is my ram running at the right speed?

ok, the specs on my motherboard from MSI say this here: MSI Global ? Mainboard - 790FX-GD70
ill attach an image.

the board says DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600*/1800*/2133* (OC) DRAM, 16GB Max.

i'm using the program Speccy and it says my ram is PC3-12800j so it should be running at 1600mhz... but its running at 800mhz? even when ive got the power settings on high performance, instead of balanced, the green power settings of the motherboard are all turned off, it still says 800mhz. however, when i go into my BIOS it says both the Current DRAM frequency and the Adjusted DRAM frequency are 1600. but when i go in and look at the individual dimms and/or memory modules they separately say 800.

is my ram running at the proper speed? am i just confused about how it works? or do i need to change things to make it up to full speed? i know my ram is rated at a higher speed than my motherboard is, but the motherboard can do 1600 if its overclocked. at least thats what i gather from the msi website.

any input is appreciated.

Yes, it is running at the correct speed. DDR means double data rate so 1600 ram should show 800. 800 X2 = 1600.

ok, so if i did get 2 4gb sticks of DDR3 1333, which is not starred with the OC speeds as per the motherboard specs, it would run at 1333?

and, since i have 2 PC3-12800J sticks both rated at 1600, could i overclock those to get a faster total ram speed? is that what i'm understanding?

I have my RAM clocked from 1600 to 1680, due to the fact that I've raised my FSB setting. RAM can be overclocked if it's good enough to handle the higher speed. If it's not you will get the good old BSOD on a regular basis.

The confusion (at least mine) is in the dual naming convention used for memory. PC3-12800 is DDR3-1600.

Combined memory modules will run at the speed of any lowest speed modules installed. If you install two DDR-1333 and two DDR3-1600, the memory will run at the 1333 speed. The DDR3-1600 modules cannot be overclocked in this case. If that's what you're asking.

DDR3-1600 memory modules can't normally be overclocked much beyond 1600. That's their rating. The stars or asterisks on MB memory speeds means that overclocking needs to be used if you want to use that speed. The default speeds of the memory will be whatever is installed--1333/1066/800.

ok, so i have 2 sticks of DDR3 1600 each. they are both running at 800mhz to make an adjusted dram speed of 1600mhz total. so it sounds like both memory sticks are running at half speed? in that case, i could overclock them slightly to get better results...meaning a higher adjusted speed, coming from both sticks running faster. (closer to their individually rated speeds at 1600)?

Re-read what essenbe said. The "DDR" in "DDR3 1600" stands for Double Data Rate and means that they run at Double the 800MHz RAM speed. If they are running at 800 now they are already going full blast. DDR 1333 runs at 667, etc.

Here's my DDR 1600 running at 1680. Double the 840 number it shows and you get 1680.

oh! ok. i get it, except, if i were to take out one of the ram sticks, would the other one then run at 1600 all on its own?

and so ur saying it would be slower if i got 2 x4gb DDR3 1333 even tho they are the highest memory standard in the motherboard specs that aren't overclocked?

sorry, i'm just trying to understand all this, so if DDR3 1333 is the highest listed memory standard by the manufacturer specs, and the 1600 is *OC, and my memory right now is running at 1600, then is my memory already overclocked? and if i were to upgrade my ram to say an 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 2133, would that even work?

If you were to install 2 sticks of DDR3-1333 they would run at 667, 2 stciks of DDR3- 2133 would run at 1066, 2 sticks of DDR3-1866 would run at 933. Again, DDR is Double data rate and the sticks are in dual chanel mode as they should be. Yes, you could probably overclock them, But, I would strongly advise against trying it unless you understand exactly what you are doing. One slight mistake and your computer will BSOD and cause all kind of trouble. It would also depend on the quality of the ram as Profdlp said.

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.

socrgy9 said:

ok, i get that. thanks! ...i think one last question. if i got DDR3 2133 ram sticks, would they work?...

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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.

...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?

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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.

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

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.