This or....

[fiveprime]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227315
or
(suggestions)

And does having SLi certified memory make a difference in an SLi system, or is it just a marketing ploy...

[zsamz_]

marketing bs :rofl::rofl:

[zanzabar]

marketing bs :rofl::rofl:

not for ddr3, sli cert means that it has the proprietary epp like table, and flex kill your flow in your loop


but dont get that get some cell shock if u want to spend money, and if u can afford ddr3 u can afford a gx2 if u want sli, so there is no point in getting a 790i, especially with the new cards out in 2 weeks
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr3ram/2gbcellshock1800pc314400.html

[fiveprime]

Well its a friends computer, he wanted me to find good ddr3 for him

His specs:

Q9450
2x 8800gt's
evga 780i
currently 2gb of dominator 1066 ddr2

[naokaji]

it's rated for 1000 mhz, you need fsb at 500 with 1:2 divider to run it at rated speed, I would say get a 4 GB kit rated 800 instead, it would even be a tad cheaper, why? chances are low you are going to run a q9450 at 500 fsb 24/7.
Or if you want a 2 GB kit that clocks like mad get the cellshock 1866.

As for EPP and XMP (both are the same, one for nvidia chipsets, the other for intel chipsets) they are both pointless if you have some basic knowledge.
what are they good for?
the problem: Ram is rated for a speed where it doesnt boot with default voltage (1,8V for ddr2 and 1,5V for ddr3), but the mainboard will set those low voltages when the voltage option is on auto (i.e. the way the mainbord is out of the box).
the solution: there are two, one: boot the ram at lower speed, enter bios, raise speed and voltage to what ram is rated for, option two, epp or xmp, it does that for you.

[fiveprime]

Its water cooled if that makes a difference, I will have to ask him. He is usually more conservative when it comes to overclocking so the 4gb kit may be a better option. Is there a specific kit that you could reccomend?

[naokaji]

I'd say get this link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297), crazy bargain (if you can say something like that for ddr3:p:).

[fiveprime]

Wow, thats a steal. He's at his yearly training for guard lol Im just looking it up so he'll have something to blow that nice pay check on.

[fiveprime]

You mentioned the issue of the 500 fsb, ovbiously the chip might not make it that far, or the mobo will hit a wall. Whats the undercloclability of ddr3?

[naokaji]

Well, its only a problem with Quadcores, with the 1600 ram you only need 400 fsb which is possible, but 500 fsb is rare with quadcores and those that get there only do so with suicide shots / benching but not 24/7. I tend to blame the mainboard because from my experience I got massively different fsb's out of quads on different mainboards, which indicates that the mainboard was limiting and not the cpu.

[fiveprime]

So its really not worth it?

[naokaji]

With quad cores ddr3 rated at 2000 is not worth it no, with dual cores however it is.

[fiveprime]

Well, I just spoke with him, whats the best memory one can get theese days (DDR3 wise), and whats the best for around 325 (again DDR3).

[naokaji]

For 4 GB kits link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145206)
For 2 GB kits link (http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr3ram/2gbcellshockpc315000bluemicron.html)

as for the sub 325, well, the ocz one I linked in a earlier post, there are also plenty of decent 2 GB kits like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145186) or this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227285) (no need to watercool it, they work also without water), but do you really want 2 GB?

[fiveprime]

(I just love the look of dominators)
Well I let him know and he'll be back the end of this week.