x99 Ram Expansion

[heart_of__the__]

Hi. I have an ASUS Rog Strix x99 Gaming MB, a 6900K and 16gb (2x8) ram. They obviously run in dual channel. Now, if I bought the same kit again, could I even run them in quad channel? Would there be problems?
My ram run in xmp at 3200mhz (16/18/18/38). If I wanted to use a quad channel config, could I use the same speeds, provided I had a kit that could handle it, or is quad channel running slower?

Also, ASUS, please fix the OC issue with Broadwell-E overclocking, deleting mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll is fun and stuff, but come on...

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Likely hynix memory chips 16-18-18 instead of 16-16-16 but at least an x99 mother boards are listed on the qvl.
Probably be lucky if they do the rated speed.
x99 really likes samsung memory pretty much all there was when x99 first came out.
Hynix/ micron were because of samsung memory shortage.

[heart_of__the__]

Ok then... which memory kit would you choose for an ASUS Rog Strix x99 Gaming and a 6900k??

[Silent_Scone]

ThrashZone wrote:
Hi,
Likely hynix memory chips 16-18-18 instead of 16-16-16 but at least an x99 mother boards are listed on the qvl.
Probably be lucky if they do the rated speed.
x99 really likes samsung memory pretty much all there was when x99 first came out.
Hynix/ micron were because of samsung memory shortage.

Majority of kits were Hynix at the time of X99 launch.

[ThrashZone]

Silent Scone@ASUS wrote:
Majority of kits were Hynix at the time of X99 launch.

Hi,
Z series boards must of really changed ddr4 a lot so much so it just made getting compatible memory for quad channel more complicated.

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Memory market is pretty tough
You can probably find that set you posted for a lot less look on ebay they have the best used product return policy plus also look for non rgb stuff
You can probably find it for 240.us 4x8gb kit

Sell your kit to a z series board owner that what it's for.

[heart_of__the__]

ThrashZone wrote:

Sell your kit to a z series board owner that what it's for.

To be fair, I've had no problems at all with the Trident Z's on x99. XMP works fine out of the box on the 6900k, on my previous chip, a 5930k, i could only get them to run at 2666 with 14/14/14/34, or 3000 at 16/18/18/38 with a 125 strap.

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I don't believe anyone runs cpu strap at 125 but asus auto oc features otherwise it's always best at 100 strap with xmp profiles

Dual channel/ running only 2 sticks is very different than quad and four sticks on x99 and x299 for that matter the later being a lot better than x99 ever was/ is memory wise.

I have a set 3200C16 same timings as the set you posted 16-18-18..
Won't even post on x99 of course no x99 board to be seen on the qvl either but x299 is both are quad channel
So indeed memory is a fickle bee 😄
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c16q-32gtzb

Where as this set works well on x99
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c14q-32gtzsw

[heart_of__the__]

ThrashZone wrote:
Hi,
I don't believe anyone runs cpu strap at 125 but asus auto oc features otherwise it's always best at 100 strap with xmp profiles

Yeah no kidding, 125 strap made my 5930k run at 4,5 Ghz and turned off turbo mode, which made the chip not clock itself down in idle. Since I enjoy running my CPUs in adaptive mode, that was a big no-no.

ThrashZone wrote:

Dual channel/ running only 2 sticks is very different than quad and four sticks on x99 and x299 for that matter the later being a lot better than x99 ever was/ is memory wise.

I have a set 3200C16 same timings as the set you posted 16-18-18..
Won't even post on x99 of course no x99 board to be seen on the qvl either but x299 is both are quad channel
So indeed memory is a fickle bee 😄
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c16q-32gtzb

Where as this set works well on x99
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c14q-32gtzsw

Maybe. I like x99 a lot more than x299 though. For the things I do, it is sufficient, additionally I also enjoy gaming, and x99 seems to be better at that. At least that's what most of the reviews said. Something about the ring bus being better for that.

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yes ring/ cache is very different
max cache 38 on x99 with offset mode 0.175 is easy works fine pretty much why 8700-9...k's are best for gaming
High clocks for one high cache as well.

Max cache 30 on x299 with manual mode of 1.2v is fairly common or adaptive with offset +0.200 still is max for the platform otherwise nothing but issues
Everyone maxes x299 cache at 30 sort of lame mesh ended up being.
Max cache/ mesh default is 27 lol 😄

[heart_of__the__]

For gaming it also kinda comes down to one question: How many frames do you really need?

Once you have a CPU that has 6+ cores and hyperthreading, you really only need about 4ghz and semidecent IPCs to have no problems at all with 99% of all games. Corecount has become more important than super high speed in that regard, that's my opinion at least.
This of course isn't true if you play competetively and need over 9000 frames. Then you need an 8700k, a 9700k or a 9900k.

I fully expect a 6900k, or a 2700X (they really are close) to be good for at least two more years, maybe three.