what is RAM? basic questions

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Hi I don't know a lot about memory. I'm building a new PC. probably z87 motherboard, i5-4670k. I know what RAM is and some basic things. But I have lots of questions.


There are many different offers on DDR3. DDR3-1600 and -1866mhz, both cas9, with about the same price. Then there is DDR3-2133 with CAS latency 11, priced about $30 more.

Is it worth spending $30 more on RAM? Does faster RAM give noticable FPS increase?

The specs given are what the RAM is rated for, or the settings it's guaranteed to work on? So does this mean a DDR3-2133 cas 11 will also run at say 1866mhz cas9?

How important in CAS latency? How important is speed? How does the comparison between these work? Is CAS or speed more important?

How do you overclock RAM?

Answers to any of the questions are appreciated. Also any links where more info on these topics can be found would be nice.
 
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Simple way to explain the '2N' is that it's part of the timing that you can adjust and overclock, but people rarely touch it as it doesn't make much of a difference as long as it's either 2N or 2T (which are the standard for modern RAMs, so don't worry about it).
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AshyCFC

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I've never tried overclocking RAM I'll just drop the basics.

The COMMON RAM for gaming is DDR3-1600 or DDR3-1866. The speed differences do not offer much difference in FPS, I believe you overclock RAM in your bios by upping the mhz it's at but I'm not sure as I've never tried myself.

As for CAS latency look for 9, It's a commoh number and affordable. Try to find Cas Latency 9 1600mhz 8GB(or higher) and you'll be fine for gaming.

Sorry I couldn't help more.
 
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IDontUnderstand

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Following what AshyCFC has stated already.

8 GB is the recommended value for gamer and nothing more, unless you plan on doing professional editing with the same system.

CAS vs frequency benefits different type of user, plus there is a balance point between CAS and frequency where if you higher a bit of CAS and higher a bit of frequency will yield a similar result.

Overclock RAM by playing with it's frequency, CAS latency, timing, and voltage. It's similar to CPU, but with more options to mess around with, and it's usually not recommended without any prior knowledge to RAM overclock. It can be extreme tedious and non satisfying because the difference is rarely noticeable outside of benchmark.
 
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Thanks both of you,

If I understand correctly memory can be tweaked in BIOS (assuming a good motherboard), so you could play around with the speed frequency and CAS latency and other timings, as well as the voltage. But only the listed specs are quaranteed? Meaning you might be unlucky with the specific kit you buy, and not be able to overclock very much. I'm still a bit confused about what would be considered the higher rating, 1600mhz @ cas9 or 2133mhz at cas 11. I suppose if you wanted to you could tweak your 2133mhz cl11 mem to run at 1600mhz cas 9 instead? The confusing thing is that both these products have the same price.

Also, I have a question about voltage spec, some 1600mhz ram is specified as running at 1.65V while other brands with otherwise identicl specs have 1.5V listed. Which is the better product? Does it mean that the 1.65V is worse, because it needs that extra voltage to reach the listed specs? Also leaving less space for tuning and overclocking the memory yourself, because the voltage is already turned up?

I should also say the main use of the system will be gaming. As well as general office type stuff, internet streaming etc. I'm not into a lot of video editing/encoding or photoshoping so it's good to know 8gb of RAM should be enough.

 
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AshyCFC

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In regards to volts, If you're going Haswell based(intel 4 series) the RAM voltage is advised at 1.5V whereas other mobos and processors are fine with 1.65V RAM.

If you're just starting out for gaming, buy some 1600mhz CAS 9 RAM and leave it at stock speed/clockings. It will perform perfectly fine with very little hassle to you.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Look for a combo of high freq and low CL - 1600/9 is entry level, and you see a slight increas in going up by each freq - 1600, 1866, 2133, 2400 etc, same with CL (1 step up at a time) so 1600/9, 1866/10 a little better, 2133/11 again a little better than the 1866/10 the bigger jumps in performance come when you look at a 1600/9 set and then throw in a 2133/9 or 1866/8...for high performance DRAM look to 1600/7, 1866/8, 2133/9, 2400/10 and so on
 
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Thanks, too bad I can't give "best answer" to everybody.

Thanks Tradesman, that explanation makes a lot of sense.

Thanks also AshyCFC. Very useful to know that 1.5V is recommended for Haswell, since that was the CPU gen I was looking at. Perhaps this means it would be more difficult to tune ram running on haswell cpu, if the voltage is recommended to be kept at 1.5V.

Thanks IDontunderstand. "but the RAM market is really messed up". yes makes it a bit confusing. But I suppose there could be explanaitions such as different guarantee policies, reviews, brand name etc. I did hear a lot of good things about G. Skill. Also I think their "Ares" brand is low-profile cards.

Adding to the confusion though is that for example G.Skill, sells mem with different brand names "sniper" or "ripjaws" with same spec. Maybe the reason is that "ripjaws" and "sniper" represent different batches G.Skill has bought from manufacturer. Either way i'm deciding between G.Skill Ripjaws at 1600mhz cl9 (24-9-9) or G.Skill Sniper at 1866mhz cl9(28-9-10-9--2N [any idea what "2N" means??]), priced about the same, both 1,5V. So from what you all said i'm getting the snipers.

 
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IDontUnderstand

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Simple way to explain the '2N' is that it's part of the timing that you can adjust and overclock, but people rarely touch it as it doesn't make much of a difference as long as it's either 2N or 2T (which are the standard for modern RAMs, so don't worry about it).
 
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B_S

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Thanks both, looks like snipers getting the thumbs up. Plus the cooler system is pretty looking like a sniper rifle. Although the mem will be inside a box so i won't see them, but i'll know they're there!

"sniper seem best bet as they're not as tall as the ripjaws and the ripjaws May not work with some CPU coolers (usually large air ones)"

That's very useful!

 
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