1600Mhz RAM Compatibility

[dmarkell]

I just recently purchased parts for a new system and am now a little worried about the RAM I bought. Basically I bought an i7 2600k and 16gb (4 x 4) of RAM running at 1600Mhz. After reading more into the sandy bridge chips I saw that they only support up to 1333Mhz of RAM. So now my question is.. Will my system be fine? Or will I need to do anything extra to ensure that there are no problems? Or am I screwed and need to get 1333Mhz RAM?

Here are some of the specs that might help when you guys answer!

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO / GEN 3
CPU: Intel I7 2600K
RAM:G.SKILL Sniper Series DDR3 1600Mhz (PC3-12800) 8GB (2 x 4) : F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR (2 kits of this for 16GB)

* And I looked it up and am pretty sure (not 100%) that this RAM runs at 1.5V

Any opinions would be appreciated.


Thanks!

 

[o1die]

You should be able to set your ram in manual mode at either 1066 or 1333 for overclocking. 1066 will get bumped up with the cpu fsb for stability, or you can try raising the ram voltage to get it running at 1600. The performance difference isn't that great. It's the cpu overclock that makes the most difference. If you set the ram fsb at 1333, it might run at 1600 stable with or without a voltage increase. But I personally refuse to pay some of the prices wanted for 1866 or higher ram, as some of it won't run stable on certain boards, and there's no way the ram manufacturer can test it on all the boards available.

 

[dmarkell]

So then what would be my best course of action regarding the ram? Ideally I would like to just put it together and have it run fine. Is that a possibility? Or will I pretty much have to manually set some settings to make sure no problems occur?

 

[o1die]

Your ram may be detected fine at 1333 with the gskill sniper series. If the default speed is lower, I'm sure asus will provide some manual settings you can use. 1333 is the regular setting for 1155, but 1600 should also work fine. Changing the settings in the bios is like a mandatory class at school; you'll need to learn how to do it sooner or later, so might as well learn now.

 

[dmarkell]

I would not be against learning how to play with the bios settings but I still have some confusion on the topic. I have heard/read so many conflicting answers regarding this, such as: Some people put their 1600mhz ram in the mobo with a 2600k and do nothing to the settings and it works fine, others have issues where their computer freezes (this may be due to the voltage however) and others need to just change some bios settings.

I guess the uncertainty in how to proceed lies in the fact that I want to make sure I get it right because I dont want to have a setup that is faulty and works how it is suppose to.

On a sort of side note. What is the controlling factor for the RAM, the cpu or the motherboard? The reason why I ask is because I know the motherboard can support 1600mhz so if it is the motherboard then in theory I should have no issues right? But if its the processor then I could have issues running RAM with a higher speed?

 

[o1die]

If you want to know for sure, start a tech form request using 000 or unknown for some of the required info, and see if asus tech support will tell you what the default ram speed is for your z68 board before you order it. It's really not that hard to use manual mode for changing ram speed. If you can put one together, you'll figure out the rest.

 

[Cryosis00]

Simply put, the RAM you purchased is fine for your setup.

You have a K series intel chip with unlocked memory ratios. You will be able to use your 1600mhz RAM without issue. Your RAM has an XMP profile so your mobo should automatically set your RAM to the correct timings.