REAL difference between 1333mhz & 2133+mhz RAM?

[ttechf]

I asked this question on another board and someone linked me up with charts taken from many benchmarks such as compression and gaming and there was barely any difference.


Any other opinions on this?

I consider myself in between a power user and casual user. In the middle. Would I notice higher RAM than 1333mhz in my machine or is it better to fill my motherboard up with 1333mhz RAM more so than to just get like 8GB of 2133mhz? or 1866Mhz?


Thanks. : )

 

[Don Karnage]

Will show up in benchmarks and i swear by faster memory especially for sandy bridge and ivy bridge. 2133 memory is cheap. There is no reason not to buy it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231468

The ones i linked above ran at 2400 for me @ 1.6v before i upgraded

 

[ttechf]

Will show up in benchmarks and i swear by faster memory especially for sandy bridge and ivy bridge. 2133 memory is cheap. There is no reason not to buy it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231468

The ones i linked above ran at 2400 for me @ 1.6v before i upgraded

Well, it's "cheap" at 4GB sticks, but not 8GB sticks. I was just wondering if there would be a huge difference for me if I went with 1600 or 1866?


Thanks. : )

 

[Magic Carpet]

I went from 1333 CL9 to 1866 CL8. There is a 5-15% difference but... I honestly had hoped for more. Haven't really noticed in the apps that I use. I'd rather have more memory.

 

[ttechf]

I went from 1333 CL9 to 1866 CL8. There is a 5-15% difference but... I honestly had hoped for more. Haven't really noticed in the apps that I use. I'd rather have more memory.

Well thats what I was sort of thinking. Instead of shelling out big bucks for 1866 or 2133 8GB sticks, get the same 8GB sticks at 1333 or 1600?

 

[MrWizzard]

I went from 1333 CL9 to 1866 CL8. There is a 5-15% difference but... I honestly had hoped for more. Haven't really noticed in the apps that I use. I'd rather have more memory.

5-15%... I would like to see the hard data on that....Memory benchmark programs don’t count. heh OP asked for REAL difference. Benchmark programs are like taking a engine out of a car and saying LOOK HOW FAST IT SPINS! Well that's great and all but what I really care about is how fast it spins when it's all hooked up.

OP from what I have seen there is almost no difference. Yes there is a difference but it's so small, that it’s a joke.

Read up here this is a good article.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/1

You can see that on the benchmarks for just the memory YES there is a difference but that’s not real world. Real world you have to use programs with the memory, real world difference is almost nothing.

 

[ttechf]

5-15%... I would like to see the hard data on that....Memory benchmark programs don’t count. heh OP asked for REAL difference. Benchmark programs are like taking a engine out of a car and saying LOOK HOW FAST IT SPINS! Well that's great and all but what I really care about is how fast it spins when it's all hooked up.

OP from what I have seen there is almost no difference. Yes there is a difference but it's so small, that it’s a joke.

Read up here this is a good article.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/1

You can see that on the benchmarks for just the memory YES there is a difference but that’s not real world. Real world you have to use programs with the memory, real world difference is almost nothing.

Thanks a lot for clearing that up, appreciate it! : )

Didnt want to waste dollars down the drain for faster Memory if I didnt need it.

What should I go with then? 1333 or 1600? 1866 if its cheap enough in 4GB sticks?

Im really gearing towards 8GB sticks. Just get 2 and then have 16GB for a new build if I can get them cheap enough.

 

[MrWizzard]

Thanks a lot for clearing that up, appreciate it! : )

Didnt want to waste dollars down the drain for faster Memory if I didnt need it.

What should I go with then? 1333 or 1600? 1866 if its cheap enough in 4GB sticks?

Im really gearing towards 8GB sticks. Just get 2 and then have 16GB for a new build if I can get them cheap enough.

Go for whatever is cheapest since speed doesn't really matter. More ram is better than more speed. If you are not overclocking 1333 is fine. I just built a Ivy Bridge and got 2133 memory because it was cheapest for what I was looking for. I run it at 1333 though.

 

[ttechf]

Go for whatever is cheapest since speed doesn't really matter. More ram is better than more speed. If you are not overclocking 1333 is fine. I just built a Ivy Bridge and got 2133 memory because it was cheapest for what I was looking for. I run it at 1333 though.

Awesome, that answered my question/concern. Thanks a lot. : )

 

[Revolution 11]

OP, whatever RAM you end up getting, the less voltage it is specified for, the better quality the RAM. Ram rated for 1.5V is more stable at any given voltage compared to 1.6V Ram.

I am sure I am missing some nuances but the general idea is true.

And yes, lots of RAM is much better than faster RAM for any given budget. Only if your budget is so high that you can't fit any more RAM, get the faster, lower latency RAM.

Make sure to test any RAM you buy with memtest or related RAM tests to check for obvious RAM errors before considering your PC finished.

