Is the i7 920 compatible with memories faster than DDR3 1066?

[petoniano]

I´ve seen many posts of people who shows their current or next i7 configuation and they put the i7 920 or 940 processor with memories of different manufacturers with speeds between 1333 and 1600. But in the "system builder" of the web page where i´m going to buy the PC shows an error that says something like "the CPU you have chosen only suports memories DDR3 800 to 1066 Mhz"

At Intel´s site seems to say the same:
http://www.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/specifications.htm

Is this true or not?
I´m going to buy an i7-920 and I don´t know what memories should I take

Thank you very much
petoniano

 

[fullmetall]

Depends on what board your looking at. You can get a Asus P6t and run ddr3 1600 memory just fine, just have to oc to get standard clocks.

 

[jay2tall]

The intel specific specs will say 1066MHz memory. However the 1333,1600,1800,1866 memory you buy is essentially "overclocked" memory. DDR3 has a built in XMP profile that will set all of the clock speeds for you in the BIOS as well as voltages. The memory's stock speed is 1066, just like a CPU it can be overclocked. And memory companies rate their memory for certain speeds with certain timing. If it says DDR3 1600 8-8-8-21 at 1.6v it should run just that.

 

[petoniano]

thank you both. So maybe it´s worth taking memories a little bit more expensive that run at 1333 Mhz at least. The overall system perfonmance would improve, isn´t it?

If i´m going to buy a i7-920 with an ASUS p6t-SE i´m not sure what memories should i take:
1066-1333-1600 6GB.

http://www.alternate.es/html/productDetails.html?artno=ICIF21
http://www.alternate.es/html/productDetails.html?artno=ICIFG4
http://www.alternate.es/html/productDetails.html?artno=ICIFGB

and the fists ones, the Kingston 1066 are the most expensive.

thank you for you time
petoniano

 

[SirCrono]

I'm pretty sure that the difference between DDR3 1066 and, say, DDR3 1333 or 1600 would be neglegible in all real life scenarios, the most noticeable upgrades have always been GPU, CPU and RAM size, but not RAM speeds

But yes, you can run RAM fater than 1066 with an i7

Oh, forgot to add, if I'm wrong plz someone correct me
kthxbye

 

[jay2tall]

For the i7, I like to get DDR3-1600, it is usually a sweet spot. As in DDR3 1333 is only a few dollars savings over 1600. However, 1800 or 1866 is nice as well but you pay for it.

If you are going to run your i7 at stock speed, 1066 will be perfectly fine. It is when you get into overclocking that you REALLY need that extra speed.

As for benefits of faster memory. For number crunching apps it is a good idea. For games, it gives a few extra FPS at best.

From the site you listed above, this is the memory I have: http://www.alternate.es/html/productDetails.html?artno=ICIFGG