Is 1.6v on DRAM gonna be safe for day-to-day usage?

[PatXioPC]

I'd been running my dual 8gbytes DIMMs at 3200mhz cl18, they came rated with 3000mhz cl16 DOCP/XMP. I had them running at 1.5v and 1.1v Soc. I originally wanted to run them at 3200mhz but cl 17 but for some reason, it automatically goes up to 18 even though I dial value 17 in the BIOS. Now I was able to scale the clock to 3333mhz retaining the same timings (18-18-18-38) which seems like a good balance for my kit. I bumped the voltage up to 1.6v and have a completely stable system. 

 

Now I'm not sure if it's going to be safe for long term. If I could undervolt them down to 1.55v? I haven't tested yet. Please give me your thoughts.

 

My hardware:

AMD Ryzen 2700x auto overclocked pbo

x470-f gaming from asus

G.skill tridentZ 8x2 3000cl16

[Turtle Rig]

7 minutes ago, PatXioPC said:

I'd been running my dual 8gbytes DIMMs at 3200mhz cl18, they came rated with 3000mhz cl16 DOCP/XMP. I had them running at 1.5v and 1.1v Soc. I originally wanted to run them at 3200mhz but cl 17 but for some reason, it automatically goes up to 18 even though I dial value 17 in the BIOS. Now I was able to scale the clock to 3333mhz retaining the same timings (18-18-18-38) which seems like a good balance for my kit. I bumped the voltage up to 1.6v and have a completely stable system. 

 

Now I'm not sure if it's going to be safe for long term. If I could undervolt them down to 1.55v? I haven't tested yet. Please give me your thoughts.

 

My hardware:

AMD Ryzen 2700x auto overclocked pbo

x470-f gaming from asus

G.skill tridentZ 8x2 3000cl16

Your safe at 1.6v  Actually that is a safe voltage believe it or not and also will make your RAM OC stable.

[Crunchy Dragon]

It's widely accepted that up to 1.65v on the DRAM is safe for long-term use, you should be fine.

[i_build_nanosuits]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

It's widely accepted that up to 1.65v on the DRAM is safe for long-term use, you should be fine.

really wow i tought it was much lower cause on my board when i load the XMP profile the ram set to 1.35v and it's in RED in the BIOS meaning it's too high a voltage...i'm running 1.2v 3000mhz personally...

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, i_build_nanosuits said:

really wow i tought it was much lower cause on my board when i load the XMP profile the ram set to 1.35v and it's in RED in the BIOS meaning it's too high a voltage...i'm running 1.2v 3000mhz personally...

1.65v is what I found the general consensus to be from a quick websearch.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

1.65v is what I found the general consensus to be from a quick websearch.

even for DDR4? it's not that i don't believe you...but

[Crunchy Dragon]

3 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

even for DDR4? it's not that i don't believe you...but

I didn't notice if it was DDR4 or not.

 

One would think newer RAM could withstand higher voltages, though...

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

I didn't notice if it was DDR4 or not.

 

One would think newer RAM could withstand higher voltages, though...

NO...it's the oposite...DDR4 ram use less volts than DDR3...it's more efficient.

[i_build_nanosuits]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I didn't notice if it was DDR4 or not.

 

One would think newer RAM could withstand higher voltages, though...

in fact...a quick google search turned this:

 

 

...and this is DDR3

 

[Jurrunio]

I won't give DDR4 more than 1.5V for long term use, only for benchmarks.

28 minutes ago, PatXioPC said:

it automatically goes up to 18 even though I dial value 17 in the BIOS.

Ryzen doesnt like odd numbers in the timings when you go past its official supported range (so 2933 for 2700x).

 

[THraShArD]

Those are horrible latency times.  You really should not be overclocking on your main system.  Overclocking has become a counter culture trend and will never fully be guaranteed. 

[nick name]

Odd CL timings get changed to even if you have Geardown Mode enabled.  Disabling may get it to run the odd timing, but the system changes it because it probably isn't immediately stable at POST and may not be stable in general.  But if you wanna try an odd CL timing then disable Geardown Mode.

 

And different RAM kits have different safe RAM voltage limits based off their lithography.  I think Samsung b-die has a larger lithography and can sustain higher voltages, but many kits have a smaller lithography and aren't recommended to be run at the same higher voltages as b-die kits.  

 

Buildzoid just posted a video where he mentioned above 1.5V for b-die being worrisome, but he didn't elaborate.  Also, the conversation should also consider that the higher the RAM voltage the higher the VTTDDR voltage which can damage a CPU.  That may be why Intel won't allow higher than 1.5V for their XMP standard.  Builzoid mentioned in another RAM overclocking video that .93V or .98V (can't remember) should be the safety limit for VTTDDR and that translates to 1.86V ~ 1.96V DRAM voltage.  That is for the safety of the CPU and I'm not sure if it means 1.86V ~ 1.96V is safe for RAM.  

 

And I know it doesn't answer your question, but I hope it helps you make a more educated decision if nobody has a direct answer. 

 

Aslo, DDR2 was high voltage, DDR3 was a lower and now DDR4 is even lower.  It is something like 2.0V, 1.5V, 1.2V.  

