Core i7 Memory Scaling: From DDR3-800 to DDR3-1600

Benchmark Results: 3D & Game Benchmarks

The GPU benchmark of 3DMark Vantage shows little benefit …

… while the CPU benchmark scales nicely; faster RAM translates into better performance.

The 3DMark Vantage overall score doesn’t change much, but faster memory still introduces small advantages.


Far Cry 2 rewards having faster DDR3 memory with up to three frames per second better game performance. That’s not much, but at least something.

Two frames per second can be gained in GTA IV.

Left 4 Dead scales better with increased memory speeds. However, low memory latencies are much more important here, as you can see by the fact that DDR3-1066 at CL6 timings is faster than DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 at relaxed timing settings.