Assistance with RAM Overclocking

System Information

- Asus Z87 Hero
- Corsair 32GB of RAM (8x4) 1600
- AMD 390 @ 1025/1535
- Intel i5-4670K @ 4.4
- Corsair AX 860

I would like to overclock my RAM. I ma not sure if I should mess with the ram timings at the stock frequency or if i should overclock the frequency first then mess with the timings. Please let me know if I left out some crucial information..

Thank you,
Joel
 
Solution
Here's the thing... I usually recommend just getting faster RAM rather than OC'ing your current RAM when your current RAM is not an OC speed for the motherboard. The lowest OC speed for that motherboard is 1800MHz.

Your motherboard supports up to DDR3 2800MHz, so why not get some DDR3 2400MHz sticks and play with those? When you get faster sticks, you usually get bigger heat spreaders, which are better for keeping temps down when OC'ing.
Here's the thing... I usually recommend just getting faster RAM rather than OC'ing your current RAM when your current RAM is not an OC speed for the motherboard. The lowest OC speed for that motherboard is 1800MHz.

Your motherboard supports up to DDR3 2800MHz, so why not get some DDR3 2400MHz sticks and play with those? When you get faster sticks, you usually get bigger heat spreaders, which are better for keeping temps down when OC'ing.
 
Solution


Sorry for the late reply. I can't afford new RAM at the time right now. I was able to tighten the timing from 9-9-9-24 to 8-8-8-23 @ 1.8V (I know this is rather high).
 


I raised the voltage manually from 1.5V. I was able to get the timings down to 7-8-8-23-1 @ 1600.

Since I don't ever use even close to 32 GB of RAM, should I remove two of the sticks just in-case I blow them up I have some backup? :D
 


I agree.

Just because something is not heating up, does not mean that it's not suffering damage in some way. Wires and traces can break from overly high voltage, even if they don't heat up very much. Also, there are parts of RAM that don't measure their temperatures, like traces and the board itself. If the traces heat up, the board will heat up. If the board heats up, your RAM may begin to suffer from chip creep. This means that the chips may detach themselves from the board, because of the repeated expansion and contraction caused by varying temperatures.