Possible to install X79 RAM on Z68 motherboard?

[arjenboerdijk]

Hello,

I'm about to upgrade my RAM. Yes, I know that there are also RAM kits avaibable specifically made for P67/Z68, but I was just wondering if I could install X79 RAM on my Asus P8Z68-V Pro. I asked another guy, and he had these RAMs right under this post, and installed it on his Z68 mobo, and he said that everything worked perfectly fine. But I was just curious to the opinions of other people.

http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=437


Thanks in advance!

Arjen

 

[scottiemedic]

Yes, they will work fine. The only difference is they are marketed as 'Quad channel' for SB-E, but in reality they are just 2 dual channel sets. Since Z68 runs dual channel, you will have no problem.

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Ok thanks for your reply. So it is also possible to run them at spec timings and MHz? Cuz I've read somewhere that if you install two kits of 2x xxxGB of memory, that you can't run them at spec unless you play with the voltages...

 

[scottiemedic]

That is dependent on the mobo, overclocking, etc etc. I have 4 RAM DIMMS installed and never had to touch the voltages. If you're overclocking, then voltages come into play. Otherwise, install the RAM and boot up, you'll be off to the races.

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Do you mean overclocking the CPU or the RAM only? Cuz my CPU is running at 4.7 GHz 1.39V, I never overclock RAM btw.

 

[scottiemedic]

Overclocking both OR overclocking one can cause the RAM and or CPU voltages to need to be adjusted. I never OCed RAM before either, but the last time I overclocked was a Core2Quad. If you put the RAM in and it doesn't boot, then the voltage might have to be adjusted, but that can't be guessed without the RAM in.

 

[jaquith]

Where the differences between e.g. Ripjaws 'X' and 'Z' is in the XMP Profile optimization. XMP sets more CAS Timings than the common (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS-CMD RATE). Obviously, the DRAM Voltage and DRAM Frequency are also set.

The 'tweaking' is small but it's there, but the IC's class-to-class are typically the same.

If you set the RAM manually then there's no differences in the same class kits.

 

[arjenboerdijk]

So RipjawsX (Z68) 2x4GB 2133 CL9 will perform exactly the same as RipjawsZ (X79) 4x2GB 2133 CL9

 

[scottiemedic]

They are likely the same RAM, but sold in groups of 4 instead of 2, so G.Skill can call them 'quad channel'.

 

[jaquith]

On the same machine and set manually, yes they'll perform the same that is assuming you made a typo 2x4GB vs 4x2GB. The 'yes' pertains to same density and DIMM slots populated i.e 2x4GB vs 2x4GB. XMP there'll be a tiny difference that only some benchmark could detect.

Honestly, on LGA 1155 there's no OMG benefits running RAM any faster than DDR3-1600 CAS 9 unless you're running a high OC e.g. >4.2GHz and then the differences will be small. Here's a very nice article on LGA 1155 RAM Frequency and CAS Timings, the differences exhibit themselves primarily in synthetic benchmarks. Further, DDR3-1600 CAS 8/9 is rock stable whereas the High Frequency/Low CAS kits are 'fun' to keep stable.

Ideally, I recommend 4x4GB DDR3-1600 CAS 9 (4 stick kits); 16GB helps on 64-bit games.

Article Frequency/CAS LGA 1155 - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/1
RAM GB + Gaming - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-8.html

 

[arjenboerdijk]

No it was not a typo. I meant X79 4x2GB 2133 CL9, vs Z68 2xGB 2133 CL9. So which one performs better?

And why is 16GB ideal? My pc rarely exceeds 4GB of RAM while gaming...

 

[arjenboerdijk]

So you guys say that these two perform exactly identical?

http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=403

http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=437

 

[scottiemedic]

They are both PC3-17000 CAS 9. Yes, the only difference is the Quad vs Dual (CL9Q/CL9D) delineation.

 

[jaquith]

All thing being equal, on a Dual Channel 2x__GB kit is faster than 4x__GB kit/kits. There's too the variable of density, 2GB are typically fractionally faster but the loading up two (2) DIMM slots per channel is slower (more so).

Unless you are a Borg or running synthetics or going for some LN2 record the differences are indeed negligible. If you want the fastest then get a set of Dominator GT's, obscenely expensive but you can OC the hell out of them -> http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel-memory-upgrades/quad-channel-intel-memory-upgrade-kits/dominator-gt-with-dhx-pro-connector-1-65v-32gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmgtx8.html

Further, I really don't recommend using 1.65v RAM on LGA 1155, to keep them stable you'll need to just about exceed the maximum VCCIO Voltage of 1.20v.

