Why do I have to OC to get advertised speed?

[gggirlgeek]

My Ram run's at 1333 unless I OC it in the Asus bios to the advertised 1648. All of this work is silly. Never happened on DDR2 computers I've repaired, so I went with the safe 1.5v CL 9 stuff I always buy. Apparently, not so "safe."

I am even having a hard time verifying what speed it's actually running. See the HWinfo32 screenshot below. Before I OC'd it, it said 1333. It currently says 1600.

Cpu-Z (screen shot below) said the same thing before and after overclocking. No change. My last Intel computer didn't hide this info in CPU-z. (I know it's a Sandy Bridge problem.)

Here's my main concern. When I buy 4Gb more I would like to make sure I have the proper sticks for this motherboard without over clocking. If I send the modules back and get the 1.65v CL8 sticks it likes (according to the manual) will I still have to over clock? If I keep these, will I have a problem adding sticks with different voltage and timings?

My system:
Intel G860 3Ghz
Asus P8Z68-V LE
Corsair 2x2Gb DDR3 1600 1.5v CL9
Rosewill Redbone U3 case
Antec 430w 80plus Bronze
1.65TB on 3 7200 HDD\'s
Toshiba 32\" HDTV

Built 3/23/12

 

[nikorr]

Sandy Bridge needs 1.5V

Your speed was limited by the memory controller in the CPU and was running correctly @ 1333MHz.

BTW, why don't u get 8GB? Unless u have the x32bit system.

 

[nikorr]

1.65v voids the warranty.

 

[gggirlgeek]

From my Motherboard manual:

At 1333mhz it likes 1.5v generally but not at 1600. I think this is why I'm having the issue. Otherwise I don't know because these modules are extremely close (off by 1 letter in the model number) to the motherboard's "officially" tested kits. I've never had a problem before, even buying any old ram off of ebay.

I am using Win7 32bit right now and really don't feel like going through the horrendous hassle of downloading and installing 100+ drivers and programs. Very tedious since I have no way of knowing which ones have 64 bit versions without looking each one up. All this on top of re-installing Windows and setting up all of my specific tweaks and settings. I have it very customized.

I also see nothing but complaints in the forums about this and that not working with 64bit. Until it's as streamlined as 32bit I'm not sold. Not a gamer either so don't need it.

 

[nikorr]

From my Motherboard manual:
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/4995/p8z681600ram.png

At 1333mhz it likes 1.5v generally but not at 1600. I think this is why I'm having the issue. Otherwise I don't know because these modules are extremely close (off by 1 letter in the model number) to the motherboard's "officially" tested kits. I've never had a problem before, even buying any old ram off of ebay.

I am using Win7 32bit right now and really don't feel like going through the horrendous hassle of downloading and installing 100+ drivers and programs. Very tedious since I have no way of knowing which ones have 64 bit versions without looking each one up. All this on top of re-installing Windows and setting up all of my specific tweaks and settings. I have it very customized.

I also see nothing but complaints in the forums about this and that not working with 64bit. Until it's as streamlined as 32bit I'm not sold. Not a gamer either so don't need it.

Sorry gggirlgeek,

For some reason I was thinking that u have the 2500K CPU, so never mind what I wrote.

 

[nikorr]

Memory Specifications for the Intel G860
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type) 32 GB
Memory Types DDR3-1066/1333
# of Memory Channels 2

http://ark.intel.com/products/53492/Intel-Pentium-Processor-G860-(3M-Cache-3_00-GHz)

 

[RetiredChief]

Since you have a SB CPU any Ram run at >1.575 Volts voids the CPU warrenty - Only way around that is to buy the Extended "OC" warrenty.

Ram above 1333 is OCed Ram and will come up at default 1333. You can simply tell the BIOS to use XMP, profile 1 and it will auto adjust to run @ 1600. It just chances the Multiplier for the 100 Mhz FSB and some timings.

When adding additional sticks, They should have the same ratings - In fact it is recommended that they come from a matched pair.

If You have 4 gigs and are running 32 bit, why are you adding additional memory as 4 gigs is the limit.

