If I'm not mistaken, you can just overclock ram, so is buying ram that is rated as being faster worth the extra money? Maybe mroe reliability with the faster rating?
yes.
Yes, it is worth the money? Yes, it is just for more reliability? Yes, what?
short answer: YES, but to a point.
Long answer: Is it worth paying an extra $5 on a kit of Ram to increase your speeds from 1333 to 1600. Most likely, because it allows more data to be transfered. and because of it 1600mhz is kind of a standard when you look around. But if you're talking the difference between 2400 and 2800, No, it;s not worth it. Most cpus and mobos can't even support ram that fast so the system down clocks it.
Faster memory is better, but you have to account for CAS latency aswell (if you're only gaming and not rendering; Don't worry about it)
Buying faster ram will probably be a better bet than OC'ing your ram to that speed. Because the faster ram is guaranteed to run at that fast speed. the slower one is not. so if you OC the slower one. it could be overvolted, cause electromigration, or just plain be UN-stable.
So what speed rating would be the "sweet spot" in general? 1600? 1866? 2400?
2400 - too pricy, and alot of mobo can't support it <-- no need
1866 - it shouldn't be too hard to find a good deal on it. and most mobos can support it <-- I choose you!
1600 - a very nice sweet spot, if you can find 1866 for the cheap, might aswell get it. <--mainstream
Also, if you shoode to get your own ram to OC. GET GOOD RAM. to alot of research on reviews and other shizz'. And also get some from a good company.
these are the ones i like and trust for quality. (no order)
- Patriot
- kingston
- corsair
- mushkin
- G.skill
If you've had good expeierences with other RAM companys don't be afraid to buy from them because of what I listed. Buy from the company you like the most.
1 last thing before i go. (literally getting off internet for a couple hours)
Don't get ram over 1.5volts try to keep the voltage low.
voltage = more heat = possible less life
1.5v is perfect if you don't OC. if you do OC read reviews and possibly buy low voltage stuff
G. Skill seems to have really decent prices and is pretty popular. I will probably go with something by them when the time comes.
Thanks for the help.
usually faster ram is not worth it. usually lower cas is worth it. sure faster ram allows for more data transfer but you will never notice the difference between 1333 and 3ghz except in sinthetic benchmarks. so no it's not worth it. lower cas is good for calculations. which is what is usually done anyway. Even in a video editing machine lower cas is better than higher frequency. Unless you have a specific use for faster ram i recommend lowest cas at whatever speed.
In my personal experience, I noticed the speed between 1333mhz and 1866mhz (using FX processor) and I liked it.
It does worth the extra, and try keeping voltages and latency low. 1866 and 2133 are not that hard to find and bring you a boost. However don't go for something like 2400 or 2800, you won't notice any difference.
To add a question to this... What are some good numbers to look at for the CAS? I've been looking around for parts for gaming and editing. Should I get 1866 with cas9 or 2133 with cas11 or is it worth it to buy 2133 with a cas of 9?
And I guess above all will I notice a difference between 9 and 11 and 1866 and 2133?
It depends on whether or not there is a bottleneck in the sytsem. say you were running a pentium 2 with that ram (which is impossible anyway) there would be no difference
I'm planning an 8350 and an evga670.
i think it will hlep to get better ram then
Just get 1866mHz CL9 1.5V memory and you'll be fine. AMD tends to have issues when running memory past 1866mHz without OCing (i.e., no XMP), manually setting timings, and really cranking up the voltages. Look intot he 16GB (2x8GB) G.SKILL Sniper series 1866mHz CL9 kit - great for the money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0L_KFKJYvg
i've read bandwidth makes more difference than tight timings.
so if you can save 50 to 80 bucks on cas 11 get it over the higher priced cas nine
voltages are platform dependent, if your talking X79 don't shy away from a kit because it's 1.65
how much ram do we really need? i have 16gig 4 dims dual channel and rarely do i ever see it use more that two gig unless you need it for virtual machines you can save with smaller kits like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231517
finding a stable overclock vs buying a faster kit?
to oc ram right is about two days of testing and tweaking when you can get a 2133 kit like the gskill in the link above on the cheap why go through that.