Ram voltage warning

virtualwellz

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Apr 12, 2014
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My Computer : http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3CHYV

I get this warning on pcpartpicker:

Kingston HyperX Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Ivy Bridge CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.

Could I just set my RAM voltage to 1.5 in the bios settings to fix this or will that cause more problems?

Feedback will be appreciated
 
Solution
Hi,

1.5 volts +/- 5% is the JEDEC recommended supply voltage for DDR3. This value should be observed whenever data integrity and system stability is of consideration. If performance is desired, exceeding this value is okay as long as it does not exceed the JEDEC DDR3 maximum safe supply voltage (1.9 volts) or the memory controller's maximum safe supply voltage (varies, but is typically around 1.8 volts). In practice, I've never seen a DDR3 memory module that requires more than 1.65 volts to operate, and I've never seen a DDR3 module destroy a memory controller (I have seen some high voltage DDR2 modules destroy weaker DDR2 memory controllers though).

What you need to consider though is why a DDR3-1600 CL 9 module requires 1.65 volts to begin with. This typically indicates a set of low quality chips that failed validation at 1.5 volts. 1.65 volts is fine for DDR3-2133+ at tight latencies, but there's no excuse for it at DDR3-1600
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum

________________________________

+1

Appr 90% or better of all 1600 sticks run at 1.5 or less including true 'high'performance' 1600 sticks at CL 8 and 7....1.65 1600 sticks are still be put out by Kingston and Corsair primarily, to get a slae price premium over 1333 or 1066 sticks where these 1.65 sticks should be sitting at
 

virtualwellz

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Apr 12, 2014
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Thanks for the reply however I am a noob. I can understand generally what you're getting at but could you recommend whether its OK to stick with my current RAM or go buy some more.
 

virtualwellz

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Apr 12, 2014
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Thanks for the reply. Can you give me a recommendation for if should replace my current RAM or stick with it please?
 


As Tradesman1 said, there's nothing "wrong" with them. They will work, they won't damage anything, and they are covered under Kingston's warranty. The only consequence of buying cheap sticks is that they may have a higher bit error rate (which usually results in unexplained application or system crashes) and may fail sooner rather than later. You can run them at 1.65 volts without consequences, but if you want to add more memory in the future you should replace them with a more expensive set.
 
Solution

virtualwellz

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Apr 12, 2014
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Thanks for the help I was planning on buying some soon anyways but I was just checking since I got that warning from pcpartpicker.
 

virtualwellz

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Apr 12, 2014
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Thanks for the help. I am planning on getting some soon anyway but I wanted to check after seeing the waning on pcpartpicker.