 

[thelastjuju]

Really no need to have more than 8gb of anywhere between 1066-1333-1600 if you are a casual - power user. Hell, games are STILL barely utilizing a full 4gb. I thought we'd be way beyond that by now, but we just aren't. Only photo and video editors will benefit from much more than that.

Anyone actually claiming to FEEL the difference here between "faster" ram is falling for some sort of placebo effect.. that, or they can FEEL the speed of light by the nanosecond too. :whiste:

 

[MacGyverSG1]

Exactly, 8GB is plenty for most people. Any more is just wasted money. More isn't always better. Buy a faster graphics card or CPU with the saved money.

 

[cmdrdredd]

well, if you are doing file compression on large amounts of data, you will notice the time it takes to compress or decompress the archive is shorter with higher speed memory.

Such as using Winrar or something similar to archive lots of video files you want to keep but not view all the time.

I've done this more than once, but it's not something I do daily of course.

 

[Hulk]

I remember taking a hard look at some Anandtech memory data about a year ago when building my current rig and coming to the conclusion that the best performance/dollar was at 1600MHz and CAS9.
But that is(was) just my subjective opinion.

 

[FAUguy]

I've been using these Mushkins 2133, 4x4GB, 1.65v since October with no issues at all with a 2600K CPU at 4.6GHz. If I was looking to build a system today, I'd try to find the Samsung ones, since people have been able to get it to run at 2133 (or higher) with less voltage.

I use Sony Vegas every so often for editing videos and to create DVDs, so the 16GB of RAM at 2133 does seem to help. Also, having the 2600K at 4.6GHz (instead of stock) does take a few minutes off rendering and encoding 4.7GB video files.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226200

 

[Railgun]

Exactly, 8GB is plenty for most people. Any more is just wasted money.

640k ought to be enough for anybody.

I would start with 8, leaving room to expand as opposed to maxing out your slots.

 

[TemjinGold]

OP: The only difference you'll notice in "faster" ram is the hit to your wallet.

 

[ncstateguy87]

For the time being I would rather have more than faster, but faster is always more future proof

 

[Smoblikat]

If you need 32gb then get 1333 or 1600, if you can settle for 16gb (like me) grab 2133.

 

[Magic Carpet]

5-15%... I would like to see the hard data on that....

Easy.

Just benched my Thuban with handbrake.

1333Mhz CL9 = 124 seconds to encode

1333Mhz CL6 = 107 seconds to encode

"Real" ~15% faster. Only the higher-bandwidth sticks will allow you to operate at such low latencies. So, buying one, makes sense

I can provide logs, if necessary.

 

[thelastjuju]

For the time being I would rather have more than faster, but faster is always more future proof

No, it absolutely is NOT. :thumbsdown:

Even if you got the fastest RAM from a generation ago, you wouldn't even be able to use it! It would have been DDR2 ram that is no longer compatible with the DDR3 slots coming with modern motherboards. :sneaky:

 

[MrWizzard]

Easy.

Just benched my Thuban with handbrake.

1333Mhz CL9 = 124 seconds to encode

1333Mhz CL6 = 107 seconds to encode

"Real" ~15% faster. Only the higher-bandwidth sticks will allow you to operate at such low latencies. So, buying one, makes sense

I can provide logs, if necessary.

OP was asking about 1333Mhz VS 2133 Mhz can you bench that with the same CL?

 

[Smartazz]

5-15%... I would like to see the hard data on that....Memory benchmark programs don’t count. heh OP asked for REAL difference. Benchmark programs are like taking a engine out of a car and saying LOOK HOW FAST IT SPINS! Well that's great and all but what I really care about is how fast it spins when it's all hooked up.

OP from what I have seen there is almost no difference. Yes there is a difference but it's so small, that it’s a joke.

Read up here this is a good article.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/1

You can see that on the benchmarks for just the memory YES there is a difference but that’s not real world. Real world you have to use programs with the memory, real world difference is almost nothing.

This is what swayed me to buying 1600MHz sticks. They were only a tiny bit more than the 1333 and offered a little more performance. Anything higher than 1600MHz isn't justified imo and should be spent on an SSD/GPU/CPU etc.

 

[cmdrdredd]

OP was asking about 1333Mhz VS 2133 Mhz can you bench that with the same CL?

Handbrake converting 45.5MB 1280x720 video to iphone 4 format.

DDR3-2133 takes 38sec
DDR3-1333 takes 39sec

If you account for a variance there is zero difference for that usage.

 

[Magic Carpet]

OP was asking about 1333Mhz VS 2133 Mhz can you bench that with the same CL?

This board doesn't support anything above 1600, sadly. But, with the higher-rated memory you should be able to run lower latencies with ease, which in turn, will improve performance. If you can't saturate all the available bandwidth, make it faster. Simple as.