DDR3 1600 vs 1333

[jake24a]

i'm looking at the i7 2600 and i5 2500's with their respective H67 or P67 MoBo's. They support 1333 Ram but would it hurt to put 1600 in it?

 

[o1die]

No. All the 1333 ram I've owned will run at 1600 with the right settings in the bios. I recommend 1.5v ram whatever brand or speed you choose.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Since they are just about the same cost, I put DDR3-1600 in all my builds, most getting CAS 6 or 7. Other suggestion I'd make is avoid modules with tall heat sinks so as to avoid potential cpu cooler interference. Years ago, it was worth paying the premium for good cooling on RAM, now it's just kept to push sales.

You can usually push RAM up one notch to a higher speed specification, but it usually involves relaxing CAS timings.