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What speed of DDR3 for i7?

anindrew

anindrew

Senior member
Hi all!

I managed to wait for i7 and it looks like I will be buying before year's end. Perhaps even before this month ends.

Even though I've read many reviews, there is one thing that confuses me: which speed of DDR3 to get. It seems that the X58 boards officially support DDR3-1066. Then you can also use DDR3 1333 or 1600. One of anandtech's articles indicated that you will get slightly better performance with 1600. It also said that slower speed, but tighter timings would probably yield similar results. The price for DDR3-1600 kits isn't all that much higher than lower speed kits, especially when considering the overall price of a system.

Is DDR3-1600 just for better OCing headroom? If you don't OC, can you actually run it at 1600?

Please help me understand this. Thank you very much!
 
the difference between a higher mhz with bad timing package and a lower mhz with better timing is usually the numbers printed on the box. Aka... a DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timing and a DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 will PROBABLY be the same chips sold under different names. you could run them both in either settings. now a DDR2-1066 4-4-4-12 will be impressive... as long as it is under the same voltage requirements as the other two that is.. sometimes they give insane voltage listings for those, so again they are the same chips only they advertise the speed you could OC them to with a massive overvolt.
The question is, which setting should you chose? well, that depends on what the timing and mhz in question are, as well as your CPU OC goals, thermal goals, and power consumption goals.

Those differenlty named but same chips tend to also cost the same. If the price is different it is MOST LIKELY that you are looking at a case of faster mhz with indentical timing and voltage, aka higher quality module.

ram AMOUNT is very very important. Ram speed is the least important thing in your system. CPU speed, mobo quality, HDD speed, RAM amount, and video card all matter significantly more to your performance bottom line.
So only when you get really high end in those other fields should you worry about getting faster ram. Unless it is really really cheap to get a higher end module.

Can you link specific examples instead of abstracting? you did not even give a specific price increase or specific timing for those modules. If you ask "which is a better deal A or B" then an answer is easier to give.
 
Thanks for the lengthy response taltamir!

Mostly, I'm just wondering what the benefits of DDR3-1600 are over DDR3-1333 on an i7 system. I'll be using it for gaming, general use (net surfing, email, movie watching), a little audio production, and perhaps some AutoCAD. I'm not looking to OC the hell out of it, but with a decent aftermarket HSF, I'd love to get more performance. I'd consider anything over 3Ghz on the i7 920 a nice boost.

The two kits in this link CLICK HERE appear to be the same except one is DDR3-1333 and the other is DDR3-1600.

Then in THIS LINK the kits are all within $30 of each other. DDR3-1600 at 8-8-8-24 with a nice mail-in-rebate isn't too bad.

Thanks for helping.
 
It was a lenghty reply, and there was a lot of good info, but it didn't really answer your question. Will you be purchasing a 965 or a 920/940 cpu?

Because if you are buying a 920/940 you have to be aware that the Memory multipliers are locked to either 6x or 8x. So to run DDR3-1333 you have to overclock the BCLK to 166.6 at least, while to run DDR3-1600 you have to run 200 BCLK, which isn't easy if you don't know what you are doing with voltages. Consider that before considering what speed and timings to buy.
 
Ah ha! Thank you, JAG87. Your response has a lot more of the information I'm looking for. I'm planning to purchase the i7 920. Being that I'm far more of a (pardon the pun) mild overclocker than a hardcore one, it sounds like DDR3-1333 would more than suit my needs. It would allow me to have a slight overclock if desired and save a bit of money, too, compared to DDR3-1600.

Do you have any other advice or questions?
 
I would do it like this. First, decide on a brand. Then, buy the fastest speed in a 6GB kit that will fit within your budget.
 
Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
I would do it like this. First, decide on a brand. Then, buy the fastest speed in a 6GB kit that will fit within your budget.
Click to expand...


I tend to disagree with the Corsair salesperson (lolol just kidding man).

First decide on what overclock you desire to achieve with your cpu, and then buy ram based on that. If you are happy with 166x20 for your cpu, then buy DDR3-1333, if you are more ambitious and want to reach 200x20 (or something in between since you now have to option to lower the multiplier and settle for 3.8 or 3.6 ghz if your cpu cant make it), then buy DDR3-1600. And last but not least, latencies are irrelevant, buy whatever is cheapest.

Since I'm probably on Yellowbeard's ban list now, I'll just say that Corsair is my #1 choice when looking at memory and my next purchase will probably be a triple channel XMS3 kit. The only reason I don't own Corsair right now is because these OCZ kits were dirty cheap I like their nvidia heatspreader more then the XMS2 and DHX modules.
 
Originally posted by: JAG87
Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
I would do it like this. First, decide on a brand. Then, buy the fastest speed in a 6GB kit that will fit within your budget.
Click to expand...


Since I'm probably on Yellowbeard's ban list now, I'll just say that Corsair is my #1 choice when looking at memory and my next purchase will probably be a triple channel XMS3 kit. The only reason I don't own Corsair right now is because these OCZ kits were dirty cheap I like their nvidia heatspreader more then the XMS2 and DHX modules.
Click to expand...

Ban List? 😕

I have one of those? 😀
 
Thanks for the replies JAG87 and Yellowbeard!

It's interesting hearing from someone that works for a major maker of memory. Can you get me a discount? 🙂 hehe

I can certainly afford to get DDR3-1600. Seriously, it doesn't seem like it's that more than 1333. I'm not sure how easy/difficult it would be to OC the i7 920. Once more LGA1366 coolers come out, I'd be tempted to get one so I can try OCing more than I would off the stock HSF. To me, anything over 3Ghz seems like a pretty nice OC from a 2.66Ghz CPU. 3.6 or higher seems incredible.

