Memory advice please

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by PavH, Dec 29, 2013.

  1. PavH

    PavH Guest

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    My mother board supports only up to 1333 MHZ DDR3 1.65V memory sticks. I am thinking about an upgrade but can't really find any....can I use 1600 MHz ones or not?
     
  2. hallryu

    hallryu Don Altobello

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    The difference between 1333 and 1600 is not going to be worth the pennies. You would be far better off with a new GPU.
     
  3. PavH

    PavH Guest

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    Ok so I can't use 1600 MHz sticks right?
     
  4. hallryu

    hallryu Don Altobello

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    Specs list just 1333, with no OC listing as shown on the Pro-E.

    I didn't check the bios updates list to check memory compatibility however.
     

  5. AcidSnow

    AcidSnow Master Guru

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    Generally speaking: if all you do is game, and surf the web, then the amount of RAM you have is way more important than how fast it is. i.e. You should worry about having enough RAM, rather than its' speed.

    I have 12GB of RAM, and it's nearly impossible for me to use more than 5 of it! Battlefield 4 only sucks up ~4.5GB at most :bang:

    Now if you're playing games & you have a crossfire setup, then you'll need an extra 1 of RAM for each extra video card you use. Because back when I was using 2x5870's I was using almost 5.5GB of my RAM. Otherwise, don't bother upgrading to faster RAM.

    EDIT: Your mobo can overclock the RAM to match the speed of your CPU. ...I'm also using the i7 920 CPU, and although my RAM is rated up @ 1600MHz, I have to match my RAM to the speed of my CPU, which means I have to clock my RAM at just 1456MHz. The RAM is tied to the CPU. But basically all you can buy these days is 1600MHz, so don't worry.

    EDIT 2: Click Here for a .PDF file a list of "tested" RAM that is compatible with your motherboard (some unlisted stuff might still work).
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2013
  6. yasamoka

    yasamoka Ancient Guru

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    Generalization. When you have enough RAM, you should worry about its speed. Generally, 1600MHz and above is recommended.

    CrossFire has no bearing on the amount of RAM required. Correlation does not imply causation.
     
  7. AcidSnow

    AcidSnow Master Guru

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    If all he does is game, then a higher speeds above 1600 is entirely pointless. 1600 is faster than 1333, but for gaming the difference is negligible at best. ...However, if he plans to overclock his i7 920, then he will certainly need 1600MHz RAM, because that CPU can get up to a stable ~3.675GHz when air cooled. I have the same CPU, and I've set my CPU Multiplier to x21, and my Bus Speed to 175MHz, and at that Bus Speed my RAM needs to run at 1456MHz.

    In my personal experience I saw that when using 2x5870's and playing BF3, I was using 5.5 to 6GB of RAM. It's been 6+mos since I tested my 5870's, So I might be wrong about the +1GB of RAM per video card added. But I'm pretty sure I only needed 4.5GB when I disabled one card in CCC.
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2013
  8. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    If you're building a new system, or replacing current modules for more capacity (not just adding, replacing!) then you should definitely go for the fastest RAM possible for your budget, as long as it isn't overpriced.

    Since you have only 3GB RAM I would upgrade... 1600 MHz or even 2133 should be fine. They run at 1333 MHz in standard mode anyway. If you want to upgrade fully later, you already have the RAM! It all comes down to price.

    Sandy Bridge platforms don't really make good use of RAM faster than 1600 though. Ivy Bridge and Haswell platforms love faster RAM!
     
  9. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

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    BF4 seems to use more virtual memory in systems with Crossfire, evident by looking at the Commit amount.

    Silly game engine imho.
     
  10. PavH

    PavH Guest

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    Thanks for the massive support, my mobo is not the X58 Pro-E, just X58. Abroad atm....I'll get back to you guys when I open my manual tomorrow. So even if my MB doesn't support 1600 it will run a 1600 sticks at 1333 anyway right?

    I plan to buy these:

    Corsair Dominator

    CMP12GX3M3A1600C9
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2013

  11. PavH

    PavH Guest

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    So the true story is that my old sticks turn out to be actually

    Corsair Dominator 1866 MHz ones with 9-9-9-24 :funny:

    And I worry about 1600MHZ sticks......:bang:

    I will be adding the 12gb sticks with the same latency :)

    Got 6 DDR3 slots.....thanks for your help guys :)
     

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