LGA 1155:
4x2GB of F3-17000CL9Q-8GBZH DDR3-2133 9-11-10-28-2N @ 1.65v ; slower
2x4GB of F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM DDR3-2133 9-11-10-28-2N @ 1.65v ; faster

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Those corsairs are way to expensive for me. I'm gonna go for the G.Skill 2x4GB 2133 CL9 then.

Why don't you recommend 1.65V on Sandy Bridge? I currently run 1.65V RAM with no problems...
Do I need to increase the VCCIO voltage? Currently have it running at 1.1V...

 

[jaquith]

Intel and others have stated the >1.58v DIMM damages the SB CPU (not the SB-E). I know exceeding certain vCores typically >1.5v and/or exceeding VCCSA/VTT (similar to VCCIO) >1.35v is guaranteed to permanently degrades your SB/SB-E by 2~3+ bins in a matter of hours.

So hey, it's your SB do what you want with it

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Damages the CPU? Never new this... So why do they sell so many 1.65V kits then? I can't find any 2133 CL9 kits that run <1.65V.

Seems strange, cuz still so many people run 1.65V. How can DRAM voltage damage a CPU, cuz it's the DRAM voltage, not the VCore???

What do you mean degrade 2~3 "bins"?

 

[jaquith]

Regarding the RAM voltage, Google e.g. 'Intel Sandy Bridge 1.65 RAM damage' and start reading. This has been an issue since day one with the SB. The primary damage is due to a disparity between VCCIO vs DIMM voltages. I am only mentioning it so you're aware, and I really don't care to debate it -- it's been debated to death.

As far as '2~3 bins' this is due to 'electromigration', just don't exceed those voltages I posted and you should be fine. The bin loss aka CPU damage exceeding those voltages can take you from e.g. 5.2GHz -> 4.9GHz (100MHz/bin) at a once obtainable vCore. This is a permanent issue with the CPU once damaged; Intel does offer a special Overclocker's Warranty as I recall $35.

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Ok thanks for telling me all this.

I think I will go for the Corsair Dominator 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2133 CL9 (9-11-10-27) kit, does that look like a good choice to you? It says that specified DRAM voltage is 1.5V, which is a safe voltage, but will this also mean it will reach specs on 1.5V?
If so, I guess I'll have at least 0.8V to play with and might even tighten the timings to 8-x-x-xx, don't you think?

 

[jaquith]

I assume you are referring to the CMT8GX3M2A1866C9 kit, and sure it's fine though very expensive for 8GB of RAM. Stock use VCCIO -> 1.10v and if OC IMO don't exceed 1.20v.

Q - Why not simply get a 4x4GB kit of $160 CMP16GX3M4X1866C9 or better $99 CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9?

The only 'real' advantages for Dominator's or the GT's are for LN2 and hwbot.org to squeeze every last drop out of system.

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Well they cost around 100-120 euros, which is around 150 dollars. But I could buy the G.SKill kit for 70 euros, and those are 1.65V and might damage the CPU on long term use as you said. So that's why I'm looking into this kit from Corsair, only 1.5V, and will not damage the CPU at all.

And what's the advantage of getting a 16 GB RAM kit? I've rarely seen my pc exceeding 4GB of RAM, while playing heavy games with some background programmes also. I heard that if you buy more RAM that it will be overkill, and might hurt performance because of the bigger amount of modules (4). So what's the advantage of 16GB of RAM?

 

[jaquith]

If it's all about Gaming then revisit those two links above (Article Frequency/CAS LGA 1155 & RAM GB + Gaming). The CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 kit 'should be' cheap and does the job. As far as 8GB vs 16GB either are fine, my 'thought' is the cost and if you do anything that's memory intensive. Gaming, it's all about keeping the GPU's 'Shared Memory' at it's maximum; you know it's the maximum whenever there's 'Free' memory listed in the Resource Monitor.

On my rig I have 32GB, and devote 8GB (RAM Disk) and 8GB (RAM Cache) to the SSD. Once you try either you begin to realize just how slow even your 500MB/s+ SSD is or processing i.e. Photoshop scratch disk, Premiere, etc can be accelerated. In my particular case I test/code SQL and place the entire SQL database, if possible, on the RAM Disk and let her rip!!!

 

[arjenboerdijk]

Thanks for all your help bro, just ordered this kit from Corsair, 8GB 2133 CL9. Yes I know it's a Dutch site (as I'm Dutch) but I couldn't find anything on the Corsair site for some reason. 1.5V seems great, I have 0.08V to play with if I wanna overclock.

Here it is: http://www.4launch.nl/shop/product/119932/-2x4gb--ddr3--pc17000--cl9--dominator-gt/hardwareinfo