X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I am curious if anyone has tried 8GB RAM sticks with this MB. I'm currently maxed out at 24GB RAM but would like a bit more for my VMs running and RAM Drive so I was thinking about giving some of the DDR3 8GB sticks a shot but first I'd like to know if anyone has tried this configuration. I'm fully aware it's not supported be the manufacturer be that doesn't always mean it will not work.

Thanks,
Joe

[wazza300]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

it should work,but you might need a lot more qpi/vtt voltage with the more memory you have

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

I know the board was never certified with the 8GB sticks, I would hope just because 8GB sticks were really not out or popular, not because it cannot address the RAM addresses on each stick beyond 4GB. I think I'm going to give it a shot to see if I can make it work, maybe start with two 8GB sticks just to see if it is recognized. Yes, I'd have to pull out all my other RAM to test it out and run it in dual channel mode but I don't want to spend too much for something I don't even know would work for certain. If it doesn't work, I plan to use the RAM in my next computer build, although I hope that is at least another year away.

Also, I'd be looking for just DDR3 1600 RAM, no need for faster unless the price is right. Now to look for a good price.

Any additional thoughts?

[wazza300]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

i know the samsung green work fine in my sig,and its cheap in the us too

acebmxer used them in his x58 board

[Vinster]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

I'd be more curious if the CPU would address it. I believe all x58 CPU's can only address up to 24GB...

What CPU are you running? my i7-920 according to Intels ARK says 24GB max

Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type)
24 GB
Memory Types
DDR3-800/1066
# of Memory Channels
3
Max Memory Bandwidth
25.6 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions
36-bit
ECC Memory Supported
No

Vin

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

Damn, I only looked to verify it was a 36 bit address. I have an i7-950 so yes, according to Intel it only handles up to 24GB RAM. That really sucks because I already purchased the 32GB new RAM. Just looked into Ive Bridge, guess I could suck it up and buy a new MB and CPU that actually support 32GB RAM. That would at least give me the opportunity to rebuild a new computer and upgrade my wives and daughters computers with my old one. Sure they only surf the internet but their old one is glitching on them with random reboots periodically. I've got to try to see the positive here but it is difficult since when I upgrade my system, I'm not gaining much in CPU capability unfortunately. I guess there are other options like a PCI-E RAM board or RAM Disk board. I hope those still exist because I'd just create a 32GB Drive and I'd be happy with that on top of my already 24GB System RAM. And I really didn't want to spend any more money.

[Vinster]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

ya, I think you're hooped. and I thought you needed 40bit addressing for 32GB... but maybe that's for 128GB

Vin

[ibConners]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

Damn, I only looked to verify it was a 36 bit address. I have an i7-950 so yes, according to Intel it only handles up to 24GB RAM. That really sucks because I already purchased the 32GB new RAM. Just looked into Ive Bridge, guess I could suck it up and buy a new MB and CPU that actually support 32GB RAM. That would at least give me the opportunity to rebuild a new computer and upgrade my wives and daughters computers with my old one. Sure they only surf the internet but their old one is glitching on them with random reboots periodically. I've got to try to see the positive here but it is difficult since when I upgrade my system, I'm not gaining much in CPU capability unfortunately. I guess there are other options like a PCI-E RAM board or RAM Disk board. I hope those still exist because I'd just create a 32GB Drive and I'd be happy with that on top of my already 24GB System RAM. And I really didn't want to spend any more money.

Are you sure you didn't have this already planned out in advance? LOL J/K

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

Are you sure you didn't have this already planned out in advance? LOL J/K

Subconsciously maybe I did. But with the wife headed to Germany for almost a month, just buying new furniture, and some other things going on, it will be a few months before I can spend over $300 on any component. Hopefully I can locate a way to use these as a RAM Disk.

[Vinster]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

you can get DDR2 SATA Ram disks modules, but the hold back on those are the SATA speeds... I have not found RAM drive modules that support DDR3 because certain SSD's can saturate the SATA port as well...

so to use your DDR3 modules as a RAM drive your MB needs to support the addressing.

if you end up upgrading to have more ram and also a worth while RAM drive then I recommend going to the LGA2011 platform, get a MB with 8 ram slots and a i7-3820 can support up to 64GB of ram. and pending if the MB supports it all Xeon CPU's in the 2011 family support up to 375GB

Vin

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

Something I'm not clear on is the real difference between a Xeon CPU and a i7 CPU, or should I say Server vs. Desktop CPU. What impact would that have on my home computer. I don't play games anymore, grew out of that. I recall when Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (all words, no graphics) was a hot game. Make sure you drink lots of beer!

But what applications would be slower, or faster. Aren't the thermal requirements much higher for a Xeon (125+ Watts). Of course I wouldn't be using the CPU at high speeds probably 98% of the time. And I know the costs are higher of course, probably not worth it for a home system?

The other RAM I have is 24GB (6x4GB) DDR3 1600 (triple channel).

And I did see there were products for DDR2 RAM for a RAM Drive but I also didn't see anything for DDR3. Oh well, maybe it is time for a new CPU and MB. I can take the old system and just give it to my wife or make a test platform for ESXi, something I haven't had the ability to play with yet.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them rolling, it's all a good read.

[Vinster]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

DDR3 RAMdisk modules don't exist I believe because SSD's are fast, a good DDR2 module would saturate SATAII, Today SSD's saturate SataIII ports.... to have a faster RAM drive it has to reside directly on the MB to get higher bandwidth...

Xeon's run from a different spec and tolerance level, some xeon's are near the same price as their counterpart i7-920/Xeon W3520, where here the Xeon was the same price, just harder to get.

Here are two 2011's that I believe are nearly the same, here the Xeon multi is locked... but the Xeon is cheaper. The Xeon lacks DMI (not sure why and what that would affect though on a desktop)

Name Cores Threads Frequency Turbo Boost Multiplier L2 cache L3 cache TDP Release Date Price (US)
Core i7-3820 4 8 3.60 GHz 3.80 GHz Partially Unlocked 1 4 x 256KB 10MB 130W 2012-02-14 $305
Xeon E5 1620 4 8 3.60 GHz 3.90 GHz 38 4 x 256KB 10MB 130W Q1 2012[19][20] $294

Info; LGA 2011 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Confirmation;
Intel ARK i7-3820;
Intel Xeon E5-1620;

but my past experience with 775 Xeon's is they are more solid and predictable, will operate usually at a lower voltage (only by a little), OC'ing isn't a guarantee if at all, sometimes temps are better... so just like any CPU/CPU comparison it's a crap chute.

Vin

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

That's for all that information. Now I'm seriously going to look at a Xeon.

Thanks Vin for all your advice.

Joe

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

So I got the RAM in and I removed the six 4GB sticks and installed the three 8GB sticks. Now I'm running triple channel memory still and 24GB RAM still. So no change in performance, just a very slight power and heat reduction.

I took four of the six 4GB sticks and placed those in my FreeNAS machine, replacing four 2GB sticks. This was my original goal but I also wanted to up my main computer RAM to 32 GB. Oh well. I have all the extra RAM in proper carriers and can use them for the next upgrade I make. Maybe that one will be a 64GB RAM machine, who knows but my eyes are now open to CPU limitations in addressing RAM. I'm done spending money for the next few months.

[Vinster]

Re: X58-USB3 and 8GB DDR3 Sticks

Happy and sad for you, but now you know.

Vin