[nick name]

5 minutes ago, THraShArD said:

-snip- You really should not be overclocking on your main system.  Overclocking has become a counter culture trend and will never fully be guaranteed. 

Ummmm wut.  Safe overclocking is fine if you invest the time to test your overclock's stability.  And I'm not sure you know what counter-culture means.  

[THraShArD]

It's not safe and guaranteed.  Listen to all the IT Pros with over 25 experience and look for the Keywords they use - Should, Could, Maybe..etc

[PatXioPC]

43 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

and this is DDR3

 

O

 

Well now, what I guess that I actually misread the max safe voltage for ddr3 instead of ddr4 earlier. I just believed until now that memory has really low power density, so a lot higher voltage tolerance. Well now I know. 
|

[PatXioPC]

43 minutes ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

and this is DDR3

 

O

 

Well now, what I guess that I actually misread the max safe voltage for ddr3 instead of ddr4 earlier. I just believed until now that memory has really low power density, so a lot higher voltage tolerance. Well now I know. 
|

[THraShArD]

The OP is saying Long Term and Day to Day Usage.  This is why I'm saying no way.  Lot of these benchmarks in reviews are just showing people 1 side of the coin.

 

Overclocking can lead to the risk of corruption.  If someone is doing very sensitivities multimedia editing and your system crashes or any corruption is just not worth it.

If you want to Game or something and boost things a bit, then I see no problem and just go back to normal mode when done gaming.

 

This is from Techweb Encyclopedia

 

Definition: overclock

 

To speed up the computer beyond the manufacturer's specifications in order to run faster. Common in the gaming world, overclocking the CPU is accomplished by changing the clock ratio of the frontside bus (FSB) in the BIOS setup (see CPU multiplier). Older methods were changing a jumper on the motherboard or changing the clock crystal. Although enhanced cooling systems are typically added when a CPU is overclocked, over time, the CPU or the motherboard may not be able to handle the increased speed. Contrast with underclock. See mod, multiplier lock and CPU cooler.

 

 

[X_X]

2 hours ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

in fact...a quick google search turned this:

 

 

...and this is DDR3

 

How can Intel specify how much voltage a manufacturer's DIMM module can take, they didn't design or manufacture them.

 

Perhaps they meant regarding their IMC. Well to quote a famous overclocker

That's another thing: a lot of people are afraid of high voltages on the memory. There's this myth still from Gulftown, when people said that you cannot increase your memory voltage past 1.65V or it will kill your IMC. That's so wrong. You can ramp up your memory voltage to 2V. It does not kill your IMC. We do this on a daily basis and I've never seen an IMC die over this. We're even using like 2.2V on the memory for a very long time and it doesn't hurt the CPU.

https://www.pcgamer.com/pro-overclocker-der8auer-on-why-the-race-to-add-cpu-cores-doesnt-make-any-sense-and-why-you-should-still-overclock/

 

Also note this is for Intel and AMD may very well be different.

[nick name]

1 hour ago, THraShArD said:

The OP is saying Long Term and Day to Day Usage.  This is why I'm saying no way.  Lot of these benchmarks in reviews are just showing people 1 side of the coin.

 

Overclocking can lead to the risk of corruption.  If someone is doing very sensitivities multimedia editing and your system crashes or any corruption is just not worth it.

If you want to Game or something and boost things a bit, then I see no problem and just go back to normal mode when done gaming.

 

This is from Techweb Encyclopedia

 

Definition: overclock

 

To speed up the computer beyond the manufacturer's specifications in order to run faster. Common in the gaming world, overclocking the CPU is accomplished by changing the clock ratio of the frontside bus (FSB) in the BIOS setup (see CPU multiplier). Older methods were changing a jumper on the motherboard or changing the clock crystal. Although enhanced cooling systems are typically added when a CPU is overclocked, over time, the CPU or the motherboard may not be able to handle the increased speed. Contrast with underclock. See mod, multiplier lock and CPU cooler.

 

 

I don't disagree that you can overclock past safe limits and beyond the reach of stability, but many many people overclock safely.  If overclocking wasn't so predominant there would be no point to K and X SKUs from Intel and XMP RAM profiles.  Again, there are countless safe, reliable overclocks that people run daily on a wide range of components.

 

And counter-culture describes behavior that is contrary to and differs greatly from standard norms.  If overclocking was counter-culture then there wouldn't be such a large presence of overclocking CPU SKUs, motherboard chipsets, and other components/peripherals in the consumer industry.  I'd say the industry sells and markets to overclockers in the effort to increase the awareness and prestige of their brand which makes it seem pretty normal to me.  

[THraShArD]

JayzTwoCents on Youtube is a total liar. He says Chip Manafactures want you to OC.. Not true at all

 

Intel offers a protection plan - https://click.intel.com/tuningplan/

 

What is the Performance Tuning Protection Plan?

The Performance Tuning Protection Plan is an additional plan that a customer can purchase to cover processor failures caused by operating the eligible processor outside of Intel’s published specifications.

Does this mean that Intel is supporting or encouraging overclocking?

No. While we will, under the Plan, replace an eligible processor that fails while running outside of Intel’s specifications, we will not provide any assistance with configuration, data recovery, failure of associated parts, or any other activities or issues associated with the processor or system resulting from overclocking or otherwise running outside of Intel’s published specifications.