Memory for Overclocking AMD A10-6800K

[RonAKA]

Looking for a new reasonably priced build for a general purpose computer with the only heavy duty task as photo editing (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc). No gaming. One option that is attractive in price is the AMD A10-6800K which has the integrated graphics processor. It appears it has some benefits in Photoshop based on the Tom's Hardware testing using the Photoshop CS6 benchmark. Other research has indicated that due to the integrated graphics processor this CPU benefits from faster memory.

Based on specs the A10-6800K is supposed to be good for DDR3-2133 memory. I may overclock the CPU a bit, but there is not much room. There are limited motherboard choices, but the Asus F2A85-V Pro appears to be one of the best. However, standard memory clock speeds only go to DDR3-1866. The BIOS however supports speeds up to DDR3-2400.

So, finally for my question. I was looking at using DDR3-2133, which technically is overclocking the motherboard memory. Is this going to be an issue and do I need special memory to do this (other than DDR3-2133)? I would like to buy the ram locally so I can take it back if I have issues. When I look at the local supplier they have limited DDR3-2133 ram, and none of it that I can see is recommended for AMD processors. In fact some say the ram is Intel i specific. This is all new news to me since my last built. I just bought ram in matched pairs at the right speed and went for it. Is ram now all that specific to a processor? Or are they just saying this as it is technically overclocking for the AMD motherboard? Here are my choices (16 GB total) locally at the link below, if you have any thoughts? It is even more restricted than it looks, as most are special order... All I see left in stock are these, and the description says they are both intended for Intel processors:

Patriot Viper 3 Black Mamba (2x8GB) PC3-17000
G.Skill RipjawsZ Series (4x4GB) PC3-17000

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Category/Memory

 

[Yuriman]

I think memory speed is a lot less important for most compute tasks than for gaming.

 

[AtenRa]

If you not going to game with the iGPU then you dont need to buy 2133MHz ram, 1866MHz will be more than fine. But even you you want to buy 2133MHz ram the A10-6800K natively supports up to 2133MHz ram.

 

[sm625]

You shouldnt buy the A10 if you arent going to be gaming at all. The minor boosts you get in rare photoshop gpgpu cases are nothing compared to the boost you get from using something like an i3-3250. The intel gives you 50% more memory bandwidth, 50% increased pi scores, matches most 4 thread workloads, gives 25% better javascript performance, a 20% better PCMark 7 score, and uses 30% less power at load.

 

[RonAKA]

I would rather leave the gaming vs photo editing debate out of this thread although it is an interesting discussion. They are both video display intensive, but in different ways. The trend in photo editing is toward doing more and more in the native 10 bit RAW files from the camera, rather than in the small JPEG. It means there is a lot of data being displayed and edited. My camera RAW files are about 20 MB for 20 MP of data. If you change the tone across the whole image that is a lot of data to change and redisplay. I currently occasionally use some Sony software, Image Data Converter. When I make a change to the RAW image file it brings my overclocked E4300 system to its knees. I can visually watch the screen being redrawn with the edit. Essentially it is unusable. My conclusion is that there is a relation between high resolution gaming performance and high resolution photo editing, but it depends on the methods the software is using to handle the high graphics load, such as DirectX, Open CL, or multithreading.

Back to the ram speed. Here is a page which shows that in 3DMark tests that there is some advantage to faster ram in the A10. They test with 1333, 1600, and 1866. There is no indication of diminishing returns from the faster ram.

http://www.brightsideofnews.com/new...ir-apus-with-richland---a10-6800k-review.aspx

Also here is a link to a test which shows how fast the A10 can be if the photo editing software (Musemage) is designed to use the GPU.

http://us.hardware.info/reviews/320...rinity-for-desktops-benchmarks-gpgpu-musemage

 

[RonAKA]

If you not going to game with the iGPU then you dont need to buy 2133MHz ram, 1866MHz will be more than fine. But even you you want to buy 2133MHz ram the A10-6800K natively supports up to 2133MHz ram.

So, are you saying I should be able to plug in any 2133 rated DDR3 and it should work with this motherboard and processor, even if they say it is specifically designed for Intel processors?

 

[el etro]

For 1333C9-1600C9 the gap is about to be same as the gap for 1600C9-2133C11.

 

[Centauri]

AMD's CPUs require special memory?

 

[Idontcare]

So, are you saying I should be able to plug in any 2133 rated DDR3 and it should work with this motherboard and processor, even if they say it is specifically designed for Intel processors?

I don't think anyone is saying that.

There are electrical specifications that must be adhered to if you expect the 2133 rated DDR3 to work with your motherboard and processor.

No one can tell you unequivocally that every single stick of 2133 rated DDR3 out there is going to work within the Vdimm spec, for example.

What you need to do is stop expecting anonymous people on an open forum to be able to provide you with reliable expert advice on precisely what your CPU and Mobo manufacturer support in the products they made and you wish to operate.

