[fishypops]

I have the E350IS-E45 mobo
I need to buy RAM.
I MSI recommends 1.5V
Eskro recommends Latency 7.
I have also read others recommending 1.35V ( G Skill) ECO.

What are the merits of the 1.35 V ?

[wicky]

Most if not all ram following the JEDEC standards for DDR3 are built on 1.5v, its just a common standard based on the affordable availability of DRAM chips from the manufacturers. Higher performance bins or chips that run at higher speed or tighter latency will typically require higher voltage and are more costly to produce either due to component cost or validation. But you can also see chips going in the other direction, lowering voltage in an effort to reduce power consumption and heat output. In a tight enclosure with little ventilation and relying on something like a Pico PSU, these are factors that can make a difference. In a larger case, where you have good ventilation and a standard ATX power supply, its less of an issue.

Typically the higher the latency, the less responsive the ram. Tighter timings improve performance. But the cost vs effectiveness is always up for debate, as with those of us who recommend using 1.35v ram over 1.5v. Since the G.Skill ECO is usually the same price (give or take a few bucks) as the standard 1.5v stuff of the same speed and latency, it's worth it in my eyes.

But its hard to say if you'd even see any measurable difference in performance or power consumption without a system using each type (low latency - standard - low voltage), sitting side by side to compare to one another. Choosing any one of the three options will be solid performance. One just be slightly faster or slightly lower power/heat than the other.

[fishypops]

Thanks Wicky.

I have just dropped the hammer on the GSkill RipJaws.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6820231303

But !!! I now see that this is 1.65V. Should I cancel this order, or is 1.65 OK ?

[KiSUAN]

All that wicky said is true in general, but I would like to add, that although tighter latencies and higher frequency means better performance, that performance is in the theory and theory alone now a days. Benchmarks are not measure for performance as they are not tools used in any way to perform any task. It's more, you won't notice any improvement at all in 98% of programs from going from a decent DDR2 to hi end DDR3.

All that being said makes latencys/timmings and speed of ram in now a day memory irrelevant unless you are going to bench, and you will never see a difference in any program used in a htpc. So the only variables that you need to take into account is price and power, so just go with the cheapest and lower voltage you can find. By the way, the heat spreaders in memories are mostly aesthetic.

So I recommend cancel that kit, save some bucks and buy this http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6820231316

[fishypops]

Thanks for that. Sadly, I can't find anything on the MSI site that shows any compatibility for any RAM.

I think that I might take your lead on this.

[KiSUAN]

Compatibility list for RAMs are a joke as they are based on ram sticks/modules, not chips, and as ram sticks manufactures change chips as babys change diapers that listings are toilet paper.

[wicky]

yea basically as long as the board has the ability to change the ram settings, and adjust the voltage, you have pretty wide range of compatibility, even if it means you have to manually set the voltage and timings if its not auto detected. But I used gskill eco on that same board, although I did have to set it to 1.35v manually, the rest was detected properly.