overclocking to get your times down any further on the benchmark.

My next step is to quit playing with the machine and put it to work on converting my HD DSLR footage (Canon 5DMarkII) to short videos (5min or less).

This means I will have to come to grips with deciding how to set up my operating disk system for actual use vs. benchmark testing. I'm posting that issue on a new thread.

Dorothy

[Guest]

what are the - Harm's Windows tweaks - is there a link where i could read about?

and why no anti-virus? is it important? i could not live with out one!

[DeePeeBee]

Anat - this is a machine that I have just finished building and I intend to use it ONLY for my photography hobby using Premiere Pro and Photoshop, so after I installed Windows 7 and downloaded my other programs - and UPDATED them - I disconnected the machine from the internet. I will only reconnect it for updates, during those I will activate the Windows firewall but do not plan to have any anti-virus at all. I have more than enough other computers, tablets, etc. for surfing the web, e-mail, etc. and ALL of them have some kind of protection, such as anti-virus. My goal with this new machine is to make it as fast as possible, and I know that anti-virus, spam filters, etc. are constantly inspecting what is happening in the system - which has to be slowing things down, so I am trying to work without them.  I have also stopped Sidebar, indexing, etc as is described in "the Guide for installing and tuning a Vista 64 pc". If you click the header above at discussions, you will get a box for searching, just type in "guide for installing and tuning" and you will get to the article written by Harm Millaard which is excellent and which still applies to Windows 7. You can also search for other discussions of how to tweak Windows, especially note those comments by Harm Millaard, Bill Gehrke and others listed as "top participants". There is an enormous wealth of information to be found in their postings and they provided inestimable help to my build.

[Harm_Millaard]

The tweaks: Adobe Forums: Guide for installing and tuning a Vista...

This may also be interesting: http://us.generation-nt.com/samsung-samples-industry-first-16-gigabyte-server-modules-based-press-36...

[CaillinAU]

Out of interest Dorothy, what case and PSU are you using?

[DeePeeBee]

I'm  not at home to check for sure, but I think the PSU is an OCZ, Gold and I'm  sure it's 1000watts. The case is a Silverstone and I can't remember the model number but I will post it next week.

Dorothy