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RAM Speed Too Slow

J

JackSpadesSI

Senior member
I recently built a new computer, with the relevant parts listed here:

CPU = Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard = GIGABYTE GA-H77-DS3H
Memory = Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600

I wanted to have DDR3-1600 speed RAM, as both the CPU and the motherboard claimed to support that speed, so I bought the memory listed above. However, both the BIOS and CPU-Z tell me that the RAM is only running at 1333MHz.

How do I go about configuring the RAM to run at the desired speed of 1600MHz? I hope it doesn't involve doing any over-clocking, as the memory was advertised for that speed - it isn't like I want to push it beyond the product's specifications!
 
Isn't that OC'ing my memory, then? It doesn't sound right that I should have to OC my memory just to get the advertised speed.
 
JackSpadesSI said:
Isn't that OC'ing my memory, then? It doesn't sound right that I should have to OC my memory just to get the advertised speed.
Click to expand...

You have to get past the boogie man of OC'ing. You are adjusting the speed to it's rated speed. As I told you, almost all ram defaults to the slower standard speed to reduce problems with older MB's and older BIOS' that don't support the higher speed and therefore wouldn't allow you to get into the BIOS to try and change it in the first place.
 
I should also tell you that unless you are interested in benchmarking, there is no observable difference in running your ram at 1600 versus 1333.
 
But, I sort of feel at a loss since I paid for DDR-1600 memory. I'm not doing benchmarking, and my mom (I built the computer for her) surely won't notice the difference in speed, but I guess I just feel that I'm owed that speed.
 
Any chance that'll lead to instability? System stability is paramount, as I won't be here to help her troubleshoot if something went wrong with the memory due to an OC.
 
JackSpadesSI said:
Any chance that'll lead to instability? System stability is paramount, as I won't be here to help her troubleshoot if something went wrong with the memory due to an OC.
Click to expand...

Have you updated the BIOS? OCing is pushing the hardware beyond it's rated specs. You are resetting the clock speed to run at it's rated specs. If there is a problem after you reset the timings, you will know it as soon as you try to boot. If that happens, you reset the BIOS and update it.
 
I've got the second-most recent BIOS version. I don't think it is worth flashing the BIOS, though. The BIOS already has tools to tweak the memory speed, as it is.
 
My Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE doesn't recognize my ram as 1600 either so I have to manually set it. Setting it to what the ram is rated for isn't overclocking by any means.
 
You always have to change this...the timing should be ok.

Either set the XMP profile for the RAM to 1600, or set it manually AND you may need to change the DRAM voltage to the tested voltage (usually on the RAM package - or you can find it on the vendor website).

For my Corsair XMS it was 1.65v so I set it to 1.6 and all is well.

R
 
Ok, so in the BIOS the memory multiplier was set to "Auto" and I changed it to "16" which made another field read 1600MHz. Feeling that I had accomplished my task, I saved and quit. The computer booted fine, but CPU-Z still tells me that I'm only running at 1333MHz.

So, back to the BIOS. I then changed XMP from "Disabled" to "Profile1" (whatever that means). I saved and quit, booted fine, but no change in CPU-Z.

I now have no clue how to change my memory to run at 1600MHz (for reference, I've used older Gigabyte motherboards four other times, and I found tweaking the memory settings MUCH easier before they switched to this new "3D BIOS" thing).
 
Oh, and the memory claims it needs 1.5V, which the BIOS was already set to. Also, the timings (9-9-9-24) were already fine in the BIOS, too. It is just the speed that isn't where I want it.
 
Where are you reading this in CPU-Z? If you go to the memory tab, is it reading 800MHz?

You should probably consider downloading AIDA64. On the "motherboard" section, it will give you the comfort that you are looking for.

R
 
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