Older i7 system ram upgrade

[Horatio]

I have a memory upgrade dilemma, hopefully I can get some advice.

I'm currently using a gigabyte p55-ud4p rev 1.0 motherboard with an i7 860 water cooled CPU. I have 4GB of Ripjaws f3-16000cl9d-4gbrh memory and would like to expand to at least 8 gb. I use moderate over clocking, mostly for gaming and a little video and photo editing. The motherboard supports up to 2000 MHz ram.

I'm considering the following options. Ideally I'd like something compatible with my current ram, but would use just new ram if it meant a significant performance increase. Eventually I will upgrade my CPU and motherboard (maybe in a year or so), and it would be nice to get something I could carry forward.

Ripjaws F3-10666CL7D-8GBRH
Ripjaws Z F3-2400C10D-8GZH
Trident X F3-2400C9D-8GTXD

How likely is it that the first option could be used with my existing RAM? What kind of performance might I get from the newer Ripjaws or trident at 2000 MHz? Is there another option I should consider?

Thanks!

[supahos]

Don't use the first option that is slow memory and will slow down what you already have. your best bet is to put in a 2x4gb kit from scratch. Yesterday there was an 8gb kit of 2133 ares for $57 on newegg, but thats not there today .

Those other two kits you listed obviously will need to be underclocked in order to work on your computer but that shouldn't be an issue... THe tridents are a slightly better kit of the other two you listed. You can just run either one of those and when you build a new computer they would easily drop in a new rig.

[Horatio]

Thanks for the info. I'm not too familiar with the different product lines, except that the Ripjaws Z tend to over clock better than the other Ripjaws lines. What's the target use for the ares series?

Just noticed ha my bios supports up to 2200 MHz memory; I don't mind under clocking. Might even get some timing benefits...

[supahos]

The regualr, X and Z ripjaws all clock the same, difference is in color, Red is worst, blue is better, black is best as a rule of thumb. Ares are low profile and will fit under any cpu cooler that isn't absoultely tight to the slots. Yesterday the Ares would have been my suggestion, today Either of those kits will work for you. Its up to you what you want to pick either should be fine. Be sure to update your bios before you remove your old kit, as this is alwasy reccomended when buying newer memory than the motherboard.

[GSKILL TECH]

The i7-860 can handle any of those memory kits, so pick one, set it up, and everything should be fast and stable. Let us know if you need any help.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH