I5 2500k memory type

[doofesh777]

Hello,
In this page http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52210 it shows that the i5 2500k's memory types are DDR3-1066/1333. Does this mean that if I use a 1600mhz RAM I will only benefit from 1333mhz of the RAM?
Thanks

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

Hello,
In this page http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52210 it shows that the i5 2500k's memory types are DDR3-1066/1333. Does this mean that if I use a 1600mhz RAM I will only benefit from 1333mhz of the RAM?
Thanks

Hi doofesh777 ...First off check your mainboard specifications & see if the DDR3 limits are set to just 1333 MHz or if they allow you to overclock to 1600 MHz,1800 MHz and so on ...If you have a board with just 1333 MHz than I would say you should stick to 1333 MHz stick or sticks of ram ( 1333 MHz sticks of ram are cheaper than 1600 MHz or higher sticks of ram),but you can actually buy 1600 MHz & automatically your bios will bring these sticks back down to 1333 MHz ...If you look for a board that you can overclock with than you can get higher MHz sticks of ram and the core i5 2500k is unlocked & can easily accommodate higher MHz ram sizes ...The simple answer is get a board that you can overclock with & your cpu & the ram you have already will work ...Also you know that you have to go through the motherboards bios if you plan to overclock manually,but the turbo boost should give automatic ram adustments when you choose to let turbo boost do the work ...

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

On the Intel® Core™ I5 2500k, bus is set to except 2 lanes of 1033 or 1333 speed DDR3 ram at its normal clocked speed. If you can change the settings from the board (overclock) then you will be able to use faster speed memory, otherwise they really isn’t a lot of value in using faster ram unless it has a faster cast latency. So while many boards may except faster speed memory the processor won’t be able to get the performance out of it.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Hello,
In this page http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=52210 it shows that the i5 2500k's memory types are DDR3-1066/1333. Does this mean that if I use a 1600mhz RAM I will only benefit from 1333mhz of the RAM?
Thanks

The official Intel spec limits the memory to DDR3-1333 speeds. However, if you put the processor into an overclocker-type P67 mainboard, you will be able to set the RAM to 1600, 1866, or even 2133 speeds. You will get the full speed out of your RAM as long as you buy one of those supported speeds (1066, 1333, 1600, 1866, or 2133). If you buy DDR3-2000 RAM or some other strange speed, it will down-clock to the next lowest supported speed (for 2000, that would be 1866).

DDR3-1600 seems to be Sandy Bridge's sweet spot. Any higher than that and the memory is very expensive for very little gain. Also, lower RAM timings have very minimal effect -- get the less expensive CL9 RAM.

I have 12GB of DDR3-1600 CL9 RAM in my Sandy Bridge system.

 

[cjl]

You cannot overclock the memory on sandy bridge. Your only allowed to change the multiplier's to allow higher speeds. The DMI is locked at 100. You can sometimes to get to 105-107 but that's the absolute limit

You can still overclock.

By the Intel spec, the memory controller is overclocked at anything above 1333. Also, if you have 1600 RAM for example, you could run it at 1866. There's a lot less granularity in the RAM overclocks, but you can still overclock it.

 

[jordansens]

Hello, my name is Ovidiu and I have a problem with XMP memory profile1. I got a Gigabyte P67A-UD4, Intel 2500k i5, Kingston 2x4GB 1600MHz XMP X2 Grey Series . All is well when run on the frequency of 1333MHz memory, but when I activate profile1 1600MHz the computer frezees at different time intervals when i play diferent games. I want to know what causes that. Thank you.