ok, i get that. thanks! ...i think one last question. if i got DDR3 2133 ram sticks, would they work? because the specs for my board say "the board says DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600*/1800*/2133* (OC) DRAM, 16GB Max." does that mean the board can only handle up to 1333 normally and the higher ones if its overclocked? or it can handle up to a max speed 2133 regardless if its overclocked or not?
To answer your question. If your motherboard standard is 1333 and you are running at 1600, then as far as your motherboard is concerned, yes you are overclocked now. If you installed 2133 it would run faster at it's rated specs if your motherboard supports it. Just look at your motherboard's QVL list. Pay close attention to the make of the ram the voltage, frequency and timings.
EDIT: I might add that you will not notice a difference. If you want something that will make you notice a difference, get an SSD.
If your motherboard standard is 1333, anything faster than that is overclocked. That's why there is the (* OC) after them. That's what it means. My motherboard standard is 1600. I am running my ram at 1870, and yes, as far as the motherboard is concerned, it is overclocked.
If you are talking about leaving the sticks you have in there and adding more, then they would all drop down to the speed of the slowest sticks. Work? Yes. But you would be wasting the extra money you spent for the faster speed. (Compare the price between 1600 and 2133 and you'll know how much.)
If you are talking about taking the old sticks out and replacing them with the faster ones, the faster ones should run at their rated speed.
Most motherboards allow you to run your RAM asynchronously from the CPU speed, which is a fancy word that means not in synch (or at the same speed). Like essenbe said, you'll have to make sure your board allows you to do that....the board says DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600*/1800*/2133* (OC) DRAM, 16GB Max." does that mean the board can only handle up to 1333 normally and the higher ones if its overclocked? or it can handle up to a max speed 2133 regardless if its overclocked or not?
yes, if i upgraded i would remove the old sticks for sure. what i think i'm seeing on newegg is, the timings for ram speeds at 1333 and 1600 are lower numbers than the speeds at 2133. so would it be better to go with a lower speed 1333, as recommended by the motherboard specs without being overclocked, which would have lower timings, or a faster speed 2133, which would have larger timings, but be as fast as the board can handle?
(just to double check, lower timing numbers are better right?)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-1333C9D-8GAO
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7Q-8GBRM
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9D-8GAB
Last edited by socrgy9; 19 Feb 2012 at 22:10. Reason: forgot something
Here's something else to keep in mind:
Items like CPUs and Memory are manufactured in batches all based on a particular design. After they are made they are tested - and that is the point where the rating numbers are affixed to each individual part. For instance, they might roll out a whole sheet of Phenom II CPUs, test them, then sort them into 940, 955, etc.
They do much the same thing with RAM, which gets even more complicated because while a CPU is one chip, sticks of RAM contain many individual and (hopefully!) identical chips. The reason I mention this is that you could have two sticks of RAM rated entirely differently, yet in the real world they actually are pretty much the same.
Consider:
DDR 1600 9-9-9
DDR 2100 10-10-11
DDR 1333 7-8-7
Which one is faster? Well, there is a decent chance you could run the 1333 RAM at 1600 if you loosened (as in, made higher, which equals slower) the timing. You might also be able to drop the speed of the 2100 RAM to 1600 and tighten the timings somewhat. What you're getting when you buy RAM is a guarantee (of sorts...) that it will run at the speed and timing it claims. That doesn't mean it won't vary somewhat under specific circumstances, which is why RAM and motherboard manufacturers have an "approved" list of brands and types they recommend. Since they have tested those combinations for compatibility they can be pretty confident that they will work right together. :)
ok, so say i don't know anything about changing the ram and timings or any of that. (i know i could do my homework and research and learn to do it) but if i buy the ram that i want and don't change it...at un-altered speeds, which then would be faster, the speed of the ram, or a lower timed ram as you exampled, the 1333 @ 7-8-7, or the 2100 @ 10-10-11?
Faster RAM is faster. Even with the increase in timings, the difference between 1333 and 2100 is almost a 60% boost in bandwidth. (The speed at which data moves in and out of memory.)
thats what i need to know! thanks!
First of all on an AMD system the really doesn't have anything to do with the max speed of supported ram as the memory controller (also known as an IMC) is built into the CPU and not on the motherboard (same applies to recent Intel CPU's). The motherboard's memory support pretty much ends at which type it supports (most are DDR3 now), and what settings the motherboard manufacturer includes in the bios. That is how they say that it supports all those speeds over 1333 MHz.
Seeing as you do happen to have an AMD based system, might want to give this a read,
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING AMD AM3 CPU's and RAM SPEEDS
before worrying too much about getting faster ram. The motherboard manufacturers can say whatever they want with regards to supported ram speeds, as long as it supports up to 1333 MHz AMD spec. If the IMC on the CPU won't run it at those speeds (above 1333 MHz), then it doesn't matter what the motherboards makers say.
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