From what has been posted here, the speed of the memory is determined by a memory multiplier and the BLK. So that means running DDR3-1600 at it's full 1600 (8 * 200BLK?) just isn't going to happen without some crazy cooling that I would not be willing to purchase. So it seems like the main point of DDR3-1600 is to have the extra headroom for OCing and not killing your RAM. Correct?

Anand really needs to publish that OC guide and X58 motherboard round-up. At the moment, I'm heavily considering the Gigabyte UD5. I'd put it in an Antec 900 case, so airflow/cooling wouldn't be a problem.

You've given me much to think about. I'll have to debate how much OCing I'd be willing to do before choosing between 1333 and 1600.
 
in the link you posted I am seeing that the 1333 is 60$ less then the 1600 ram...
it doesn't break the bank... but what would 60$ upgrade give you in one of the other fields I mentioned?
And... do you expect to need it for an OC (in which case it is a good investment)
 
Originally posted by: anindrew
Hey, look what I found? This is extremely helpful!

http://www.tomshardware.com/re...i7-Nehalem,2057-8.html

Scroll down and there is a chart that shows what speed of DDR3 is required for which CPU frequency using either the 6 or 8 memory multiplier. I'd have to say that DDR3-1600 is looking more favorable to me.
Click to expand...


Oh, I just realized i was only calculating with the 8x

So yea, buy whatever you want basically, even 1333 will take you all the way where your cpu will stop before the ram.
 
Everything I've read indicates that the i7 920 and 940 only allow you to choose 6 or 8 as the memory multipliers. The i7 965 Extreme has the memory and CPU multiplier unlocked.

I'll have to see how much the whole system is going to cost, but most likely I will go with DDR3-1600 so I can run the memory a bit faster when I OC. I hope some after-market 1366 coolers start showing up soon.
 
Originally posted by: anindrew
Everything I've read indicates that the i7 920 and 940 only allow you to choose 6 or 8 as the memory multipliers. The i7 965 Extreme has the memory and CPU multiplier unlocked.

I'll have to see how much the whole system is going to cost, but most likely I will go with DDR3-1600 so I can run the memory a bit faster when I OC. I hope some after-market 1366 coolers start showing up soon.
Click to expand...

Are you looking for the lesser expensive stuff? You can already get the Noctua cooler and Thermarlright's TRUE for 1366, which are probably two of the best air coolers on the market.
 
Originally posted by: Cheesetogo
Originally posted by: anindrew
Everything I've read indicates that the i7 920 and 940 only allow you to choose 6 or 8 as the memory multipliers. The i7 965 Extreme has the memory and CPU multiplier unlocked.

I'll have to see how much the whole system is going to cost, but most likely I will go with DDR3-1600 so I can run the memory a bit faster when I OC. I hope some after-market 1366 coolers start showing up soon.
Click to expand...

Are you looking for the lesser expensive stuff? You can already get the Noctua cooler and Thermarlright's TRUE for 1366, which are probably two of the best air coolers on the market.
Click to expand...

+1 for the Noctua and TR advice. If you are spending the $$$ on an i7, why not at least have great air cooling to go along with it? 🙂
 
I'll have to look around for the Noctua and Thermalright TRUE 1366 coolers. It just depends how much they are. $60+ for a HSF seems rather high. $40ish (or less) is far more reasonable. Of course, I could always use the stock Intel HSF and then get an aftermarket HSF once there is more selection and availability.

ExarKun333: you are absolutely right; I would want a nice HSF to go along with the i7 system.

Where have you seen some 1366 HSF for sale?
 
Originally posted by: anindrew
I'll have to look around for the Noctua and Thermalright TRUE 1366 coolers. It just depends how much they are. $60+ for a HSF seems rather high. $40ish (or less) is far more reasonable. Of course, I could always use the stock Intel HSF and then get an aftermarket HSF once there is more selection and availability.

ExarKun333: you are absolutely right; I would want a nice HSF to go along with the i7 system.

Where have you seen some 1366 HSF for sale?
Click to expand...

The noctua costs a little more, but it does come with 2 very high-quality fans that move a lot of air AND don't make a lot of noise. You can get the cooler a little cheaper at some other sites, but most only include 1 fan; this one comes with two. Condisering most very good fans are in the $10-20 range, you get a decent deal for this. It's in-stock too, but probably not for long.

Noctua Fan 1366
 
Thanks for the recommendation and pm, ExarKun333. That looks like a great cooler. I will certainly keep it in mind.

Perhaps I'll start a general "here's what I'm planning to buy" thread elsewhere on here so I can show folks what I'm planning to get.

edit: here is my "what I'm planning to build thread." Click here!

Thank you to everyone who offered advice about memory. Most likely, I will order everything next week. 🙂
 
Hi everybody! I waited for newegg's 11/26 Pre-Black Friday deals to kick in last night. I made my move and saved about $200 over what it would have cost normally.

For memory, I ended up getting 6GB (3x2GB) of G.Skill DDR3-1600 8-8-8-21.

For the CPU cooler, I went with the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 that ExarKun333 recommended. I bought it from quietpcusa.com, though, as with UPS shipping it was $1 less than at moddersmart.

Thank you all very much for the advice! I can't wait to put my new system together!
 
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