What you need to do is go straight to the horses mouth and ask the manufacturers of the products in question what ram you can use. Hopefully they provide you with open specifications such as operating voltage and so on so you can freely shop from available ram that meets those specifications.

But relying on random opinions from an unqualified forum community is not going to provide you with a satisfactory answer unless one of those opinions carries with it a link to the published specification page from the mobo maker or CPU maker regarding exactly the information you are seeking.

 

[RonAKA]

AMD's CPUs require special memory?

Sounds strange to me too... More that they specifically say they support Intel. Some quotes:

"G.Skill RipjawsZ F3-17000CL11Q-16GBZL - This ram kit is designed to only work specifically with Intel® Sandybridge-E CPUs (Intel i7-39XX Series) on the Intel X79 platform"

"Patriot Memory's Viper 3 Series memory kits are designed with true performance in mind. Tested and compatible with Intel's® DDR3 compatible processors and chipsets"

"Corsair Vengeance - Intel XMP 1.3 (Extreme Memory Profile) Support"

Is the an anti-AMD conspiracy in the memory makers?

 

[RonAKA]

What you need to do is go straight to the horses mouth and ask the manufacturers of the products in question what ram you can use. Hopefully they provide you with open specifications such as operating voltage and so on so you can freely shop from available ram that meets those specifications.

I've looked at the Asus Qualified Vendor List (QVL's). They are next to useless because they are so out of date, and almost no vendors are listed. Also Asus for this motherboard only officially supports ram up to DDR3-1866, so I suspect they will never list DDR3-2133 products. I would be overclocking the ram in their view.

That is why I am asking the question on an overclocking forum with experienced users here who I'm sure have been there and done that. This forum helped me a lot when on my last overclock build of an E4300.

 

[AtenRa]

My ASUS F2A85-M can operate with up to 2400MHz ram. The AMD 10-6800K I used for the review in my signature bellow, could work with my Kingston 2133MHz and 2400MHz (2400MHz is not offcialy supported by the A10-6800K).

The Kingston ram specs are bellow,

Genesis - 16GB Kit* (4x4GB) - DDR3 2133MHz CL11 Intel XMP DIMM
Part Number: KHX2133C11D3K4/16GX
Specs: DDR3, 2133MHz, CL11, 1.65V, Unbuffered, Spec Sheet PDF
Profile 1: 2133MHz, 11-12-11, 1.65V
Profile 2: 1866MHz, 10-11-10, 1.65V

HyperX Beast (T3) - 8GB Kit* (2x4GB) - DDR3 2400MHz CL11 Intel XMP DIMM
Part Number: KHX24C11T3K2/8X
Specs: DDR3, 2400MHz, CL11, 1.65V, Unbuffered, Spec Sheet PDF
Profile 1: 2400MHz, 11-13-13, 1.65V
Profile 2: 2133MHz, 11-12-11, 1.6V

 

[Meghan54]

I've looked at the Asus Qualified Vendor List (QVL's). They are next to useless because they are so out of date, and almost no vendors are listed. Also Asus for this motherboard only officially supports ram up to DDR3-1866, so I suspect they will never list DDR3-2133 products. I would be overclocking the ram in their view.

That is why I am asking the question on an overclocking forum with experienced users here who I'm sure have been there and done that. This forum helped me a lot when on my last overclock build of an E4300.

Odd, the specification list for your motherboard specifically lists a wide range of memory speeds supported, most of which are overclocked speeds, which is the only way to get those speeds out of the memory in the first place.

Taken directly off Asus's web page for the motherboard, under specs:

Memory: 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2250(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture

Notice all those (O.C.) designations? That means the motherboard supports those memory speeds and that speed is an overclocked memory speed. So, Asus DOES support overclocking the memory on that board.

Maybe some reading and comprehension lessons are in order for you?


BTW.....here's your freakin' GSkill memory for you in stock at Newegg, taken from the "outdated" QVL list for your motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231503


And if you want to go expensive, another set off the QVL list in stock at Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233230
http://redirect.anandtech.com/r?url...duct.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503&user=u00000687

 

[RonAKA]

I finally found some comforting words from a DDR3 manufacturer. Patriot say this about their Viper 3 Series, Black Mamba memory:

"the Viper 3 modules are compatible with Intel and AMD processors and chipsets that support DDR3 memory with specific optimization for Intel 6, 7 & 8 series and AMD 9 & FM Series processors"

http://www.patriotmemory.com/product/detail.jsp?prodline=5&catid=34&prodgroupid=232&id=1259&type=1

Available locally and I think I will give it a shot.

 

[RonAKA]

My ASUS F2A85-M can operate with up to 2400MHz ram. The AMD 10-6800K I used for the review in my signature bellow, could work with my Kingston 2133MHz and 2400MHz (2400MHz is not offcialy supported by the A10-6800K)...

Thank you for the helpful post.