I need to build a solid base to OC my i5 2500k

Frosty98

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I have a i5 2500k and a liquid cooler. I have terrible RAM though. I want to overclock it a lot and I have a high budget. I am considering Corsair Dominator Platinum 1866mhz 8gb.

Also is it better to get 8gb 1866mhz or 16 gb 1600mhz?

I have a $150 budget. It will be used to OC my i5 2500k to 4.5ghz.
 

wdmfiber

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Don't get 1866MHz. You want 1600MHz ram with "tight timings". The, lower the latency or tighter the timings, the better the ram is.

8-8-8-24 would be great. 9-9-9-28 is a step slower, but it would be ok. By cas 10, you're starting to get slow. Although you would have to run some benchmarks to tell.

Great CPU by the way and Sandy Bridge CPU's are good for OCing.
 

Feldmarschall

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Hi,

It all depends how much are you going to use of your capacity.

Dual channel 2*8 1600Mhz will outperform 1866Mhz single channel. But outperformans is so small that there is no way to notice it.
Also Dual channel 1866 outperforms 1600.

Now you can go even further with memory latncies. CL9 is better than CL11 (lower latencies on CL9).
But all of that is something you won't really notice.
If you have enough money and your mobo is supporting dual channel above 1600, then go for 2*8 1866Mhz ram.
If not, then go for dual channel 16Gb 1600Mhz.
 

Frosty98

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Do you give a model of RAM? I don't know much about RAM.
 

Feldmarschall

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wdmfiber

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I think people are forgetting your Sandy Bridge CPU is only rated for 1333 MHz ram. You can get away with 1600 MHz ram, but unlikley Ivy Bridge... your pushing your luck after that and your system may not even boot at 1866.
 

Feldmarschall

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You have mixed some facts. "RATED" does not mean "IT CAN DELIVER".
It does not have anything to do with CPU, you are mixing some stuff from age of 3X86 CPU's. Last 15 Years there is no difference what kind of memory and CPU you are using as long as there are no KNOWN conflictes between those.
 

wdmfiber

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@Feldmarschall
You have good credentials on Tom's, yet you don't know the memory controller is part of the CPU?
You almost have to bin sort 3570k/3770k CPU's to get 2133MHz(or higher) memory to work at advertised speeds. You should research this!!

And I think the OP is confused, lost in his motherboard marketing specs. Latency... might as well talk about laundry at this point.

 

Feldmarschall

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Dude???? Wtf? So you are saying that 3570k is pointless with 1866Mhz? Of course they have 1333, 1600 only supported.. hm.. what about that? You are wrong man...
 

wdmfiber

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wdmfiber

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I'm saying the memory controller on the 3570k is better than the 2500k. Example: let say you bought 2400MHz ram. On a 2500k you'll likely only get it to 1866MHz. But on a 3570k you may get the same modules to 2133MHz. It's not an exact sicence, but generally you can go 2 "steps" higher with an Ivy Bridge CPU.

This forum member had ram booting at 2133 with a 3570k, but only managed 2000MHz with a 3770k(same ram). So that's variations in the controller, of the same family of CPU's.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1632978/3570k-memory-controller-3770k-issues.html#10546631

But in the end you want the fastest overall latency anyway. 1600MHz ram with 8-8-8 timings is usually alway fastest anyway. The latency is 10ns (nanoseconds). You have to look it up on a chart, but even 2133MHz ram at a fast 11-11-11 is slower.

The below ram is cas 7! That's crazy fast/arguably the best. 2500k/2600k/3570k/3770k... whatever CPU, this ram would be awesome to have in a PC.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231628
 

Feldmarschall

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This is something totally different and i agree with lower latency...But you said that 2500k likelly won't even boot with 1866Mhz. I said that 2500k has nothing to do with it if motherboard will support. If mobo supports it, it will work. Do you agree with this or not?
I will not let being accused of not knowing parts of CPU and this to hang in mid air so OP would be scared to go over 1600Mhz if he want's.
 

Feldmarschall

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Wdmfiber suggested really good memory in his last post. This one would give you good performance. There is only mobo support problem. And this one i can't really tell. Yours one is GA-Z68X-UD3H and the one supported on memory list is GA-Z68X-UD3.
Those two have same chipset, a little bit different design, but one thing that makes them a lot different is onboard GPU that yours one have. So i don't know will that make any difference in support. It would be nice to send e-mail to G.Skill to resolve this question.
It should support it but i really can't tell other than guess.
 

wdmfiber

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I don't agree...
I can't explain it very good I guess. But the reviews for the fast MHz G.Skill Trident are filled with that exact problem. People buy the fast ram cause it's available(i guess) but it won't work in their PC's at the high advertised speed. G.Skill tech support must go mad with the huge number of RMA's.

Here are some excerpts from G.Skill resonses:

Manufacturer Response:
Dear Customer


...not all CPUs are natively capable of DDR3-1866...

...We can surely assist you in achieving the rated specifications. This memory kit is absolutely guaranteed for DDR3-2133 CL9, and it can be capable of more with a good CPU...

...We are sorry to hear you are having issues reaching the rated specifications of the memory. The memory does reach the advertised speeds if you have a CPU that can support it. The memory controller is embedded in the CPU, so the actual memory speed may vary due to the overclocking margin of the CPU....

...We can certainly clarify the confusion you may have. Intel does NOT support overclocking, so DDR3-1600...

Those are just four. Almost all the OC'd ram on newegg has Manufacturer Responses, to bad reviews. They get taken down after a while, cause there get to be so many. No doubt it's bad for sales.

And to get at what your saying(I think). Some ppl do complain because the memory is "only" operating at 1333 or 1600, but that is the just the default speed and they need to set it for an OC.

Anyway, I have an Asus Z77 Deluxe board with an i7. My board supports ram up to 2600MHz OC. But if I bought some 2600 dimms, I know there is no way the controller in my CPU could handle it. I'd be lucky if it booted at 2000MHz.
 

wdmfiber

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I don't agree...
I can't explain it very good I guess. But the reviews for the fast MHz G.Skill Trident are filled with that exact problem. People buy the fast ram cause it's available(i guess) but it won't work in their PC's at the high advertised speed. G.Skill tech support must go mad with the huge number of RMA's.

Here are some excerpts from G.Skill resonses:

Manufacturer Response:
Dear Customer


...not all CPUs are natively capable of DDR3-1866...

...We can surely assist you in achieving the rated specifications. This memory kit is absolutely guaranteed for DDR3-2133 CL9, and it can be capable of more with a good CPU...

...We are sorry to hear you are having issues reaching the rated specifications of the memory. The memory does reach the advertised speeds if you have a CPU that can support it. The memory controller is embedded in the CPU, so the actual memory speed may vary due to the overclocking margin of the CPU....

...We can certainly clarify the confusion you may have. Intel does NOT support overclocking, so DDR3-1600...
___________________

Those are just four. Almost all the OC'd ram on newegg has Manufacturer Responses, to bad reviews. They get taken down after a while, cause there get to be so many. No doubt it's bad for sales.

And to get at what your saying(I think). Some ppl do complain because the memory is "only" operating at 1333 or 1600, but that is the just the default speed and they need to set it for an OC.

Anyway, I have an Asus Z77 Deluxe board with an i7. My board supports ram up to 2600MHz OC. But if I bought some 2600 dimms, I know there is no way the controller in my CPU could handle it. I'd be lucky if it booted at 2000MHz.