Can you run DDR3 memory on the Intel i5 6500k

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ashleyjamess

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Dec 29, 2016
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I have a small budget to upgrade my PC. i want a Intel I5 6500k and i don't want to have to buy ram as i already has some DDR3 gaming ram also, this keeps the price down. i was reading on Intel's website the the memory compatibility is DDR3L/DDR4 so i wasn't sure weather DDR3 memory would work. I found a motherboard the supports DDR3 and Intel I5 6500k however i wasn't sure weather this would work.

the motherboard i found was the:GIGABYTE Intel H110 GA-H110M-H (Socket 1151) Micro ATX Motherboard DDR3

and the CPU i wish to run on this is: Intel I5 6500k

Any answers?
 
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synphul
Some people have used ddr3 with skylake. Personally I wouldn't, not for the relatively low cost of ram. In the past I would have trusted the motherboard since the memory controller used to be part of the board. Now however the memory controller is integrated in the cpu, if the higher voltage ram should cause issues you'd be replacing the cpu and running ddr3 would likely void the warranty.

The motherboard company (the ones making it possible to pair ddr3 with skylake) likely aren't going to buy you a new cpu so I don't think it's really their place to give people the impression it's safe. It's not the first time they've ignored intel and done whatever they like, a lot of boards tried to make overclocking of non k cpu's including i3's...
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Herc08

Herc08

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Aug 6, 2016
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First off, what is a 6500K? You said it twice throughout the post. Also, you can run it, HOWEVER, you can also damage your CPU. Intel advises NOT to do it. Read here: http://wccftech.com/skylake-does-not-support-ddr3-damage-ddr3l-only/

Since you already have DDR3, stick with a 4th gen CPU, and keep your RAM if you do not want to spend more money on RAM. Also, no point in getting the K version when you are getting a motherboard that doesn't allow overclocking.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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Feb 3, 2013
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You might want to check this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3283875/cpu-upgrade-6300.html

DDR3L and DDR3 share the same slot. Skylake's memory controller is only rated up to 1.35v, and so it is commonly believed that running 1.5v RAM may damage it. However, I haven't seen any evidence, and forum member damric claims to have had no issues for nearly a year running normal DDR3 with a Skylake CPU.

In the past, Intel memory controllers have been rated for 1.5v but there were no widespread issues issues running 1.65v RAM with them.

At this point I'd be willing to give it a try, but be aware that you're running the memory controller out of spec.
 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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Some people have used ddr3 with skylake. Personally I wouldn't, not for the relatively low cost of ram. In the past I would have trusted the motherboard since the memory controller used to be part of the board. Now however the memory controller is integrated in the cpu, if the higher voltage ram should cause issues you'd be replacing the cpu and running ddr3 would likely void the warranty.

The motherboard company (the ones making it possible to pair ddr3 with skylake) likely aren't going to buy you a new cpu so I don't think it's really their place to give people the impression it's safe. It's not the first time they've ignored intel and done whatever they like, a lot of boards tried to make overclocking of non k cpu's including i3's a 'thing'. Intel locked that down with bios updates and microcode updates via windows.

Unfortunately there's no long term data available to suggest whether skylake is safe with standard ddr3 with higher voltages. So far so good for some people but will the cpu become damaged and begin giving errors in another few months? Another year? Not at all? It's a gamble. By the time there's enough long term data around the issue will be a moot point since systems moving forward are ddr4 anyway, both intel and amd's future cpu's. By then ryzen will be out, kaby lake will be out, cannon lake might be around. A bit late to go back and determine a skylake build with ddr3 whether it works out in the long term or not.

I prefer to err on the side of caution. If someone knows the potential risk and is willing to absorb the cost of buying a new cpu, more power to them and best of luck. On the other hand 8gb of ram is around $40. A basic motherboard is $65-100. The cpu is around $190 and that's the part at risk for damage. It would be cheaper to replace the ram and motherboard both than have to buy a new cpu. Personally I don't think it's worth saving $40 at the potential risk of $200.

 
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