As A user You will NOT see a difference between running at 1333 vs 1600 outside of the benchmark.

Added:
I had NO problem running my 16 gigs (4 x 4) DDR3-1600, CL7, 1.60 V (0.025 V over max Intel spec) Ripjaw on my I5-2500k

No diff between my older I5-750 (NOT a SB), I still had to specify using XMP, profile 1 in Bios for it to run @ 1600.

 

[nikorr]

And that's the way it is ^.

 

[jaquith]

This all has to do with the Defaults of the CPU, and it never mattered DDR, DDR2, DDR3 -- if you're running the DRAM Frequency > CPU Default Frequency -- then yes it's OC'ed.

On your MOBO, get to the BIOS, AI OC Tuner -> XMP, Save and Exit = Yes. Done.

 

[jitpublisher]

One thing to always remember about RAM, it is not sold by the speed it will actually run when you plug it into your board. That "default" speed is determined, among other things, by the processor type and motherboard and perhaps in some situations, even the memory controller. RAM is sold at the maximum speed it is guaranteed to work at, or been tested that it can run at, providing you can reach those speeds by making BIOS adjustments, or as we call it, overclocking.

When you buy RAM, you must first do a little homework and find out what the default speed you motherboard/processor combination runs at, then you just want make sure you get the RAM that will work at least at that speed. We like to buy memory a little faster mainly for overclocking room. Faster memory actually has very, very little noticeable performance increase during normal use of your machine. You can run benchmarks and see a boost in the benchmark of your RAM speed, but you'll never see it when you use the PC for games or other applications and programs. If you need more speed, you can almost bet there are better places to spend money and look for a marked improvement than buying faster memory. Lower memory latencies will actually come closer to an improvement you can feel than faster bus speed or more bandwidth.

 

[gggirlgeek]

Thank you guys for the help. Now I understand more. I didn't realize Sandy Bridge was like this. Tried to tell myself it didn't matter but it was bugging me, especially in regards matching future ram upgrades.

I ended up RMA'ing the sticks back to Newegg because I found some better sticks with CL 8 at 1.65v, which seems like my mobo's preference according to the manual. I will expect to OC it this time though. Newegg accepted the RMA, no restock fee. They are back in my good graces after this.

I went ahead and ordered 8Gb for several reasons. One, I can use the PAE patch to get 32bit to use it (4Gb is working now.) Two, I have a 64bit copy of Windows sitting here. I may dual boot it, but I don't feel like doing a new install with all required 64bit software and driver downloads. So I'll only use it if it feels THAT much faster. Three, nothing wrong with having an extra matching set sitting around for later.

This is a power-HTPC so I also bought another 1Tb HDD. That should give me more room to try 64bit on for size. It will also give my working Windows partition more room to breath since I've restricted it to a 20Gb front partition for now. (Page and portable Program Files are on a second HDD.)

Thanks again!

 

[gggirlgeek]

Best answer selected by gggirlgeek.

 

[gggirlgeek]

One thing to always remember about RAM, it is not sold by the speed it will actually run when you plug it into your board. That "default" speed is determined, among other things, by the processor type and motherboard and perhaps in some situations, even the memory controller. RAM is sold at the maximum speed it is guaranteed to work at, or been tested that it can run at, providing you can reach those speeds by making BIOS adjustments, or as we call it, overclocking.

When you buy RAM, you must first do a little homework and find out what the default speed you motherboard/processor combination runs at, then you just want make sure you get the RAM that will work at least at that speed. We like to buy memory a little faster mainly for overclocking room. Faster memory actually has very, very little noticeable performance increase during normal use of your machine. You can run benchmarks and see a boost in the benchmark of your RAM speed, but you'll never see it when you use the PC for games or other applications and programs. If you need more speed, you can almost bet there are better places to spend money and look for a marked improvement than buying faster memory. Lower memory latencies will actually come closer to an improvement you can feel than faster bus speed or more bandwidth.

This was the best answer too. Valuable info along with the knowledge that Sandy Bridge is "just like that."

Thanks!

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr